When Quentin Tarantino proclaims a movie to be the best film of 2013 then you know it will probably feature a lot of gore, perfectly developed characters and a superb plot. Winner of awards such as ‘Best Ensemble Cast’ at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival as well as ‘Best Film’ and ‘Best Screenplay’ at the Fantasia Film Festival, among several others, ‘Big Bad Wolves’ is a must watch.

‘Big Bad Wolves’ is an Israeli movie with English subtitles for non-speakers of Hebrew. This film is action packed from the get go. Opening up with a shot of young children playing hide and seek in a deserted forest and abandoned run-down buildings. One young girl wears a bright red coat symbolising her role as Little Red and reinforcing the film’s title. The audience is then shown a flash of a dark coat belonging to a man and as quickly as it comes it’s gone. As the other children are found we begin to wonder what happened to the young girl in red as all that is left in the wardrobe are her red shoes. Next we are introduced to rogue cop Micki, who heads to the scene of the crime, as well as the young girl’s father (Gidi) who is visibly distressed. The young girl has been found brutally murdered tied to a chair and this sets the pair up to target and capture religious school teacher Dror who has been accused of other similar murders. With no evidence and Dror screaming his innocence this leaves you second guessing Micki and Gidi’s version of events.

This movie leaves you with an uncomfortable question of what you would do in the same situation. Are the actions of father Gidi acceptable? What point does he go too far? ‘Big Bad Wolves’ is a masterpiece of tension and full of edge-of-your-seat moments.

This movie is perfect for fans who like their thrillers with plenty of blood. Its graphic scenes of torture are certainly not for the faint-hearted. As the killer decapitates his victims and hides the heads Gidi decides that the only way he will be able to give his daughter a proper burial is if he tortures Dror into revealing his whereabouts. Gidi hands Micki a pair of pliers and a hammer and it is suddenly clear that he wishes to break Dror’s fingers; ‘Miki: “It might look like I’m enjoying this, and maybe I am in a way… but believe me, I’d be happy to stop breaking your fingers. Now would you please start talking!”

This is an important scene to note as there is no going back once they begin to break Dror’s fingers and do they have any right to torture him for the information? However, writers Keshales and Papushado know exactly when to throw in splashes of dark humour, such as when Gidi’s mother calls him mid-way through torturing Dror.

With the perfect balance of horror and comedy, ‘Big Bad Wolves’ will leave you thinking about it for days afterwards.