For while it might be lazily dismissed as yet another piece of Seven-style psycho noir, or as just more dilemma-based torture porn à la Saw (whose title it knowingly inverts), in the end this moody feature debut from British director Tom Shankland stakes out several new shades of dark - and then uses them as the dramatic testing ground for a genre-busting love story, as well as for a Darwinist theory (concerning the non-existence of altruism) so horrific in its implications that it drove its real-life discoverer George Price to suicide when he was unable to disprove its truth.
When the corpses of a gangbanger and his pregnant girlfriend surface - he brutally mutilated, she electrocuted - few bat an eyelid. After all, on the mean streets of this neglected New York port borough it is strictly survival of the fittest, and the hardened local police regard the death of just another vicious dealer or crack whore merely as cause to celebrate. Still, it remains a mystery why 'WAZ' was carved into the girl's belly after her death - and when a second pair of bodies is found, one of them marked with the same cryptic letters, the hunt for a serial killer begins.
Shot almost entirely at night on handheld High Definition video by Morten Søborg (of the Pusher trilogy), Waz looks so dark, damp and gritty you will want to take a long shower the moment it is over - and its grim visual aesthetic is hardly lightened by themes of moral emptiness and scenes of increasingly graphic torture.
This is neither a laugh a minute, nor under any circumstances a date movie - but those who like their cinema bleak and uncompromising will be rewarded by Clive Bradley's intelligent screenplay, and by yet another astonishingly weighty central performance from Skarsgård.
From the instant we first see his silhouette sitting and smoking in a solitary parked car in the film's opening scene, Skarsgård projects worldweariness, loneliness and abandonment with the most minimal of gestures. All the film's painful conflicts can be traced on his haunted face long before any instrument of torture has appeared on screen, and his mere presence furnishes a quality that is unexpected in so arid a moral landscape, a quality that elevates WAZ above and beyond the confines of its genre. That quality is heart, and as Eddie puts it in his own gruff, mumbling words, "you've got to bleed to keep that heart beating." Yes, there will be blood - but only enough to ensure that these vampiric characters are returned to life
Out of the bloodiest horror, the darkest noir and the bleakest morality drama, Tom Shankland has crafted an unusual and highly affecting love story, with a central performance from Stellan Skarsgård to die for.
W Delta Z A Gritty Urban Crime Drama
New York City cop Eddie Argo teams up with rookie police officer Helen Westcott to solve the brutal deaths of Jamal and his girlfriend. Both the bodies are found near the piers and display "W Delta Z," on their bodies. The knife work is bloody. Circumstantial evidence points to Pierre Jackson a rival gangster, but through investigation evidence points to another suspect (Urban).
The body of Wesley and his brother also turn up from Pierre's gang and slowly the pieces fit together and point to a small time crook Jean Lerner. Lerner is constructing a deadly experiment, whereby a pair of victims is told to kill the other or face torture. The twist is that both victims have a connection either through blood or relation and this makes the decision to save oneself an experiment of empathy and altruism (Urban).
Release Date: August 12, 2008.
Restricted: Rated R for strong brutal violence including a rape, gruesome images and pervasive language.
Starring: Barbara Adair, Stellan Skarsgard, Selma Blair, Melissa George, and Tom Hardy.
Director: Tom Shankland.
Writer: Clive Bradley.
"W Delta Z," is a gritty crime drama that takes place in the back alleys and apartment projects of inner-city New York. Clive Bradley is the writer of the screenplay; brutality, criminal life, and corruption weave a tale that engrosses the viewer. Although, the sound mixing and recording of the film seem off at certain points this does not take away from the overall entertainment value of the film (Urban).
Stellan Skarsgard plays a street-wise cop with expertise while Melissa George adds a softer performance in the film. Skarsgard powers through many of his scenes with a gruff exterior that later reveals a kinder, gentler man inside. The ending might blow viewers away (Urban).
The urban sets, dark lighting, and suspenseful plot create a horror film that deals in the psychology of altruism (giving without any expectation of a return). Overal "W Delta Z," is a dark film with a grisly, revenge theme that does not shy away from exposing the viewer from the seedy underbelly of street life and the challenge of solving criminal cases (Urban).
"W Delta Z," is a must see for those favouring chilling tales that probe the psychology behind people's motivations. Morten Soborg's cinematography shows a versatility, as the film moves from night shoots to dark interiors without pause and the subtle twists make this film rewatchable on many levels (Urban).
I was not very interested in watching WAZ, because the plot summary sounded as another poor rehash of Seven and Saw.However, I took a huge surprise with this film.WAZ ended up to be an excellent thriller, and it, although it shares a few elements with them, I think it is a big mistake to say it is a rehash of Seven and Saw.
The screenplay from WAZ is truly brilliant.Recent "torture-porn" films (like The Strangers, Saw V or Vacancy) bored me very much, because they do not endorse the torture scenes with a solid screenplay.Fortunately, WAZ endorses its brutal violence with interesting characters and a very intelligent story which reflects about some fascinating topics.And, because of that narrative complexity, the torture scenes have a much bigger emotional impact than almost all the others "torture-porn" thrillers.Besides, this movie has an ingenious twist at the end which does not leave any plot holes and closes the story perfectly.
Stellan Skarsgård and Melissa George bring great performances.They both show a good level of intensity, and they are very involved on their characters, so they result very credible.Pity these two perfect performances went completely unnoticed.
I really did not expect to like this movie so much.WAZ is an excellent (not to mention very underrated) thriller which deserves an enthusiastic recommendation, with the warning that the scenes of violence may result a bit too intense for some people.I took a huge surprise with this film.
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