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Released by: Artsploitation Films
Released on: July 7th, 2015.
Director: Hans Herbots
Cast: Geert Van Rampelberg, Ina Geerts, Johan van Assche, Laura Verlinden, Dominique Van Malder
Year: 2014
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The Movie:
Made in Belgium by director Hans Herbots, 2014's The Treatment follows a cop named Inspector Nick Cafmeyer (Geert Van Rampelberg) who, on the surface at least, seems to lead the perfect life. His job is going well, he makes a good living and things are going just fine. However, there's a dark incident from his past that he just can't seem to get around, and that's the unsolved abduction of his younger brother, Bjorn (Roy Aernouts).
As the story unfolds, we learn how Bjorn was taken away at nine years old after his parents were bound and gagged in their own hm. A convicted sex criminal named Ivan Plettinckx (Johan van Assche) was pegged as the main suspect but released, uncharged, after he was questioned by the authorities. These days, Plettinckx seems determined to rub it in and he has no qualms whatsoever about coyly harassing Nick. The tables turn, however, when Nick gets involved with another case wherein a different nine year old has gone missing under unusually similar circumstances to those surrounding Bjorn's case. As he digs deeper he finds more cases with strange similarities, most of which involve parents being forced to harm their own kids. This might give Nick what he needs to take Plettinckx out and close the books on Bjorn's case, but that's only if he's the true culprit and if Nick can keep his wits about him…
Unless you're completely fucked in the head and deserve to be taken out back and shot, it stands to reason that watching a movie about a pedophile will be a rather unpleasant experience and The Treatment is exactly that - unpleasant. However, having said that these things can and do happen in the real world so there's no point in sugar coating it. This is a movie that deals in some of the worst that humanity has to offer and while it's savvy enough to let most of the nastiness play out off screen, it's still graphic enough to make you cringe. This is effective in getting us on Nick's side, even when we have to question his motives simply because the crimes portrayed in this movie are so heinous that it's never even a question. Justice must be served. This is a well-played plot device in that it draws us into the story and keeps us there. It makes us think about how the morality of it all and it makes us question things - the film is as smart as it is grizzly.
Performances are very strong here. Johan van Assche will make your skin crawl in his role, the guy just oozes sleaze from every pore of his body here. He's a genuinely creepy bastard but at the same time, he's played with a sense of humanity sure to cause some conflicting emotions. On the flip side is Geert Van Rampelberg as Nick. He's definitely leading man material. Naturally handsome, slick looking and cool here we see an actor really committing to the part rather than just relying on charm. As the conflict builds it's fascinating to watch these guys play off of one another - though it goes without saying that there are some clever plot twists that, when combined with the solid performances, tend to defy expectations.
Shot in a gritty style that perfectly captures the movie's spirit of darkness, The Treatment is fast paced and genuinely tense.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Artsploitation presents The Treatment on Blu-ray (technically it's a BD-R, or at least the one sent for review was though future titles from the label will be replicated) in AVC encoded 1080p high definition. Framed at 2.39.1 this is a slick looking transfer and as the feature was shot digitally, there's no room for print damage and what not. Some minor compression artifacts do pop up in the darkest of the dark scenes but outside of that this looks very nice. Detail is always above average and at times reference quality while color reproduction is accurate and often impressive. Black levels are strong, skin tones look good and all in all, the image quality here is rock solid.
The main audio option on the disc is a Dutch language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound mix with subtitles provided in English and in English SDH. There's good directionality and depth here, the movie's clever use of sound building atmosphere and tension well thanks to the surround channels. No issues with any hiss or distortion to note and the subtitles are clean, clear and easy to read. A Dutch language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track is also included, but unfortunately there's no lossless option provided here.
The main extra on the disc is featurette that details the movie's premiere. It's just under eight minutes long and it includes some interesting sound bites and interviews with the cast and crew. Aside from that we get a few minutes of deleted scenes (five scenes in total), a trailer for the feature and trailers for a few other recent releases from the label, menus and chapter selection. Previews for a few other Artsploitation titles play before the main menu loads.
The Final Word:
The Treatment is not an easy film to like or enjoy but it is one that you won't likely forget. Strong stuff to be sure, but it's well made and quite riveting. Artsploitation's presentation isn't stacked with extras but it does look and sound good. If you enjoy ridiculously dark thrillers, this is one worth catching up with.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
