Upcoming French Horror releases...

The following French horror movies are due to the released in the coming months. Click the links below to see the trailers or info about the film:

Mutants

La Horde (The Horde)

Dans Ton Sommeil (In their Sleep)

In the Shadow

La Meute (The Pack)

Lady Blood

Le village des ombres (The village of shadows)

Stranded

Ils (Them) 2006

Except for a very creepy opening scene, where a mother and daughter break down on an isolated, dark road, Ils concentrates on just two characters Clementine (Olivia Bonamy) and Lucas (Michael Cohen). Teaching at a school in Bucharest they live in an old house in a remote forest outside the city. The plot centres on one quiet night where, after returning home, the couple become terrorized by an unknown presence - Ils (Them). It begins with a late night phone call where all that be heard on the other end is an eerie scratching noise. Clementines car is then driven away seemingly of its own accord, leaving the couple helpless in their isolated surroundings. After the power is cut and the house plunged into darkness, the couple are left to struggle against unseen enemies who seem intent on causing them harm.

What I found brilliant about this film is the way that suspense is created from very little - a flickering light, a creaking floorboard and how the audiences imagination is called on to fill in the blanks. The directors David Moreau and Xavier Palud are very good at what they do and successfully create and sustain an extremely tense and claustrophobic atmosphere throughout the entire film.

This film has obviously created something different, and this is evident in how Ils has inspired such films as 'Eden Lake' and 'The Strangers' which have serious similarities to Moreau and Paluds picture. A friend of mine reckons Ils is the most unnerving film he has ever seen and while I might not go that far it is still a masterclass in suspense and comes highly recommended.

Sheitan (Satan) 2006

When are young people going to learn that the French countryside is not as peaceful and idyllic as they might believe. As with Alexandre Ajas Haute Tension, Kim Chapirons film 'Sheitan' shows us another side to the French landscape, this time giving us an inbred psychotic hillbilly village not too welcoming to visiting outsiders.

The set up of the film is pretty standard, on Christmas Eve three young men hit the clubs and bars looking for some fun. After getting involved in an altercation at one of the clubs, the guys are kicked out. Then then stumble across two girls, one of whom Eve (Roxanne Mesquida) invites them all back to her house in the country to continue the party.

On arrival at Eves village the boys are introduced to Joseph (Vincent Cassel)and some of the villages other colourful characters, and their night slowly begins to take a terrifying but oddly humorous downward spiral into chaos. It is only when they get to Eves house, a crumbling old mansion eerily inhabited by a huge collection of dolls, that Josephs real plans for the three men are unveiled.

First time feature director Chapiron handles the direction like a seasoned pro, using the setting of the dilapidated mansion to its fullest effect. The performances all round are strong, but it is Cassels performance as Joseph that absolutely steals every scene he is in. It is a performance from an actor who is certainly on top of his game. I find it hard to take anything away from Chapirons film, which is very original in its oddness but, if I had to say something negative, it would be that the plot may just be too odd. A number of times throughout the film I found myself thinking "that just didn't make any sense". This said, Sheitan is a very enjoyable, darkly disturbing film and for Cassels demonic performance (excuse the pun) it is well worth checking out.

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.