- Stunning First Look at Indie Fantasy THE WANTING MARE [Trailer]
- Stunning First Look at Indie Fantasy THE WANTING MARE [Trailer]
- Stunning First Look at Indie Fantasy THE WANTING MARE [Trailer]
- SKYLINES Is Coming! [Poster Premiere]
- Who Hunts Who in HUNTER HUNTER? [Trailer]
- MONSTER HUNTER Coming for Christmas [Trailer]
- Saskatoon Fantastic Film Festival Returns with In-Person Event [Line Up]
- LUNATIQUE Director Returns with WASTELAND 3 Promo [Short Film]
- Win a copy of JAMES CAMERON'S STORY OF SCIENCE FICTION [Contest]
- Michael Shannon is Crime Boss in ECHO BOOMERS [Trailer]
- Slice of Life, Blade Runner inspired short
- Is Snowpeircer a sequel to Willy Wonka?
- Re: Yesterday
- Re: Yesterday
- Yesterday
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- LUNATIQUE Director Returns with WASTELAND 3 Promo [Short Film]
- A Comet Destoys Earth in GREENLAND Trailer
- Interactive WAR OF THE WORLDS Adaptation Out Now!
- 8K Trailer for Train to Busan Sequel PENINSULA Drops Hard!
- Making a Bomb Shelter in a Funhouse is a Bad Idea in IMPACT EVENT [Trailer]
- Retro Slave: FOX's Post-Apocalyptic Sitcom WOOPS!
- TRAIN TO BUSAN Sequel PENINSULA Gets a Teaser Trailer
- New on Blu-ray and DVD for March 11, 2020
- The Apocalypse Kills Women in ONLY [Trailer]
- Trailer for TheWalking Dead: World Beyond Spin-Off Series
- BORDERLANDS Movie From Eli Roth in Development
- A Woman's Mind Unravels in BIGHT HILL ROAD [Review]
- TIFF 2020: Vanlife Gets a Reality Check in NOMADLAND [Review]
- TIFF 2020: APPLES, THE WAY I SEE IT, PIECES OF A WOMAN & ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI [Capsule Reviews]
- TIFF 2020: The Truth Tellers Return with THE NEW CORPORATION: THE UNFORTUNATELY NECESSARY SEQUEL [Review]
- TIFF 2020: NEW ORDER is Brutal, Violent & a Must-See [Review]
- TIFF 2020: ENEMIES OF THE STATE, Or Are They? [Review]
- TIFF 2020: HOLLER Explores Life in a Dying Town [Review]
- Fantasia 2020: THE OAK ROOM, MARYGOROUND & CLIMATE OF THE HUNTER [Capsule Reviews]
- UNCLE PECKERHEAD is One Note but Fun [Review]
- Dave Franco Shows Potential as Director with Debut Feature THE RENTAL [Review]
- VIFF2020: Director Loretta Todd on the Making of Her Debut Feature MONKEY BEACH [Interview]
- TIFF 2020: APPLES, THE WAY I SEE IT, PIECES OF A WOMAN & ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI [Capsule Reviews]
- TIFF 2020: The Truth Tellers Return with THE NEW CORPORATION: THE UNFORTUNATELY NECESSARY SEQUEL [Review]
- TIFF 2020: NEW ORDER is Brutal, Violent & a Must-See [Review]
- TIFF 2020: ENEMIES OF THE STATE, Or Are They? [Review]
- NO ESCAPE Director Talks Influencers, Escape Rooms & Writing [Interview]
- TIFF 2020: HOLLER Explores Life in a Dying Town [Review]
- The Funny Side of Alien Invasions: You have to SAVE YOURSELVES! [Trailer]
- Kodi Smit-McPhee Goes to the Future to Save the Present in 2067 [Trailer]
- First Look at Denis Villeneuve's DUNE [Trailer]
- Fantasia 2020: LAPSIS, THE COLUMNIST, MINOR PREMISE, FEELS GOOD MAN & HAIL TO THE DEADITES [Capsule Reviews]
- BUNRAKU Writer/Director Returns with LX 2048 [Trailer]
- BLOOD QUANTUM Writer/Director Talks Inspiration, Zombies & Representation [Interview]
- Fantasia 2020: THE OAK ROOM, MARYGOROUND & CLIMATE OF THE HUNTER [Capsule Reviews]
- Sylvester McCoy Talks SENSE8, DOCTOR WHO & THE OWNERS [Interview]
- Fantasia 2020: PVT CHAT, PATRICK, TIME OF MOULTING, SLEEP [Capsule Reviews]
- Scholar Mitch Horowitz Breaks Down Faith, Horror & CURSED FILMS [Interview]
- Actor Cosmo Jarvis Talks About his New Thriller THE SHADOW OF VIOLENCE [Interview]
- Director Jay Cheel Talks Making of Horror Documentary CURSED FILMS [Interview]
- Europe is in Shambles in UNDERGODS [Trailer]
Jack In
Latest Comments
Latest Forum Posts
PA News
Latest Reviews
Older News
Crew
Marina Antunes
Editor in Chief
Vancouver, British Columbia
Christopher Webster
Managing Editor
Edmonton, Alberta
DN aka quietearth
Founder / Asst. Managing Editor
Denver, Colorado
Simon Read
UK Correspondent
Edinburgh, Scotland
Rick McGrath
Toronto Correspondent
Toronto, Ontario
Manuel de Layet
France Correspondent
Paris, France
rochefort
Austin Correspondent
Austin, Texas
Daniel Olmos
Corrispondente in Italia
Italy
Griffith Maloney aka Griffith Maloney
New York Correspondent
New York, NY
Stephanie O
Floating Correspondent
Quiet Earth Bunker
Jason Widgington
Montreal Correspondent
Montreal, Quebec
Carlos Prime
Austin Correspondent
Austin, TX
Latest news








Year: 2009
Directors: Daniel Grou
Writers: Patrick Senécal
IMDB: link
Trailer: link
Review by: agentorange
Rating: 7.3 out of 10
Last summer, a fun little revenge thriller called Law Abiding Citizen was released into theaters. As dumb as it was, it was hard to resist the sweet siren song of a story about an ex-military engineer who uses ingenious booby traps to outwit bumbling lawyers and feckless civil servants. It was fun to revel in some harmless, impotent stick-it-to-the-man fantasy. I ate popcorn.
I did not eat popcorn during 7 Days.
7 Days is the polar opposite of films like Law Abiding Citizen, that gloss over human suffering in favor of the mystery and thrills of revenge. In fact, it's about as dire and as brutally violent as a film can get. It's a tragic story about a man descending into soul-shattering misery after his daughter is violently raped and murdered. A man so desperate to relieve his own guilt, he abducts his daughter's killer from police custody and holes him up in a secluded cabin where he silently tortures him for a week even though he knows the police are on his trail. He is totally willing to ruin his marriage, his life and go to jail in favour of corporeal retribution.
It's a revenge tale yes, but not one that holds much catharsis for the main character, or us. The violence changes him. We watch him become something of a monster, despite his noble intentions. There's a scene in the final act where he even abducts the mother of another girl who was murdered years earlier. He can't bear to hear that she's "moved on" and wants her to be a part of his suffering. Misery loves company as they say.
7 Days is based on a novel called "Les 7 jours du Talion" written by Patrick Senécal. Senécal also wrote the screenplay, so I imagine that's why the film relies a lot on subtext. There's not a lot of talking done by the main character and when he does talk he's ranting like a lunatic to his wife on the phone. Novels allow us to peek inside character's thoughts. Films don't do that so well without narration, so 7 Days leaves the viewer with many questions about motivations.
I predict a lot will be said about Claude Legault's performance as grieving father, Bruno Hamel. For me though, it's really Martin Dubreuil, Hamel's victim, who deserves some praise. It's truly a fearless performance. The fact that it's one dimensional is a given, but you feel every wound and believe his fear. I wouldn't go so far as to say you ever really feel sorry for him, but his performance is stellar.
This is Canadian director Daniel Grou's first directorial effort and he makes a good case for being a force in new Canadian cinema (at least I hope so). It's superbly directed and confident in every aspect. It's really the story that brought down the rating a bit. Perhaps it doesn't translate that well into film, but 7 Days is a very one-note viewing experience. And when the film does venture outside of the conflict between torturer and victim, it relies on a couple of very overt metaphors that are just too obvious to appreciate. One is the carcass of a dead deer that Hamel comes across in his front yard. It haunts him because it reminds him of his daughters body. A little too easy I say. For a film so subtle in its performance and construction I'm surprised it didn't handle this aspect a little better.
If anyone ever tells me that Canadians make bad movies, I plan on showing them 7 Days. While not the most engrossing story, it's still as well made as it is shocking with great performances across the board.
You might also like








Kresh (10 years ago) Reply
"Even if you're the kind of person that swings towards the eye-for-an-eye end of the political punishment spectrum, I predict you'll rethink your views after seeing 7 Days."
Expertly done Straw Man there. Bravo.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man

agentorange (10 years ago) Reply
I edited my review to remove that comment because I have no intention of getting into a political discussion over a film that has nothing to do with politics. It's more about human nature.