Berlin Syndrome: Usual with an unusual twist
Cast : Teresa Palmer, Max Riemelt Rated: 6/10 Hollywood has had many episodes of predator-prey, naive girl held-hostage stories but Berlin Syndrome is a slow, tenacious thriller that keeps you in the suspense for adequate amount of time for the film to race to an intense but expected climax. Adapted from a 2011 suspense thriller jotted down by Melanie Joosten, this film by Cate Shortland pegs itself in an eerily deserted apartment building in a mostly snowclad Berlin with proceedings so icy that they run a chill down your spine. An Australian photographer on a bag-packing tour of Germany ditches the group for a romantic dalliance with a dishy, young teacher in Berlin who looks and sounds normal. It is not till he draws her into his apartment and holds her hostage there as his sex slave that the film takes off. Mostly a staccato picturisation with slow motion sequences and eerie music in the background, Berlin Syndrome may be the usual but tries to get u...