MadS

The film starts out with terrific potential and appears to have a great concept behind it. The gimmick here is the one shot deal is it appears the entire movie was filmed in one atke. That is actually brilliant and incredibly difficult to do. For that reason, I upgraded the movie by one point. Otherwise, it's really not a horror movie. There are some interesting scenes with some good acting, but by the end even the acting becomes monotonous and difficult to watch. The movie had no closure and really had no direction as a whole. It was interesting and intriguing but needed more development and follow through.

"[Julia:] Tell me none of this is happening . . . [Unnamed:] Listen to me. This life no longer exists." The exchange, between the "Julia" and another (unnamed) character does as well as anything to highlight the predicament of "MadS." The insanity of a drug-induced night of partying has leveled-off to the insanity of the "new reality" that unfolds over the course of "MadS's" 1:29 "single-shot" running time.

To accomplish this feat, the director utilizes a technique found in such anthologies as "Southbound" (2015), which weave related stories together through the use of a succession of single characters that intersect at the periphery of each story. Thus, in succession, "MadS" has the viewer follow (and then leave) "Romain," "Anais" and, finally, "Julia." Our journey is through the course of a single night that begins at twilight with Romain scoring drugs for a birthday celebration with his girlfriend, Anais, and ends with Julia returning home for the evening.

In terms of the film's subject matter, comparison might be made to "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), "REC" (2005)or "28 Days Later" (2002), with the aforementioned caveat that "MadS" simulates a found-footage style "real time" telling in which the viewer is privy only to the experiences of one character at a time. For two-thirds of the running time, this directorial strategy does place us in the driver's seat as we, like Romain, and then Anais, are trying to separate the "high" from what is "really" happening.

Here, the cinematography and audio choices assist in reflecting the sheer craziness of what transpires (there is a wonderful scene where Romain, in an attempt to escape the noise and chaos of a party, puts on a Halloween-style rubber head mask. The audio suddenly muffles, as though we are now hearing the party through his (covered) ears.)

By the time we get to Julia's segment, however, we in a sense know as much or more than the characters and are simply waiting to see how things will end. In that sense, the conclusion of "MadS" is hardly innovative. I will avoid spoilers and simply note that the ending feels familiar to the genre.

Having said that, I will also say that "MadS" is the type of film you want to go into knowing as little as possible. Much of the ride does indeed feel "fresh."

Note: For those sensitive to strobe settings, there is a scene at the 34:00 minute mark that utilizes heavy strobe lighting.

Although the story seems simple and usual, this is a very interesting movie in how it escalates and how it chooses where to focus and what to leave unexplained. In other words we have seen this before but not in this way. Also it is important to point out the different interpresentations that one could extract in general. Drugs related the most important. What it leaves, is a feeling of unease which is very important from the beginning. If you choose to watch this movie searching for allegorical meaning or not, you will be satisfied in the end. Very promising acting from Laurie Pavy and a big hope for the future.

This is an incredibly well executed film.

The beginning is intense and very well directed and feels credible.

The story does follow a drug addict.

So might not work for those with strong stigma. But shouldn't be a problem for a reasonable viewer.

The film follows an intense night of partying that turns into something else.

It's a very well acted film. And well directed.

A great achievement to so skillfully direct a movie with one take.

The stream of events is engaging.

This is one of those film to watch with as little knowledge as possible.

Well worth it.

I can't say much more. But this movie is well directed and very engaging. And feels fresh.

But in the end, it is very much style over substance which is it's weakness.

But a great ride to take.

This movie was without a doubt one of the best horror movies of the year, in my opinion. It is basically a non-stop action thrill ride within the first five minutes of the movie.

They claim that this movie was shot in one take, which as you know is impossible to do....but it does seem as if it is shot in one constant take.

The actors did an excellent job, I have never seen them in any movie before, but maybe they are more prominent in France. But bravo to the all.

If you take one thing away from the movie, that message is, don't do drugs kids. It can really mess you up and you never know what's in the drug you are taking.

9/10 - highly recommend it if you like action/horror movies.