Featured Image Credit: CJ Entertainment
Topics: Netflix, Film and TV, True crime
Ellie Kemp
Warning: This article contains discussion of child and sexual abuse which some readers may find distressing.
A movie based on a harrowing true story is so 'disturbing' viewers have warned 'every frame hurts'.
The Korean film, which is available to stream on Netflix, first released in 2011 has proven too traumatizing for some, who admitted to switching it off halfway through.
Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk directs the movie, while Squid Game salesman Gong Yoo stars as a teacher who uncovers the shocking secrets a school for disabled children has been keeping.
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It came out a decade before Dong-hyuk's hit psychological drama was released, becoming the biggest Netflix series of 2021.
Unlike Squid Game, though, this film is actually based on real-life events and sparked such public outrage, South Korean laws were changed a month after its release.
Silenced examines the sexual abuse young students at a school for deaf children endured at the hands of its faculty members.
Nine students were molested or raped by six teachers, including the principal, over a three-year period in the early 2000s.
The movie depicts both the disgusting crimes and court proceedings that saw teachers let off with minimal punishment. Only four of the six perpetrators were sentenced to prison, with two having their terms suspended after less than a year in jail.
Shockingly, four of the six teachers were reinstated in the school.
Silenced was so devastating, it prompted the case to be reinvestigated. A revised bill, dubbed the Dogani Bill, was passed by the National Assembly of South Korea in late October 2011 to abolish the statute of limitations for sex crimes against minors and disabled people.
You can watch the trailer below:
The film has certainly made its mark on fans, with one posting to the Netflix Bangers Facebook group: "This movie is a must see for everyone who like movies that change you by the end. It's so real it hurts… every frame hurts. This is the most difficult movie I have had a pleasure of watching in my entire life and I absolutely recommend it."
A second agreed: "A hard topic to address and executed in a very provocative way."
A third reckoned: "What an intense, but intriguing film. Goosebumps still run all over my body. What a terrible event. This story hits you right in the heart."
Others admitted Silenced was so upsetting, they couldn't even make it all the way through.
"I was traumatized. I can't even finish this," one commented as another shared: "It was very hard for me to watch. I could not finish it. Didn't make it half way."
Silenced is available to stream now on Netflix.
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org.