''Torture Room'' (also known as ''Pledge of Allegiance'' ) is a 2007 American political horror thriller film written and directed by

Eric Forsberg Eric Forsberg (born December 16, 1959) is an American writer. He wrote and directed the feature film '' Mega Piranha'', as well as the writer of the feature film '' Snakes on a Train'', one of the first mockbusters produced and released by The ...

. A

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

release, it stars Lena Bookall as Anoush Karagozian, a woman whose suspected ties to

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

ern terrorists lead to her being taken captive by U.S. government agents, who subject her to torture in an attempt to brainwash her into becoming an American asset in the

war on terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international Counterterrorism, counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campa ...

Plot

A battered Arab man named Jahan Sufi is tortured by having spikes hammered into his arms, and when asked for names, he blurts out "Anoush Karagozian." Anoush is a woman of French and Armenian descent who works as a

cocktail waitress A cocktail waitress is a female server who brings drinks to patrons of drinking establishments such as bars, cocktail lounges, casinos, comedy clubs, jazz clubs, cabarets, and other live music venues. Casinos traditionally dress their cocktail wai ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Government operatives abduct Anoush and interrogate her about the "

raghead The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or ot ...

s" in her life, like her boss, Reza Bayoul, her ex-fiancé, Jahan Sufi (who she was going to

convert Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

for before marrying) and her current boyfriend, Shazad Mohamaed Sousa. After being made to sign a contract which stipulates that she agrees to serve the interests of the United States government, Anoush is sedated and brought to a black site that is overseen by a man known only as Mr. Green. Anoush, along with the site's other detainees, is subjected to a battery of tortures, including incessant noise, being forced to consume raw meat (including a pig's head) and toilet water, psychic driving, a

mock execution A mock execution is a stratagem in which a victim is deliberately but falsely made to feel that their execution or that of another person is imminent or is taking place. The subject is made to believe that they are being led to their own executio ...

, electric shocks, being repeatedly forced to watch abstract and graphically violent footage of things like war crimes and Nazi human experimentation while drugged with hallucinogens, having one of her nipples sliced off, a staged rescue, and being sealed in a

box A box (plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and can ...

and left to wallow in her own excrement for days while hooked up to an IV. At one point, Mr. Green attempts to force Anoush to kill Jahan, and when she refuses, he tries again later, this time with a serial rapist, killer, and implied cannibal named Ron. Ron and Anoush are locked in a cell together and starved, and when Ron passes out after beating Anoush in frustration, Anoush uses strips of her own clothes to hogtie and strangle him, to the approval of Mr. Green. Mr. Green brings Anoush into his office and has her eat dog food while he uses fake documents to gaslight her into believing that she is really a U.S. intelligence agent named "Sharon" who enemy combatants have brainwashed into thinking that she is Anoush Karagozian. As a final test to see if Anoush will be useful as a tool in the

, Mr. Green coerces her into shooting her own mother, and when Anoush tries and fails to commit suicide afterward, Mr. Green congratulates her, stating, "You did it, Sharon. You killed the thing you love. And you were willing to die for us too." A pair of agents release Anoush and arrange for her to be hit by a car as a cover for all of her injuries before leaving her with a special cellphone that she is to use to keep in touch with Mr. Green. The film ends with Anoush huddled in the fetal position, mindlessly repeating random words over and over again after calling Mr. Green to inform him that Shazad has made plans to meet with friends who are visiting from

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

Cast

Production

financed ''Torture Room'' with the profits made from his previous film, ''

Night of the Dead The Night of the Dead is a whole night of horror films shown as part of the annual Leeds International Film Festival. Beginning in 2001, it has become a firm fan favourite, selling out well before the event. Since Night of the Dead V, this event ...

.'' Forsberg originally intended for ''Torture Room'' to be a found footage film, but was talked into shooting it in a more traditional narrative style by producers, a change which he has lamented, stating, "The script for this film is much deeper and more politically charged than the final product which is more like ''

Saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mo ...

''; a torture film." According to Forsberg, the film is intended as "a powerful statement against our country's recent abuse of human rights" which he attempted to present in a "rich and uncomfortable way, bridging the film between

political thriller A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of a political power struggle, high stakes and suspense is the core of the story. The genre often forces the audiences to consider and understand the importance of politics. The ...

and reality terror, as if

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism. Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...

had made a horror film with

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...

and ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...

''."

Release

Quantum Releasing distributed the film on DVD in the United States through

Echo Bridge Home Entertainment Echo Bridge Entertainment is an American independent distribution company. It acquires and distributes feature films, scripted and non-scripted series, documentaries, and children’s programming for home video, digital and television in the United ...

on January 5, 2010. It grossed $20,000. Quantum Releasing had not actually secured the distribution rights to the film, and it and Echo Bridge were both sued for copyright infringement by executive producer Don Randles's company, Randles Films, in 2010, with the case going to trial on May 10, 2011. Randles Films was awarded $350,000 in actual damages and $215,655.30 in attorneys' fees and costs, for a sum total of $565,655.30, on December 2, 2011. On December 4, 2013, Echo Bridge appealed the court's verdict on ''Randles Films, LLC v. Quantum Releasing, LLC'', but the ruling was affirmed by the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

on January 2, 2014. ''Torture Room'' had a limited theatrical re-release on

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

in 2014.

Reception

Adrian Halen of Horror News called ''Torture Room'' a "damn fine" and "brilliantly perverse" film that was a "powerful portrayal of the kind of things they dare don't speak of but at the same time find necessary to protect our country." Steven Tee of Cinesploitation had a middling response to ''Torture Room'', feeling that its message was "powerful" and Lena Bookall's performance engrossing, even though the film as a whole was "a bit corny" and "copiously bland and unoriginal." While The Worldwide Celluloid Massacre praised Bookall's performance, they otherwise lambasted the film, opining that it had "no back-story, no plot" before concluding, "Regardless of whether you believe American torturers go to this extreme, there's also the ridiculous brainwashing which, though very methodological, nobody would believe is actually practical and efficient since the time of

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

paranoia. The mere fact that they turn her into a babbling insane woman would make her useless as a spy. So this is basically just a pure torture-porn movie with a faux-political angle."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 1000017, Torture Room 2007 direct-to-video films 2007 horror films 2007 independent films 2007 multilingual films 2007 psychological thriller films 2000s American films 2000s Arabic-language films 2000s German-language films 2000s English-language films 2000s exploitation films 2000s horror thriller films 2000s political thriller films 2000s psychological horror films 2000s serial killer films American direct-to-video films American exploitation films American horror thriller films American independent films American interfaith romance films American multilingual films American nonlinear narrative films American political thriller films American prison films American psychological horror films American psychological thriller films American serial killer films American splatter films Anti-war films about the Iraq War Direct-to-video horror films Direct-to-video thriller films Films about hallucinogens Films about human rights Films about intelligence agencies Films about interracial romance Films about Islamic terrorism Films about kidnapping in the United States Films about mind control Films about prejudice Films about security and surveillance Films about terrorism in the United States Films directed by Eric Forsberg Films set in 2006 Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in Los Angeles Films with screenplays by Eric Forsberg Home invasions in film Human experimentation in fiction Matricide in fiction Torture in films