Safeword – 2011 – A sexual degradation

Safeword is one of those movies I will have a hard time explaining the plot about. Maybe not necessarily because it’s very complex but rather because if I go into too many details it will spoil and ruin the experience for you. Let’s just say that it starts out with this woman – Sabrina, getting caught en entangled in a world of sexual abuse and BDSM-like people. I really like Terror-movies and I hold classics like Last House on the Left and The House at the Edge of the Park in high esteem. They don’t necessarily have to be very brutal and graphic. There is just something about torture with sexual undertones that fascinates me. And, of course, when I say undertones, it doesn’t have to be very subtle. I also love the kind of flick where it’s very clear what’s going on. There’s no need for innuendoes.

It’s only a movie

So torture scenes in films like Hostel or rape scenes in films like Irreversible get my interest going. And when in doubt, just repeat it’s only a movie… You all know where that catchphrase came from don’t you? What I’m saying is, that movies are movies and you can enjoy all kinds of violence and death depicted in films without necessarily being personally into them. It’s one thing to be a critic of what is depicted in a film, in music, or in books and another thing to be a human being and feel for the victims in real-life cases. Of course, any fan of the macabre would know and understand this already. Think of it as a disclaimer for those who don’t understand.

Sabrina all tied up

So we start out with this woman being held captive and about to be tortured. As the title of the movie – Safeword, suggests, there is a BDSM theme going on. In other words that it’s consensual BDSM activity going on- Or is it? A safeword is only valid if all parties are aware of it. This doesn’t seem to be the case. How could you stop what’s going on with a safeword that you actually don’t know?

Not so simple

So far, the easy part of the plot but from there it’s getting down a rabbit hole and soon you won’t know who the victims or the perpetrators are. It will and be scrambled and blurred. I wasn’t really expecting Safeword to be a film with a message and I’m not sure if I like it. I guess it would have been better for me if they kept it a simple sadistic film about desire. But on the other hand, they did something more than the easiest way with it and that should be commended.

Bottom line is that I don’t know what to make of it. I would have preferred a strong sexual torture movie but on the other hand, it’s hard to top what’s already been done in that perspective. I guess there are many more movies out there that I never heard of or seen. But I have dug pretty deep in the iceberg of terror so I doubt anything would shock me real bad at this point. If you know of something that you think would do the trick, please let your voice be heard in the comment section.