The Thousands

Deep breath. Okay. Standard Operating Procedure is a horror film first and documentary second.

Too many documentaries are mediocre films on amazing subjects. But Errol Morris, critical darling of the doco-scene for decades, is a master – and now puts those held responsible for the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib under his microscope. Morris’s interviews seem like interrogations: you can even see the awkward twitching at the edges of his subject’s smiles as they eyeball the camera.

The fact that the re-enactments of abuse are filmed with overexposed, hyperstylish Hollywood sheen will cost Morris some fans, who’ll no doubt claim it’s just another kind of propaganda – but that misses the point that S.O.P. is precisely about the power of images. It was Time Magazine that said there’d be no more effective al-Qaeda recruitment tool than these pictures of naked prisoners next to cheesy grins …

It’s exhausting to watch. After seeing Standard Operating Procedure, it’ll be a long while before you’ll think that watching the Saw franchise makes for a fun Saturday afternoon. It made me want to cancel my subscription to the human race all together.