Johnny Mad Dog

This visceral portrayal of the appalling culture of child-soldiers utilises teenage actors who were real-life mini-mercenaries. The action takes place in Liberia, 2003, with an army of guerillas trying to unseat a tin-pot dictator, and graphically illustrates the dehumanizing process whereby children, some as young as 10, can be turned into dead-eyed killing machines. The last-minute climax may offer a slender hope of redemption between the two leads, but it’s a jaw-dropping, shocking story all the way.