Calvaire (The Ordeal) 2004

Calvaire, which could be seen as a strange bedfellow for Kim Chapiron's "Sheitan", again delves into the village in the middle of nowhere overrun by psychotic hillbillies scenario.

This time, we see Marc Stevens (Laurent Lucas) a lounge singer at the wrong end of his career traveling from small town to small town playing gigs at nursing homes. After a bizarre performance at one of these homes, Stevens sets off in his van to keep a prior engagement, a Christmas gala a few hundred miles away. He soon finds himself lost on a remote woodland road at nightfall as a thunderstorm closes in, and of course his van breaks down. However help is at hand in the form of Boris (Jean-Luc Conchard) who is out searching from his lost dog. Boris convinces Stevens to accompany him to a nearby inn so he can take shelter and find someone to fix his van, huge mistake.

Stevens is greeted at the inn by its owner Mr Bartel (Jackie Berroyer) and after a while both men bond over the fact that they are entertainers, Bartel used to perform stand-up comedy. As Bartel shows him around the village, it doesn't take Stevens long to realise that things are not quite right with the locals and soon finds himself in a bloody game of cat and mouse with the villages unhinged inhabitants.

Director Fabrice Du Welzs use of shaky camera work and naturally lit locations works well and with little in the way of a soundtrack, the viewer is quickly drawn into the sense of impending dread. I find it also gives the film quite an edgy feel, and captures a palpable sense of claustrophobia. The films location also adds to the feeling that something really bad is going to happen with director Du Welz using the dark forests of Belgiums Fagnes region to excellent effect.

The performances too are all excellent, Laurent Lucas's portrayal of Mark Stevens is captivating, you are never sure if you actually like the singer or just feel extremely sorry for him. My favourite performance however is French comedians Jackie Berroyer, who slips into the role of Mr Bartel with unnerving ease.

Calvaire is definitely not for the faint hearted, prompting several walkouts when it was screened at Cannes in 2004 and contains shocking scenes including bestiality, crucifixion and male rape. However I think if you can sit through Mr Du Welzs debut film, you might find that while it is shocking and at times very brutal, it is ultimately a film about love and loneliness.

Interesting horror film festival in Estonia

The Haapsalu Horror & Fantasy Film Festival takes place this April in Estonia. There is a special category dedicated to new French horror films.

Click below for links for further info on the festival:

Estonia Free Press

hoff.ee

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Haute Tension (Switchblade Romance) 2003

Alexandre Aja's Haute Tension tells the tale of two university students Marie (Cecile De France) and Alex (Maiwenn) who, with exams approaching, decide to retreat to Alexs family home in the country for some peace and quiet to revise. This peace however is shattered as on their first night in the house a crazed killer comes calling. After disposing of Alexs family the intruder, unaware of Maries presence in the house, ties up Alex and bundles her into his waiting van. Desperately trying to free Alex, Marie ends up locked in the van with her and the intruder drives off with both girls trapped in the back. This begins a white knuckle ride as the two girls try frantically to escape the clutches of the unhinged killer.

Marking a return to the raw intensity of 1970's horror classics such as 'The Last House in the Left' and 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre', director Aja's Haute Tension strips back to the bare essentials, building a narrative of growing dread and relentlessly tightening the screws of suspense. Cecile De France's portrayal of Marie is a revelation in what was surely a very demanding role, both physically and mentally.

On the downside however I found there to be too many holes in the story and the twist at the end just didn't do it for me. This, along with the notion that the plot was "borrowed" from Dean R Koontz's novel 'Intensity', tarnished this film slightly for me.

With Monsieur Aja now directing in the US, his remake of 'The Hills have Eyes' is definitely worth checking out, this earlier directorial outing, while it does have its bad points, is still an enjoyable roller coaster of a film, and not a bad way to spend a stormy evening in.

Dans Ma Peau (In my Skin) 2002

The split screen used in the opening sequence of Dans Ma Peau seems to set the scene for a film with a detachment and alienation at its centre. Marina de Van writes, directs and stars in this genuinely unnerving film about the controversial subject of self harm.

De Van plays Esther, a seemingly normal, successful, happy woman who, at the beginning of the film, falls and cuts her leg at a party. It isn't until some time later that she actually notices the cut. She is not alerted by the pain of it (which she oddly doesn't feel) but when she notices blood spatter on the carpet. When she finally sees the wound her entire leg is bloodied by the extensive gash.

After a visit to the doctor, who stitches up the wound, he tells Esther that she may need cosmetic surgery to hide the scar. The following day and for no apparent reason, she removes the bandages and begins to pick at the wound. Over the next few days things begin to spiral out of control with Esther becoming more and more addicted to the wound. She then begins to mutilate herself, as if trying to recreate the initial injury and seems to get pleasure from the act. Esther then cuts more and deeper and by the end of the film the self inflicted violence reaches disturbing new heights. All the help that Esther is offered by friends and family is pushed away, and only the perverse joy she gets from the act of self mutilation becomes all she is interested in.

Dans Ma Peau is very different to the average mainstream horror, with no ghosts or physco killers lurking in the dark, it simply shows of one woman's slow descent into madness. For it to work it must rely heavily on the performance of Marina de Van, which I have to say she delivers in some style. Her performance of Esther is both tragic and very touching with good support coming from the rest of the cast. De Vans direction is also first rate and the voyeuristic approach to Esther's disease is handled beautifully.

My problem with the film however is that it comes across at times somewhat pretentious, as it we are watching some bizarre performance art, but credit to Marina de Van for creating something quite unique if at times extremely hard to watch.