Artik-- My take on the movie with spoilers!

PLOT SUMMARY: A serial killer called Artik is obsessed with drawing his victims in a comic book. When his son befriends a stranger, Artik fears his secrets will be exposed. 

What is the measure of courage? What feat must you accomplish to be labelled as a brave person?

Facing fears is considered to be an act of bravery. But for anyone, the biggest fear is dealing with a dangerous criminal.

So what we do is avoid streets that are thought to be unsafe.

We avoid people who even look shady. We are being responsible when we do that.

But what if, a seemingly innocent encounter with someone turns out to lead to an extremely dangerous situation? Do we try to help the innocent caught in the midst, or look the other way?

That decision will measure the true level of bravery.

The people who join armies and police forces, they are all trained for years to combat the dangerous criminals. As a commoner, and supposing you don’t have prior combat training, and never took up any self-defence techniques, how comfortable would you be confronting the enemy?

ARTIK Movie Plot 

Artik is well, about a man called Artik, a serial killer who is obsessed with comics. He likes to knock out his victims and bring them to his lair where he then tortures them. Afterwards, he draws himself in comic form.

To fund his nefarious deeds, and to continue his hobby of killing people, he has disguised himself as a farmer. He grows sunflowers and instead of regular farmers, or doing the work himself, he has kidnapped little boys to toil in the fields for him and his wife.

Of all of them, Artik seems to be training one boy and allows him to watch him kill his victims.

The boy may be his son.

One night as Holton, who works as a mechanic, meets the boy doing graffiti on the walls. Holton tells him he needs to perfect his work, immediately drawing us to the fact that Holton himself was once a troubled person. The boy is at first a little frightened of being approached but Holton puts him at ease.

He asks who the boy’s family is and when he doesn’t reply, he asks whom he belongs to. Everyone belongs to someone right?

The boy still doesn’t do much replying but accepts his offer for the ride home. Holton drives him to the farm but is a little troubled by the boy’s behavior.

Holton’s days consist of attending support groups of those who don’t suffer from addiction but have lived with those who have. The support group head, Kar, becomes a good friend to Holton.

As Holton leaves work and gets in his car, he sees the boy standing in the rearview mirror. The boy has experienced another instance where Artik has tortured and murdered his next victim.

Holton gets the boy to talk and advises him to use a book to write or draw his feelings because it will help him.

The boy does exactly that. He draws Artik murdering people and Holton grows concerned enough to talk to Kar about it.

Kar thinks it best to intervene and offers to go and talk to the boy’s parents to get to the bottom of it.

He heads to the boy’s address and meets with Artik’s wife who isn’t too keen to entertain. Kar shows her the drawings and expresses his concern. Artik too appears, apologizing for his wife’s hostile demeanor. He sees the drawings and asks Kar where he got them.

Kar immediately reveals his son has a friend who came to him with the drawings. Artik wonders who his son has been speaking to.

Kar is on his way after seeing nothing out of the ordinary and is convinced that the boy has a vivid imagination.

But then Artik invites him for a meal and Kar agrees. You feel bad immediately. Kar was almost out of danger before he let his stomach get in the way. The minute he steps in, he’s knocked out. He awakens to find himself in the lair. Artik wants to know who his son has spoken to.

Kar tries his best not to reveal that information and is killed.

Holton goes the next day to the meeting and finds a woman leading the group. He wonders where Kar is and the woman tells him that Kar didn’t show up.

ARTIK Ending Explained with Spoilers! 

Convinced that something terrible has befallen Kar, Holton goes to the farm himself. He spies on Artik and finds a shed where the other boys are kept. He’s about to help them escape when Artik grabs him.

Holton finds himself in the lair, tied to the torture chair. The boy is shocked to discover his friend there and refuses to help Artik torture him.

Holton is hurt but the torture has limited effect on him because of his past experiences with abuse.

The boy gathers the others and they come to save Holton.

They manage to get away for a little while before a shotgun is brought out. The boys separate in the fields and are hunted down.

One of them is shot in the head.

Holton finds himself back in the house and confronting Artik’s wife who is tougher than she looks. After a brawl, Holton manages to free himself but it is the boy who finally stands up to his parents with a gun.

The remaining boys help Holton and leave the fields forever.

This was an interesting and impactful movie and it will make you question your choice to stay safe or be brave.

Scare scale: 3/5