Dogtooth (2010)

Bizarre.  Not so much surrealism as an absurd horror film, Yorgos Lanthimos deliberately unsettling film keeps the audience engaged not with story but with a string of shocking moments.  The basic premise, I guess, is a wacko father and mother (if they really are the kids true parents) raise their three teenage kids in complete isolation, telling them elaborate stories about why they must never leave the compound they live.  Yet even as they attempt to keep their children safe, "evil" finds its way into corrupting them.   Exactly what Lanthimos is trying to say is completely subjective, if he's trying to say anything.   While I liked this film for it's inventive, creepy and experimental nature I can't recommend it to just anyone.   This is for people who like to step outside the traditional concept of storytelling.  But if you're daring to venture outside your own compound of isolation you might find this film rewarding.  Such a film needs another rating system because I keep going back and forth: I liked this film, but I didn't really like it, yes I liked it, in fact I loved it, but I hated it, I wanted to like it but it wasn't as good as it could have been, but how else could it have been better, it was average but it's a stylized masterpiece, it's so-so.  As of today I give it the following: Grade: B+.