The movie has a very unique atmosphere with its constantly reflected city shots, the colors are also greatly reflect to the emotions that are happening. The acts are also great and totally believeable (however Zsófi Bujáki did some overacting at some points). The camera movements and the images are also greatly composed. The sound effects and the used music are also carefully selected, they were pretty impressive. The story had its strengths and weaknesses, but all in all, it is a great crime story, a great thriller.
12 Reviews
Great crime thriller
Maremartea22 December 2020
Could have been better
mindaklaci25 April 2020
Only if you are hungry of Hungary
searchanddestroy-13 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Well, that's a classical serial killer scheme but with political and social elements, especially from the Hungarian point of view. The investigator is a lonely female officer, widow and mother of a disturbed teenage girl. Nothing really new, except the dark ending, where nothing is solved. That's unusual, though. I may like serial killers, but when you already know who the killer is and when you watch the police getting closer and closer, as when you see two bright points on a map getting nearer and nearer from each other. That's the true suspense for me, unlike the classic enigma. Many holes in this story, for instance, who the female killer is? The one who tortured the man with a golf club? Not a bad thriller, however.
Only if you are hungry of Hungary
searchanddestroy-13 April 2021
This is one more serial killer case but with a political and social element where it is evoked the Hungarian modern situation, around racism and political issues. You have the classic scheme of the investigator, here a woman, widow and mother of a disturbed teenage girl, a female police officer in total distress. Well, I don't crave for serial killer schemes, unless you already know who the killer is, and when you watch the police slowly but surely gets nearer and nearer, thanks to the clues and investigation details...That's for me the true suspense, as on a GPS map, you watch two bright points getting closer and closer. But when you don't know who the killer is, well, that's rather boring for me. Good directing and splendid camera work, Great aesthetic.
Best Hungarian thriller so far
floamos4 November 2018
This is the best Hungarian thriller I've seen so far. The acting is overall great, especially the lead actor, who brilliantly portrays a single mother working against a corrupt system. The gastlighting in the movie is so apparent, even those who aren't well-versed in gender studies can see it. Also, the cinematography is on point showing how the world turned upside down. This movie is a dystopia, but it contains social critism as well.
Not Nordic !! Just dark and miserable !!
kagey-2876927 June 2020
This is shot in the typical way Nordic films are and includes the usual miserable woman with problems.
Shot very grey there's hardly a moment of light to bring you out from the sheer gloom !
Ultimately you won't like anyone or the story which really isn't .
Find something enjoyable to do instead !
Thrilling
r-hehl11 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I have seen this movie at the Braunschweig Film Festival. A very exciting story about a series of suicides that turned out to be homicides, thanks to the attention of a member of the police, who uncovered a lot of unexplained details that made suicides rather unlikely. More over, the police woman has a lot of psychological problems which renders her unsuitable for the job. She cannot look at dead people and when being confronted with the potential killer she breaks down. These weaknesses are compensated with her bright mind and her determination in solving the murders even after they have apparently been solved. After the killer is booked and also committed suicide the cases have not been closed for her. She is so determined that she even risks the live of her daughter at the cost of solving the homicides. At the end, the world has literally turned upside down, the instigators of the homicides got booked but the killers themselve still live on, one of them very close to the police woman. A very chilling ending. The movie was excellent because it is a story that has never been told this way before.
Boring and dark
vlad-1031 November 2018
Engaging and engrossing thriller with superb acting
wbtsmcuxj13 June 2020
Chose this randomly on Prime and was really taken aback by how good it was. On one level its a police procedural that is interesting and different as it is set in Budapest. But on another level it's a fantastic social drama with vivid but believable characters.
The lead actress is phenomenal but all of the supports are good too. I won't say anything more as I don't want to give even a hint of a spoiler, except to say that he camerawork is outstanding: you cannot take your eyes off of the screen.
The lead actress is phenomenal but all of the supports are good too. I won't say anything more as I don't want to give even a hint of a spoiler, except to say that he camerawork is outstanding: you cannot take your eyes off of the screen.
What is the point of living when the truth is dead?
fruzsinamesterhazy26 February 2022
The X - The eXploited is a perfect mirror of post-communist Hungary, and we can say all post-communist countries. We are before the government election, unsatisfied people fight on the streets and corruption penetrates almost everything. Even at school, where the main characters, police officer Éva's daughter gets into trouble and her teacher asks Éva whether she could help with speeding fines.
Éva lost her police officer partner husband the same day she gave birth to their daughter. Ever since she is stuck in a dark space with fear and panic attacks - this paralyzing fear and darkness perfectly permeates the whole movie. Only her memories about her beloved husband turn colorful in front of the viewer's eyes. As a new colleague arrives Éva gets the chance to sort of come out of her shell and start to investigate in a difficult series murder case.
Matthias Schoenaerts once said in an interview that he loves the roles in which the character gets from zero only to one on a scale of ten, because that's how we are built, we progress slowly, but this little progression can be very interesting. This is how Éva's character is built and this makes the film even more realistic and maintains the curiosity of the viewer.
The crime story is perfectly built up, any other word would be spoiler, and the end is devilish, or just simply painfully realistic. In a scene Éva's daughter holds a paper banner with the text: What is the point of living when the truth is dead? The film beautifully revolves around this topic multilaterally, and the viewer doesn't get an easy answer.
Congratulations to co-writer and director Károly Ujj Mészáros, who's previous film, Liza, the fox fairy was a hit, but it's message was already chewed and spitted out in the most understandable way, now he created a story for professional cinema spectators who are willing to work mentally and emotionally to understand the message. And congratulations also to cinematographer Martin Szecsanov who visually created the rather hopeless world dreamed up by the director and writer in which the story takes place.
Éva lost her police officer partner husband the same day she gave birth to their daughter. Ever since she is stuck in a dark space with fear and panic attacks - this paralyzing fear and darkness perfectly permeates the whole movie. Only her memories about her beloved husband turn colorful in front of the viewer's eyes. As a new colleague arrives Éva gets the chance to sort of come out of her shell and start to investigate in a difficult series murder case.
Matthias Schoenaerts once said in an interview that he loves the roles in which the character gets from zero only to one on a scale of ten, because that's how we are built, we progress slowly, but this little progression can be very interesting. This is how Éva's character is built and this makes the film even more realistic and maintains the curiosity of the viewer.
The crime story is perfectly built up, any other word would be spoiler, and the end is devilish, or just simply painfully realistic. In a scene Éva's daughter holds a paper banner with the text: What is the point of living when the truth is dead? The film beautifully revolves around this topic multilaterally, and the viewer doesn't get an easy answer.
Congratulations to co-writer and director Károly Ujj Mészáros, who's previous film, Liza, the fox fairy was a hit, but it's message was already chewed and spitted out in the most understandable way, now he created a story for professional cinema spectators who are willing to work mentally and emotionally to understand the message. And congratulations also to cinematographer Martin Szecsanov who visually created the rather hopeless world dreamed up by the director and writer in which the story takes place.
Nordic type set in Hungary
neil-douglas201022 May 2022
Gripping police thriller set in Budapest with a lot of upside shots, so don't watch if your heads spinning after a night out. Moni Balsai plays Eva, a detective who can no longer appear at crime scenes after her police husband commits suicide. It's a proper thriller which ultimately leads to widespread cover ups, which end up to her daughter being threatened by the bad guys. Balsai is excellent as the detective as is Zsofi Bujaki as her daughter, Thrilling film.
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