138. Eminent Monsters: A Manual For Modern Torture; movie review

EMINENT MONSTERS - A MANUAL FOR MODERN TORTURE
Cert 15
92 mins
BBFC advice: Contains references to torture, disturbing images

What type of people can inflict pain through torture with a clear conscience?
Eminent Monsters goes part of the way to answering the question by naming those who invented some heinous ways of getting inside victim's minds.
Surprisingly, Stephen Bennett's film points the finger at psychologists - doctors who are meant to be treating patients not injuring them.
Indeed, it reveals the collusion between the profession and states in torturing people over the past 70 years.
The key target of Bennett's investigation is Ewan Cameron, a Scot who emigrated and made guinea pigs of his patients at a hospital in Canada.
Two relatives of his victims tell harrowing stories of how their respective parents were treated by Cameron and his colleagues.
One has gathered evidence which he says shows a direct link between Cameron's work and torture of suspected terrorists, carried out in the United States, the United Kingdom and beyond.
Senior American psychologists, military personnel and whistleblowers help Bennett prove collusion between doctors and the state and examines the horrific legacy of Cameron.
Eminent Monsters shows how his mind control laboratory in Montreal established tactics which were used during the long-term torture of inmates at Guantanamo Bay.
There are detailed descriptions of what happened inside the camp from Moazzam Begg and Mohamedou Ould Slahi who were released without charge after three and 14 years respectively.
Both men speak without hysteria about the psychological warfare which they faced. It is a harrowing history.
The precedent set for such treatment was set in the 1978 case which established that torture was not used against the so-called Hooded Men during internment in Northern Ireland.
Those on the end of it would beg to differ and tell graphic stories of persecution.
Eminent Monster succeeds where many recent documentaries have failed because it has an excellent narration by Clara Glynn.
But we need to be clear - this is an unashamed rallying call and offerings no counter view.
Indeed, its own marketing describes it as an "urgent call to the international community to right the wrongs of the past and protect us from a dangerous future".
Nevertheless, it is an important well-constructed eye-opener.

Reasons to watch: A detailed, expertly presented case against torture
Reasons to avoid: Doesn't offer an alternative view

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: Partial
Overall rating: 8.5/10

Did you know? Some 172 countries have agreed to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits torture and other forms of ill-treatment and 165 countries are parties to the UN Convention against Torture but between January 2009 and May 2013, Amnesty International received reports of torture in 141 countries, from every region of the world.

The final word. Stephen Bennett: "I believe in the need for it. We live in a very perilous world with things happening, often right under our noses. It’s our job as filmmakers to shine a light onto these things.” What's On North

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