À l'intérieur

Just one knifing/ stabbing or shooting after another with lots of blood and a decent story. There are a few scenes that made me look away and I can tolerate a lot of violence. YOU WERE WARNED.

The French are having a bit of a horror renaissance on their shores right now it would seem. After Haute Tension stirred up a tremendous hype a few years back, films like Malefique, Them, and Frontieres are doing the exact same. But none of them have received the word of mouth that this brutal film has. Inside is a damn mean film. I think it goes too far in its excess, but that's what you have to do to shock an audience these days. And shocking it is. Can you imagine what the angry mob of parents that wanted to ban Silent Night, Deadly Night would think about Inside? If you've seen it, you probably can imagine. If you haven't, I suggest giving it a spin. The less I say about the movie, the more powerful the experience will be. Inside is a film I will most likely never watch again, because I'm sure I will never forget it.

No doubt, Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury are skillful directors but what's way more dominant here is the visual experience. The team responsible for the lighting does an amazing job, perfectly complemented by cinematographer Laurent Barès, a name that will be worth paying attention to in the future. The real edge are the gore effects though. The make-up department simply outdoes itself, as far as I'm concerned, this is as good as it gets. Also the performances by the two leads don't leave any room for complaints. This truly is an exceptionally well executed movie.

Still, it didn't work for me. As a scriptwriter, director Bustillo leaves a lot to be desired. First off, the movie has next to no plot. The setup and the climax are suitable for a flick like this, but there is really not much in between, leaving you utterly uninterested in where this is going, or why it is not going anywhere at all, ever. Nor does Bustillo really try to produce any character development. The protagonist is a depressive, bad-tempered woman who doesn't care about anything (including the child in her womb, making it little more then a plot device for reduction of her mobility) and the fact that her agony is justified doesn't make her any more interesting as a lead either. The antagonist on the other hand has about one line of informative dialog all together. Nevertheless, the death toll is over the top as Bustillo mindlessly throws one puppet after the other into the blender to be slaughtered within minutes to seconds without ever giving us the slightest reason to shed a tear for them. They really are just sacks of blood wandering up and down a set of stairs before tearing open, spilling their content on the walls. If nothing else, this fact makes the movie feel like a film-school experiment concerning make-up effects.

Now watching the last shot, I can't deny, at this level, the visual experience does to some degree substitute for the lack of script. With all the gore, the seas of blood, the perfectly composed lighting and shots, the agonizing atmosphere and generally the direction itself the movie has a certain poesy about it, which probably was the directors goal.

Verdict.

If you are a rather sensitive person, the visceral stimulation might blow your mind and you won't care too much about a plot all together. If you are a fan of horror flicks, the movie really has the gore and some uniqueness going for it. "Experienced" audiences might feel a bit too much to be desired. Nevertheless, an interesting experience.

Of course I have seen films like MARTYRS, FRONTIER(S) and JACK KETCHUM'S THE GIRL NEXT DOOR but I have to say INSIDE was in a class by itself in terms of the ending, it was so bloody and violent I had trouble wrapping my head around what I just saw.

At first I wanted to hate the film and kick myself for buying it but later on I couldn't stop thinking about it, especially about the ending, very few films have had that effect on me, so in the end I thought maybe it was a good film, because I can't even remember the last film that had this particular effect on me, so I'll go ahead and say among all the graphic violence and all the intense moments there was actually a very unique experience.

If I could give good advice to all male horror fans, don't think of this as the ideal date movie, it might cause a few problems in your relationship.

First thing: If you don't like blood or gore, stay far, far away from this. Also, don't watch this if you're pregnant. Really.

This is one hell of a horror movie, quite literally. What you need to know about this is that there's a pregnant woman in serious peril. And by peril, I mean, torture, gore, revenge, lots of blood, death and... scissors.

Like Irreversible, Sheitan, Ils and Maléfique, "Inside" is yet another proof that the best horror these days are coming from Europe (France, Spain and Germany specially). Filmed with what appears to be a micro-budget, most of the action occurs in a small, two-storey house. However, the talent of those involved with the film make this irrelevant.

One important thing about this film is that is very good at maintaining tension and suspense, something that very few gory movies do. You know you're watching something terrible, but you can't look away for curiosity's sake.

Many interesting details in the movie, such as the victim's house number, black cats and overall a feeling of dread and death. Worth watching twice for catching these pearls.

Anyway, as a last minute warning, THIS IS VERY violent and graphic. The ending was great and haunting, and with the exception of a scene or two that didn't really make sense and thus seemed somewhat out of place, this is a solid horror and fans of the genre won't be disappointed.

6/10