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HORROR 101: THE A-LIST OF HORROR FILMS AND MONSTER MOVIES VOL 1
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HOME - INTRO - REVIEWS - FEATURES - MYSPACE - BLOG - STAFF - CONTACT HORROR 101: THE A-LIST OF HORROR FILMS AND MONSTER MOVIES VOL 1
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(2007)
Of course, as luck would have it, we got a review screener in the mail. Wonderful. So with much dread, we sat down to watch something that we figured was going to be a cheap and easy gross out movie that was hitting below the belt. Oh how we were wrong. The film has a very simple plot. A young pregnant woman , who recently lost her husband in an auto accident, is attacked in her own home by a very disturbed and completely crazy woman. That’s pretty much it. But what really set this film apart are the two main characters and the special effects. Wow!
Famed French actress Béatrice Dalle plays the mysterious stranger that invades the home of our pregnant lady, played by Alysson Paradis. Both women give incredible performances, putting themselves both through a physical and emotional roller coaster ride. Not to mention what they do to the audience.
For some reason, I don’t see an American remake of this any time soon. Even with remake Queen Naomi Watts. This is not a film to watch to “have fun”. This is not a mindless horror movie to watch with a bunch of buddies. This is a film that will make you jump. It will give you chills that you probably haven’t had in quite some time. Or at least, make that little knot slowly start to develop in the pit of your stomach. Yes, it’s that powerful. Are we hyping it up too much? Well, you watch it and see if you're not effected by this. Then let me know.
The disc was released by Dimension Extreme Films, where this film completely fits in that category. The disc comes with the trailer, but also a featurette that goes into great detail on the making of the film. It covers everything from the initial inception of the screenplay, to the casting, and to the final moments of filming. There are a lot of sequences showing the bloody effects used, showing just how much of a struggle that these two actresses had to go through for this movie. So it’s not often that we watch a film that has this much of an impact on us. This is one that you will never forget. So enjoy that feeling once again, since it’s very rare these days. And if you’re lucky, maybe you’ll have a friend who is also a fan of the genre that you can talk to about it. Since this is definitely a film not to discuss around the water cooler. |
When
I first heard about this movie, or better yet, when I first seen the poster
image, it struck me as a film that I didn’t think I wanted to see. Maybe I’m
just getting old, but when I see a movie poster with a pair of scissors hanging
over a bare pregnant belly, it’s not something that makes me want to run out and
see it. I figured it was going to be dealing with a psycho and a pregnant lady
and really didn’t want to “go there”.
The makeup effects
were simply incredible. We’re not talking so over the top that you’d be
thinking you’re watching an 80’s Italian film instead of a new French film. But
effects so simple in their application and even more so effective. Trust me;
you will never look at a pair of scissors again the same way. Ever. Most of
the effects are your standard practical makeup, while a few are enhanced with
CGI. But it never gets close to looking cartoonish. There are several moments
in this film that will have everyone, male and female alike clenching fists,
crossing legs, and just plain squirming in their seats.
The music is a
combination of different styles, but all of them working really well within the
picture. It builds suspense, tension, and at times is sad and emotional. Great
work by Francois-Eudes Chanfrault.
Directing team of
Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury do an incredible job bringing this dark
story to the screen. There are a couple of times where they use a little of
that flashy MTV-style that should have gone out of fashion years ago. But it’s
brief. The rest of the film is done with a slow and dark style, bringing the
sense of dread more and more to the surface. We never really know what’s going
to happen to these characters until the very end. And by then, we’ve gone too
far.