Behind You! 

The stalk and slash film was really enjoying a resurgence around now, it is as though the terror of putting people in peril was ever more popular. France is a country that has done an admirable job in getting people shitting themselves as they are hunted down for all manner of grisly eviscerations. Genre titles include the excellent French movie Ils (Them 2006) which although not fantastically extreme will prove a sufficient white knuckle ride and Belgian movie Calvaire (The Ordeal 2004)

Haute Tension (2003) directed by Alexandre Aja was the film that firmly put the missing slice and dice back into the genre. This nasty little excursion into, “High Voltage” cinema reinstates that much missed shock value and edge of seat mindset that has been missing for theatregoers for so long. Haute Tension gathers together the base elements from the likes of Maniac, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween and provides a sheer adrenalin ride of white-knuckle terror from start to finish of its 87 minute running time.

We are introduced to Marie (played by the patriotically named Cecile De France) in mid surreal nightmare. Badly injured she is fleeing through the woods but suddenly comes to her senses in a car driven by best friend Alex (Maiwenn Le Besco who in real life had a daughter with Luc Besson). The interplay between the two characters unfolds. Marie is fond of a drink or two and Alex more into a good shag and not too bothered who from. They are off to Alex’s parent’s farmhouse to study in the solitude of its remote location for some upcoming exams. A vicious killer is staking out the surrounding cornfields. He gives the game away after discarding a severed head from his dirty old truck. Worryingly this is after some orgasmic noises coming from within the vehicle.

Already we are engrossed and the lush cinematography of the remote location is stunningly portrayed in itsBucharestsetting. We are introduced to a typical nuclear family of mum, dad, kid and dog and are all too aware that they are lined up as cannon fodder for the forthcoming mayhem. It is hinted that Marie is a bit on the frigid side. Outside she gazes at Alex in the shower through an illuminated window. After we enjoy a voyeuristic wank she drifts to sleep only to be startled to her senses by the arrival of the killer.

Once he has gained entry he goes about despatching the family with methodical and unremorseful ease. This is good efficient butchery of the highest order. The words, “careful with that sideboard you might hurt yourself” have never been so apt. Daddy’s demise is executed with a gushing tsunami of decapitated ichor. It is at this point we are made aware that there is going to be little restraint as far as the gore is concerned and genre veteran Giannetto De Rossi admirably handles it.  

No attempt is made to disguise the killer, it is only his motive that remains questionable but at this point it is as though he neither needs nor has one. Marie plays a tense game of cat and mouse with him, attempting to hide and find a phone (this has a timeless feel to it and is a film made without mobiles ruining plot conventions). She wipes all traces of her stay away, even going as far as cleaning the sink in the guest bathroom. This is not the act of a weak female but a feisty survivor who it must be said with her short-cropped hair resembles Jamie Lee Curtis to a large extent. The scenes linger tortuously making you practically hold your breath in line with her predicament. Alex who has slept through events fares less well and finds herself bound and gagged at the killer’s mercy. The young child ironically wearing a cowboy costume makes a dash for freedom to the cornfield only to be gunned down without compassion (although this is off screen).  Eerie ambient keyboard drones craft a minimalist despondency around the killing scenes very reminiscent of Ulver. It has to be said that the misery drenched tones of Muse used later seem out of place with this and awkward to the suspenseful build up.

Alex is thrown into the back of the van and the killer hits the road for the second half of the movie, oblivious of the fact that he also has stowaway Marie onboard. Aja has cleverly taken us from a claustrophobic setting and the limited confines of a one location setting to the wide expanses of the largely uninhabited bleak panoramic countryside. The nail biting tension is skilfully kept up and not one shred of humour pervades the black tone of this film. Toward the blood soaked conclusion Aja interweaves a double whammy, which will leave the most skilful of plot guessers gasping for breath. At times the suspense is handled as expertly as De Palma and with the gore flowing copiously Argento can also be cited.

Although when I originally wrote this review I had little expectations of this movie getting an uncut release I was surprised to be proved wrong. Although found in the more accessibly entitled form of ‘Switchblade Romance’, ‘Haute Tension’ can be viewed in all its gory glory courtesy of Optimum Home Entertainment. As for Alexandre Aja it came as no surprise that his impeccable direction led to greater things and he did an admirable job with the remake of Wes Craven’s ‘The Hills Have Eyes’.

Say You Love Sheitan!

This one is a lot of fun basically and has a good sense of humour about it without loosening up on the extremity. As is the way with films such as the latter day Hostel series the cast of films are getting younger and the principle actors of Sheitan (Satan 2006) are no exception yet pull things off without coming across as a bunch of vacuous teens set up for the slaughter.

 Starting at a nightclub (thankfully not Rectum but one as is pointed out “full of hot bitches”) on Dec 23rd we are introduced to the three male leads, one oriental called Thai, one black, Ladj and the other a bit of a dense meathead Bart. They quickly find themselves on the wrong side of the door following Bart having been bottled in a fight. Along with pretty bar-worker Eve and a friend Yasmine they all decide to drive off and have some fun at Eve’s very nice house in the country, stealing petrol and being general twats on the way. Bart’s goal is to cop off but that perhaps is not on the cards and arriving at the country retreat we meet a rather weird character with a huge moustache and unruly hair called Joseph the housekeeper (played as ever formidably by Vincent Cassel.) There are also plenty of goats some with Satanic horns around but as we progress we discover that Joseph and the locals are all a bit on the nutty strangeways side. 

The house is like a magic den, a toymakers grotto and the sort of place with hidden rooms, where you could comfortably chill and spend the Christmas break; Eve’s parents obviously the toymakers are not about. Marie, the housekeeper’s pregnant wife is however ominously lurking around. A trip to some localhot springsproves especially memorable when the group are joined by more strange locals including lusty nympho Jeanne. It becomes increasingly evident that Bart is his own worst enemy and he continuously seems to get wound up and looking for a fight at pretty much every twist and turn.

Sheitan is a film that will keep you gripped through its duration. It will constantly have you questioning just what is going possibly even what has occurred at the end of the movie which could well be open to interpretation. This along with the simmering sexual undercurrent makes it a winner and the young director Kim Chapiron, and his pretty much unknown young cast and crew have made a memorable modern day parable of horror with fantastical elements. As usual Vincent Cassel steals absolutely every scene he is in and the build up here will leave you breathless.

Sheitan is available uncut via Tartan video.

 

The Final Frontiere? 

Lionsgate having had hits with the Saw and Hostel series were quick to grab hold of Frontière(s) 2007 a film that has similarities to both and one that dumb ass hacks were labelling with that nauseous ‘torture porn tag’ Director Xavier Gens may have gone on to video game movie adaptation fodder Hitman but as with his latest release The Divide we can forgive him that as Frontiere(s) is an effective film that whist quite derivative does seem to improve on repeated veiwings.

In the wake of an election putting an extreme right wing government in power the French are revolting (insert obvious pun). In the chaos a robbery goes down and fleeing the scene are 5 people, one of them shot, one of them a pregnant woman and 3 guys who on first impressions strike as typical boneheads. Splitting up to take the injured party to hospital the groups agree a rendezvous point. Heading there first are Tom and Farid and they leave the Paris slums on fire and head to the ‘medieval’ countryside and a hostel in place called Frontière.

They find the two ladies at the counter more than accommodating (‘anything is possible here) and we see other members of the family and even have a clichéd dinner with them and if you have not seen this formulaic plot before excuse me but it is evident that these city boys are going to be squealing like pigs before long. Sure enough within 35 minutes or so the likes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (specifically 2 and the remake), Just Before Dawn, American Gothic, Wolf Creek, and The Hills Have Eyes remake could all quite easily be cited here as being liberally borrowed from. Lets face it most of those have borrowed from other movies in the first place too.

With the rest of the gang turning up it is obvious that this is going to be a movie that attempts to shock the sort of audience who jumps at their own shadow and act as a dumb white knuckle ride. The so called plot surprises are not really surprising at all given the political message the movie is oh so cleverly attempting to convey. The words “hang them up and skin the fat off them” are kind of apt, someone should have done exactly that with this movie, but if they had there would be very little left. 

The second half however is a big improvement and to be fair despite the 1hr 48 running time it does manage to keep the momentum flowing. Also there is an increase in the sadistic levels (and as is the way with films of this ilk the misogyny) and there are some good gore set pieces and inventive deaths. If you like a film that is pretty damn gory if not rather brainless this is certainly worth a watch but the main reason it succeeds is definitely due to the performance of Karina Testa as Yasmine who plays a ballsy woman in peril with utter conviction.

The main problem to for with Frontiere(s) was that in an age of American films emulating or remaking foreign ones it at times seemed as though things had be reserved and this was just too derivative of too many American features. Having said that the Yanks will probably have a stab at remaking this in the future, right wing government issues and all.

Again this is out on Optimum and is completely uncut.

Coming in part 5 Inside, Martyrs,  The Horde and further towards the present.

Back to Part Three

http://www.avenoctum.com/2012/04/a-look-inside-french-extremity-part-three/