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Written and Directed by Starring Presented by 84 minutes |
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INSIDE
Review
How many times have you gone to the horror section of a video store and glanced upon a cover that contained the slogan “The most disturbing film ever made.” It’s a tagline designed to grab your attention, promise something shocking that will chill you to the bone. In most cases, these are put on covers to invoke controversy (which is a usual sign of a film that is not so good). With INSIDE, the film from French auteurs Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury, it not only lives up to its tagline, it makes those other so called “disturbing” films look like Disney movies. The film opens with the aftermath of a car accident, where survivor Sarah, five months pregnant, is left scarred and alone as her boyfriend is killed in the wreckage. Feeling alone and depressed the photographer’s only friend is her boss Jean-Pierre, the editor of a newspaper. On Christmas Eve, Sarah goes home to spend the holiday alone… until there is a knock on her door from a woman who claims to know all about her and wants to come in. After a call to the police and an assurance that the mysterious woman is gone, Sarah awakens to find this woman not only in her house, who wants more than her life. Is INSIDE the most disturbing movie ever made? No, but it’s one of the goriest films I’ve witnessed in terms of its pure brutality. Its first act sets up the film in which Sarah (Alysson Paradis) is established well as a lonely woman without a care in a world, even showing disdain towards the child in her womb. Due to give birth any day, she goes home to spend Christmas Eve where she is visited by a mysterious figure known only as “La Femme” (Beatrice Dalle) who enters Sarah’s house and unleashes violence the likes never shown on film before. Anyone who enters the house becomes La Femme’s prey, including some unexpected characters with surprising results. The two leads are perfect, with Dalle absolutely terrifying as La Femme, using a pair of scissors as her main weapon of choice. Her rage towards Sarah provides the biggest scares in the film, and Dalle presents such a cold menace throughout that I’m not sure I ever want to meet her in reality. Alysson Paradis is also splendid as the imperiled Sarah, who despite being due to deliver any second in the film, is brutalized throughout that brings forth the intensity of the film. Gore fans will be in ecstasy after seeing this picture, but it is done and filmed in such a realistic way that even the most hardcore gore fans will find some scenes unsettling. Impalements, slashings, a near decapitation, and lots of blood are throughout and yet it doesn’t manage to feel over the top. Bustillo and Maury make a splendid debut as directors, making the film flow fast in its 82 minute screen time. If there’s one flaw, it’s in the script, which has its moments but the twists it intends to make aren’t as shocking when they are presented, because by that point you’ve already figured it out. There isn’t a lot of dialogue in the film (there doesn’t need to be) so the filmmakers relied on the setting and the strengths of the special effects and actors here, and it shines far above the script. In regards to the special effects, the work by Jacques-Olivier Molon and his team are amongst the best you will see in a horror film, as everything is presented so realistic, you can’t help but turn away at the carnage inflicted on the screen. The cinematography by Laurent Bares (who also lensed the other French film getting praise, FRONTIER(S)) is also splendid, with expert use of atmosphere and framing, putting the gore in your face but not making it feel oversaturated. In all, INSIDE is the film that gore fans will love and marks an absolutely fantastic debut from Bustillo and Maury who have an excellent career in horror ahead of them. Some have compared this film to HIGH TENSION (this was better), yet seem to follow Aja’s career path by tackling a remake next. With Aja, it was THE HILLS HAVE EYES (which I thought was better than the original) and with these two, it’s HELLRAISER. After viewing INSIDE, I am now very anxious to see what these two will do with HELLRAISER. INSIDE: 9 Out Of 10 Maggots
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