Critics Have Their Say

"PIMPED is a deceptively complex film about gender, power and perception. A puzzle film so tricky that it does not at first even present as a puzzle film, PIMPED underscores that ethics are always tainted by the subjectivity of those involved, and that the game itself and the rules that govern it are as turbulent and as volatile as those who choose to play it."

"The two leads...utterly, creepily convincing as a man and a woman who are stronger and weaker than they realise or are prepared to admit."

“The beast in the jungle is never very far, and the people we take for granted are mere caretakers for thoughts and impulses they may not always be able to control. Pimped is alive and dangerous, itself a beautiful confection on its surface that has just beneath claws and razor edges. It’s got something to say and trusts its audience to listen. 2018 has been a year of great directorial debuts and this is one of them.”

"It's a slick film and Barker and his co-writer, Louise Mentor, keep the twists coming."

"...this is a film whose visual and auditory landscapes come with a peculiar, dreamlike intensity that displaces all the narrative twists and turns to the realm of the psychological, and makes a nightmare of its noir tropes. Yet ultimately, the question of what is real and what is fiction is less important than the duplicity that the film explores and exposes - a division of personality between compromises settled and desires sublimated which perhaps characterises all of us."

"...there’s an undeniable air of rumpled class about the film. The talented and charismatic Benedict Samuel (The Walking Dead, Gotham, Secret City) and Ella Scott Lynch (Love Child, The Code) are obviously major names-on-the-rise, and they add immeasurably to the sense of punchiness. It’s dark and nasty, but Pimped will continue to bang around inside your head long after the last evil deed has been done."

"Part of its appeal is the unsetting photography - slow tracking shots around sterile apartments, the camera picking out angles slightly to the right or left of the action. Credit should also be given to Pete Jones' ominous, grinding soundtrack, which ratchets up the tension even when little is happening."

"Pimped unfurls into a compelling and disturbing horror, ostensibly a rape revenge with a twist. Lynch and Samuel play their parts pitch perfectly"

"A tautly scripted thriller that slowly seduces, Pimped has much more going on than it initially seems. Led by two strong central performances, expect scenes of a dark and violent nature, sans the typical blood and gore."

“I found her (Ella Scott Lynch) quite captivating on screen and she’s a strong heroine you can root for, in spite of what the film reveals about her.”

“There’s a stretch of Neil LaBute-style drama – it would even work on stage – with the men playing a cruel game they aren’t even ashamed of, callous to the woman’s feelings and not even considering how complicated – or dangerous – their toy-for-a-night might be. Samuel (the Mad Hatter on Gotham), in particular, is wonderful as a smoothly hateful, self-justifying and utterly amoral tickster…”

"Joshua Flavell does a fantastic job with photography, beginning with a peep-hole shot into a decadent party at Kenneth’s home. The sense of voyeurism continues throughout with off-camera audio, coupled with slow-mo’ effects of billowing curtains and acts of violence to heighten the dramatic tension. The plot’s evening settings and the palette of many scenes were evocative of Ridley Scott’s Bladerunner or Gilroy’s Nightcrawlers; incidentally, also films about questionable facades and deception. Violins, discordant synth’ and a booming bass combine to complement the disconcerting atmosphere."