In this disturbing examination of humanity's more sinister traits, Ben (portrayed by Benoît Poelvoorde) stands out as a charismatic yet terrifying figure—a serial killer whose grandiose monologues serve to obscure his brutal, calculating nature. With a film crew capturing his every action, Ben entertains them with meandering speeches on the craft of killing, critiques on architectural failings, and his own unremarkable poetry, all while displaying his classical piano skills alongside his girlfriend Valerie.
As the camera remains focused, we are drawn into the chilling reality of Ben's depravity. He casually introduces the crew to his friends and family, boasting about the numerous lives he has extinguished on a whim, carelessly disposing of the bodies in canals and quarries as if it were merely a nuisance. The audience is forced to witness these horrifying acts vividly and in great detail.
Ben rationalizes his choice of victims—elderly people, women, illegal immigrants, and postal workers—using a twisted logic fueled by greed, racism, and a ravenous thirst for chaos. He brags about the financial advantages of preying on senior citizens, who often have valuable possessions at home; finds enjoyment in killing defenseless women; and delights in terminating postmen, whose deliveries often contain tempting parcels.
As the film crew becomes further entangled in Ben's murderous exploits, they start off as bystanders but gradually reveal a disturbing enthusiasm for his violence. After Ben invades a home and murders an entire family, the crew members partake in the suffocating of a helpless young boy, casually chatting as they do so.
The line between spectator and participant blurs, with the crew's involvement in the slayings increasingly evident. The murders turn into a key component of their “work,” with some deaths dismissed as simple occupational hazards. The film's harrowing depiction of human brutality ignites unsettling inquiries about our ability to empathize and respond morally when confronted with unimaginable horror.
In this sinister narrative, Ben's makeshift sanctuary in an abandoned building sets the stage for an unexpected encounter with two Italian mobsters. With cold precision, Ben dispatches his rivals, only to learn they were mere pawns in a rival documentary crew’s deadly game. As the camera captures the grisly massacre, Ben and his team flourish in the adrenaline of the chase, systematically dealing with their foes.
The mood shifts as Ben's obsession with violence reaches new heights, culminating in a grotesque scene where he holds a couple hostage at gunpoint, compelling them to witness his crew's unspeakable cruelty. The camera records the aftermath with a chilling detachment: the mutilated woman, her insides exposed; her husband, a sacrificial figure with a slit throat.
As the consequences of Ben's barbarity unfold, threats loom over his girlfriend Valerie and his family from the brother of one of the Italian mobsters he had earlier killed. The line between reality and madness starts to fade as Ben's violence spirals out of control, leading to a harrowing display of callousness during a birthday party. Covered in blood, Ben's friends and family seem ignorant of the horrors that have unfolded around them, celebrating him with gifts as though nothing is wrong.
Meanwhile, the camera crew continues their morbid task, frantically clearing evidence while Ben eludes capture and dodges justice. Yet, his time will be short, as vengeful forces gather against him and his loved ones. The brutal slaying of Valerie, a flautist with her instrument callously inserted in her body, serves as a grim reminder that the cycle of violence has reached its peak.
When Ben discovers that his own parents have also suffered from this relentless vengeance, the impact hits hard. His mother, a simple shopkeeper with no ties to music, is found in a grotesque manner—a broomstick violated in her death—a haunting reflection of the depravity that surrounds him. This shock drives Ben to relinquish all hope and bid farewell to his film crew, only to be violently taken down by an unknown assailant in the midst of reciting poetry.
In the aftermath, the camera crew faces a systematic extermination, leaving only the sound recordist to meet his grim fate as the film’s morbid narrative converges into its tragic ending.
