ARTIK / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: TOM BOTCHII / SCREENPLAY: TOM BOTCHII / STARRING: CHASE WILLIAMSON, JERRY G. ANGELO, GAVIN WHITE, LAUREN ASHLEY CARTER / RELEASE DATE: TBC

It’s never a good sign when the IMDb two-line description of a film provides more information than its entire opening act. Artik is so deliberately obtuse, any goodwill towards the film goes out of the window way before it starts making sense. The feature debut of Tom Botchii, Artik is going for a punk vibe while completely forgetting that punk normally has something to say. This film not only lacks substance but is aggravating.

The opening scene hints at a much better horror flick: bloody heads covered by plastic bags pop up all over a yard. The place belongs to Artik (Angelo), an unsavoury character who alongside his wife enslaves a group of kids for manual labour. The children are an obedient bunch, except for one, boy Adam (White), who tends to get on Artik’s wife’s nerves.

The psychopath/comic book fan takes the child under his wing and teaches him to kill unsuspecting townies. Something about the grisly process tickles Boy Adam the wrong way, so when a stranger shows him kindness, he lets his guard down. The stranger in question is Holton (John Dies in the End’s Williamson), a mechanic who sees in Boy Adam his own upbringing. Suspicious of the kid’s parentage, Holton and his AA sponsor investigate and a battle for the soul of the child ensues. Holton may be the hero to Artik’s villain.

At least in theory Artik clocks 77 minutes, but after discounting logos, title cards, and credits, it barely breaks the one-hour mark. This is indicative of a production that wasn’t cut to be a feature. The plot resembles a mix of Unbreakable and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, although none of the characters are nearly as compelling. The supposedly striking Artik comes across as a troglodyte spewing nonsense. The dialogue tries to pass for profound, but it’s actually ridiculous (“you chase purity, I live it!”)

Then there are the below-the-line shortcomings. Artik seems like edited with a machete. There is one good transition that may not even be that great (from a corpse exsanguinating to a thermos dispensing coffee), but comparatively speaking, looks like Hitchcock. A uniquely irritating decision by director Tom Botchii is to punctuate nearly every hit, punch and brusque movements with a scored “bam!” It would be funny if it wasn’t so terrible. Even the gore is unimaginative.