The Reaper (2013)
Efrain, known as the Reaper, has worked at a slaughterhouse for 25 years. We will discover his deep relationship with death and his struggle to live.
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Disturbing yet enthralling
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
"The Reaper" is a horrible film to watch, though it is technically one of the best made documentary shorts, as the cinematography and composition are excellent. It's the story about a slaughterhouse in Mexico and a man who is nicknamed 'the Reaper' because his job is to kill cows--which he's been doing for over two decades--hundreds of times every day. If you ever want to eat meat again, I suggest you do not see this one as the slaughterhouse is filthy. So, regardless of the brutality of killing the animals (which you do get to see up close at times), you meat-eaters out there will be shocked at the flies, dried blood and filthy conditions--and is reminiscent of the old Upton Sinclair novel "The Jungle". Well made but uber-depressing, that's for sure. It also made me wonder how the filmmakers gained access to this place and why they didn't try to clean the place up a bit for the film.