In the Israeli crime thriller "Big Bad Wolves," a bereaved father and a demoted cop take the law into their own hands when they team up to torture and murder a man they suspect of being a serial child killer. And, oh, by the way, the movie is a comedy - at least of sorts.

With its grim subject matter and relatively graphic torture sequences, "Big Bad Wolves," written and directed by Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado, is clearly not for every taste or audience demographic. However, the rich vein of dark humor that runs through the work - a humor derived primarily from the juxtaposition between the mundane concerns of everyday life and the horrific nature of the deeds being performed - mitigates some of the more distasteful elements of the film. The movie also effectively raises some intriguing questions about the effect vigilante justice has on the individual who's engaged in it.

The screenplay deliberately shuns the trite and the formulaic, as it challenges audiences to evaluate their own moral proclivities at every stage in the drama. The filmmakers draw sharp performances from their cast (Rotem Keinan, Lior Ashkenazi, Tzahi Grad and Doval'e Grickman) and always keep us wondering where exactly this gruesome, but often oddly funny, little tale of criminal comeuppance is headed. That the destination turns out to be a mite flatfooted when it finally arrives isn't enough to blunt the overall effectiveness of the film.

'BIG BAD WOLVES': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Quentin Tarantino named this movie "The best film of the year" (for 2013). It's an Israeli dark comedy thriller that's just now getting a US release (after only playing at film festivals and in it's home country, theatrically, last year). It was written and directed by Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado (the duo previously wrote and directed the 2010 Israeli horror flick 'KALEVET'). This film tells the story of a cop and a father (out for revenge) who torture a teacher they think is a child murderer. The movie is extremely dark and twisted (with a very bizarre sense of humor) and full of interesting character development but it's definitely not the masterpiece Tarantino has made it out to be.

The story revolves around a school teacher, named Dror (Rotem Keinan),who is suspected to be behind a recent child abduction. Micki (Lior Ashkenazi) leads a police unit which illegally apprehends and beats him. Dror is released from custody due to lack of evidence, and police brutality, and Micki is fired (when video of the teacher's beating is leaked on YouTube). Another police officer, named Rami (Menashe Noy),takes over the investigation as Micki seeks to clear his name; by kidnapping Dror and beating a confession out of him. The father of a recent victim, Gidi (Tzahi Grad),also has the same idea and he kidnaps both the teacher and Micki and locks them in the basement of an abandoned house (where he plans to stop at nothing to find justice for his daughter).

I liked most of the films Tarantino had on his 'Top Ten Movies of 2013 so far' list, quite a bit (and the ones he's listed in previous years),but this movie I found to be kind of disappointing. It's well made, intense and interesting (to a certain extent) but I have a really hard time seeing why Tarantino would call it the best movie of last year. Putting all high expectations aside though it is a decent thriller; well acted and impressively written and directed. I think Keshales and Papushado seem like a talented filmmaking team to watch out for; just don't expect one of the best movies of 2013 (or any year).

BIG BAD WOLVES is an Israeli revenge film which has a tiny cast, a basement setting, and three characters torturing another throughout the running time. It's as gruelling as it sounds, with extremely good special effects to convince you of the authenticity of what you're watching, but it's also depressing and nasty with it. It starts out, weirdly, with character comedy and a mildly interesting first half an hour before descending into repetitive tedium. The same subject matter was handled in a more interesting way in both the American PRISONERS and the Korean SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE.