This stylishly disturbing horror tale from New Zealand tells of a deranged serial killer who agrees to be interviewed in jail by a noted psychiatrist. As he recounts his story, from a tortured childhood to the events that led to his rampage, the doctor is slowly drawn into his psychotic world. Rebecca Hobbs and Paolo Rotondo star in a surprise-filled shocker. Unrated version; 94 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital Surround; Subtitles: French, Spanish; theatrical trailer.

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The Ugly is unique in the fact that it takes us inside the mind of a serial killer and why he's driven to do such unspeakable things. Paolo Rotondo is magnificent in his role as serial killer Simon Cartwright. The plot is especially rich and deeply interesting. It will keep you off balance and continually guessing. Simon seems to be a shy young man with a troubled past. People constantly making fun of him and spitting all over his existance. Well he gets his revenge to say the least. But why does he do what does? Enter Psychiatrist Dr. Karen Schumaker. She believes she's getting into the mind of Simon and what drives and motivates him in killing his victims. He is very convincing and seems very honest but is this just an act? Is she getting inside his mind or is he getting inside hers?

This movie is not a typical slasher film, it has no demons or supernatural beings, but it is incredibly chilling in the fact it seems very believable. It has just enough blood (the black blood of New Zealand) and will startle you here and there. This movie will be added to my collection and if you have the pleasure of viewing "The Ugly" I'm sure you will add it to yours too. It is an "Instant Classic"

9 of 10 found the following review helpful:

A 'Beautiful' Horror Movie!Jan 27, 1999
By Aizam Awang (Asegamss@Hotmail.com)
It is hard to spend some money watching new horror movies nowadays, since we don't really know what we might get ourselves into: But this! This is a very groundbreaking horror-slasher movie! The story is somewhat reminiscent of 'The Silence of the Lamb' where we have this psychologist who is trying to dive into the mind of a serial killer (who kills without a pattern). When he kills, he does it because he 'loves killing' and the Psychologist doesn't like his answer to this. You will feel the feeling of loneliness for the killer for being condemned to live his life struggling with his split ego - The Ugly, but will you ever forgive him for his crimes through his reasoning of 'The Visitors', which is the whole idea of what the movie represents? The distortions of images, the play of color and shot composition are truly groundbreaking for a horror movie. The closest to this movie in terms of its visual integrity is Oliver Stone's 'Natural Born Killer'. You won't regret owning this one: It's a MASTERPIECE of all horror/slasher movies. The violence is pretty disturbing, but not over the top (the worst scene would be the cutting of his victims' necks by his infamous shaving knife). One true example that horror movies can be turned into a majestic works of art!

5 of 5 found the following review helpful:

Outstanding mind-bending serial killer masterpieceJul 18, 2000
By David Demchuk
I rented this DVD (unrated version) here in Canada and can't tell you how amazing I felt it was...an exceptional achievement on virtually every level. I did want to comment on someone else's review where he indicated that the film lost its sync sound partway through. That would be incorrect. This was during a scene where the murderer is pursuing a deaf girl and we are shown the scene from both his point of view (screaming loud music) and hers (silent) -- a jarring and ingenious effect that exemplifies the level of thought and creativity that has gone into what has to be considered a modern horror masterpiece.

7 of 8 found the following review helpful:

Chilling and Captiveting!Apr 21, 2004
By SKOLVK
I just picked this movie up today at a used bookstore. A good friend of mine is a Horror movie fan and I thought it would be fun to watch it. Judgeing it by it's cover, it looked like just another gory slaher flick filled with blood and a paper thin plot. Boy am I glad that I dished out the $8.50 to add this to my collection. The acting is a little shaky at times but the acters are able to pull off their characters very well. The beauty of the film is it's abiliy to make you feel sorry for Simon who is the intagonist of the film. The film documents Simons tortured childhood and oppression by his cold,domineering mother. His childhood has Simon suffer from extream dementia and visual hallucinations(or are they?) in the form of the "Uglies". The Uglies come in the form of mutilated gouls who taunt and urge Simon into committing gastly murders with a razorblade. The movie doesn't pull any punches with it's delivery and is shot beautifuly with what I'm sure was a limited budget. "The Ugly" will easly make my list of best horror movies along with "The Ring" and "The Shining". If your a fan of Horror this is with out a doubt a must see.

7 of 8 found the following review helpful:

An intricate look at the mind of a killerMar 31, 1999

"The Ugly" is a brilliant film that explores the psyche of a serial killer. The movie is a labyrinth of accelerated images, with an absolutely tremendous performance from Paolo Rotondo as the killer, Simon, a character who manages to exude both pity and power through the manipulation and deception of a naive and brassy psychiatrist. An interesting and determined essay on the psychological implications of murder, and quite a good movie, too.

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