- Actors: Paula Patton, Omar Epps, Laz Alonso, Roselyn Sanchez, Dawn Olivieri
- Director: Deon Taylor
- Disc Format: NTSC, Widescreen
- Language: English
- Subtitles: Spanish
- Region: Region A/1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rated: R
- Studio: Lions Gate
- Release Date: July 17, 2018
- Run Time: 96 minutes
Traffik may be well intentioned in its
message, but it is contradictorily sordid in its approach. While the film may
be book-ended with reminders of the ugly truth about sex trafficking in the United States,
most of the content in the film is far more interested in ridiculous B-film
thrills than an accurate depiction of the social issue of choice. Even more
disconcerting in a film about the buying and selling of women is the blatant
objectification of the female form along the way. There is nothing wrong with a
little eroticism, but steamy sex scenes and a constantly bra-less heroine just
feels tasteless in a movie about sex trafficking.
The excuse for a
number of erotic scenes in the film comes from the romantic getaway weekend that
Brea (Paula
Patton) takes with her boyfriend, John (Omar Epps). Their idyllic mountain
retreat is interrupted after a contrived confrontation with a group of bikers
at a rest stop. After a brief conversation with a distressed woman in the gas
station restroom, Brea
discovers that a cell phone has been placed in her bag. This cell phone
contains evidence of the trafficking ring, making Brea and her boyfriend targets to the bikers
running it.
When Brea and John are
unexpectedly joined at the cabin by their friends Darren (Laz Alonso) and Malia
(Roselyn Sanchez), there are additional victims to drag out the familiar home
invasion storyline. It follows the structure of a horror film, more interested
in providing victims and cheap thrills to the narrative than a realistic
depiction of the crimes at the center of the story. And the poor choices of the
characters often make it difficult to root for them to survive, or care when
they don’t.
The Blu-ray release of Traffik includes two promotional featurettes, along with a digital
copy of the film. The first featurette, “Journey into the Depths” is a basic
making-of featurette, slightly longer than average at 16-minutes. The second
featurette, “Deon & Dante” focuses on cinematographer Dante Spinotti, with
interviews from writer/director Deon Taylor.
Entertainment Value:
6/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 5/10
Historical
Significance: 3/10
Special Features: 3.5/10
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