Among the Living

Three French school kids bunk off, burn down a barn then stumble across something horrific that will cost them and their loved ones dearly. I think the French are quite possibly at the forefront with horror cinema at the moment, this is a movie that I could imagine Rob Zombie wanting to make but it simply wouldn't be at this level. Here we have an interesting, though simple plot. There's gore, some pretty strong, but the film's strength for me was it's tension, reminded me of say John Carpenter's "Halloween". Very well filmed. I picked this up for a mere £1 from my local Poundland shop, what a fantastic bargain it turned out to be. I really don't understand the current 5.4/10 score. Perhaps many people don't like having to read subtitles!?

The plot is that three young boys bunk off school on the last day of term and get up to some very anti social behaviour to while away the time. Then they happen upon a disused film lot/studio. What they do not know is that they have discovered the lair of two refuges from the real world and this 'family' do not welcome visitors, unless of course they have abducted them.

What follows is a fairly good watch. There are a few moments where the kids do the stupid thing, but then it gets into a thriller stride and becomes a better calibre of film. Also if you get miffed over bad police procedures being portrayed in film then this will wind you up no end. If Le Gendarmerie really behaved like this then they would all soon be looking for low rung security jobs.

This is not a splatter gore fest though there is some blood letting and the main 'evil person' is not really 'creature feature' scary either. Where it does score fairly well is in the suspense and the acting. All three kids do a really good job. So it does have flaws but if you ust sit back for the trip then this is a fairly passable effort. Original title was 'Aux yeux des vivants' and it is in French with sub titles.

2007's "Inside" was a taut, powerful horror/thriller , which tested the audience's endurance level for violence and shocks, particularly toward the usually out-of-bounds target of pregnant women.

Nothing in that movie would have made you anticipate that the filmmakers would follow it up with something as uninspired as this.

It's also surprisingly light on the violence, with nothing to really shock or surprise you.

The story is actually pretty simple, but is told in a confusing way, robbing it of all tension. It's something about three kids who skip school and stumble onto an abandoned movie set where they see someone disposing of a body. No one will believe them, of course, so they go home and find themselves under attack.

None of this elevated my pulse-rate. It certainly felt like it was supposed to, but the movie was too confusing and uninvolving to ever connect with me.

I said it was surprisingly light on violence and shock tactics. It's depressing that about the only such tactic this movie pulls out will not be shocking at all to anyone who has seen "Inside": a pregnant Beatrice Dalle (you guessed it) getting stabbed in the stomach.

It's the kind of movie that makes the previous movie by the same filmmakers seem like a fluke, like all the ideas they really have were covered completely in the first one.

I also think they had no idea how to handle a bigger budget; the cheaper cost of the first one kept things taut and effective and claustrophobic. Now, there's too many locations, too many characters, too little interest.

After watching Bustillo n Maury's Inside n Livid, i was very impatient to watch their Among the Living.

This movie was on my radar for a very long time. Finally saw this recently.

The early sequences are brightly shot and filled with some beautiful cinematography. The greenery, the lake, meadows, barn n the abandoned studio r all captured very well.

Another best part is the character development in the first half.

The movie works effectively because of its pacing and build up of suspense and frights.

I found the last 20 mins unpredictable n very tension filled.

The film is about kids at peril which is heavy for me but kudos to the makers for not showing any harm towards the kids.

I can't stand violence towards kids.

But thankfully most of the kills are offscreen, especially related to kids.

I disliked the scene where the father beats up his son.

The scene where the freak is on the top of a car staring the kid is downright creepy.

Another creepy scene is the time when the kid says that he doesn't have a clown.

Few flaws: How was the freak able to locate the addresses of all the three kids.

The pamphlet of the missing pet wud have got just one address.

Why no hunt for the main culprit?

Viewers may find shades of Hills Have Eyes, Stand By Me, Halloween, TCM, etc.

After a gruesome prologue, featuring the glorious Beatrice Dalle, AMONG THE LIVING begins.

Three teenage friends skip school for a day of adventure, only to have their fun interrupted by a horrific event.

With nods to movies as diverse as STAND BY ME, HALLOWEEN, and JEEPERS CREEPERS, Directors Bustillo and Maury put their trademark, brutal spin on the "coming of age" / slasher horror film. Most of the gore and brutality are found at the beginning and end of the film, sandwiching in a decent story about the kids and the hell they inadvertently bring upon themselves and their loved ones.

While not as jarring as some of the Directors' other work, there is enough menace and oddness to make it a worthwhile watch...