GOODNIGHT MOMMY
This is a film that I have followed since last year. A new trailer has recently surfaced and took the internet by storm. It is great to see that it has caught the attention of so many people.
A lot of big sites have posted the trailer saying it’s one of the creepiest looking horrors that they’ve seen (thought, I would just mention that this film was on my site long before any of the bigwigs got hold of it)
Official Plot (IMDb)
Twin boys who do everything together, from collecting beetles to feeding stray cats, welcome their mother home after her reconstructive surgery. But with her face wrapped in bandages, and her demeanour distant, they grow suspicious of her identity.
Goodnight Mommy [Blu-ray][REGION A]
TATTOO
One of the best serial-killer films around and the only film I know of that has been compared to David Fincher’s Se7en.
I know a few people who have tried many a time to get hooked up with this movie and everyone has failed. I bought the film when I worked in the video store, but I ain’t seen it around anywhere else.
Official Plot (Wiki)
Marc Schrader, a rookie cop caught red-handed with drugs in a police raid of an illegal rave, joins a homicide investigation conducted by Chief Inspector Minks. The victim is a naked young woman with the skin stripped off her back, killed as she staggered into traffic.
As Schrader and Minks investigate the murder, the case is complicated by a finger found in the stomach of the victim.Forensic examination proves the finger belongs to Nobert Günzel, who was previously convicted of rape and assault The police raid Günzel’s residence and discover a blood-stained table with restraints and bits of human flesh in his basement. They also find video equipment and preserved, tattooed skin from the victim’s back (a lot more detail in the plot description but it gives away too much, so I just gave you the basics)
Tattoo [2003] [DVD]
CALVAIRE
One of my first introduction into Belgian/French horror. The film follows a cabaret singer called Marc, who makes his living travelling around in his van and playing low-key gigs, mainly in retirement homes.
When his van breaks down mid-storm and in the middle of nowhere he accepts the help of a local man and is brought to a nearby Inn to spend the night so he can get his van fixed at first light.
The inn is owned by an old man called Bartel. He seems nice but also is very strange, he keeps baffling on about a lost dog and about a woman who cheated on him and broke his heart and left him.
When Marc wants to leave the inn and go for a walk the next morning while Bartel looks at his van – Marc is warned that he must stay away from the nearby village. On his walk, Marc sees a young man surrounded by a fully supportive family doing what can only be described as the scene from Deliverance only with a real pig (wtf did I just type?). It is safe to say that the local villagers might be a bit strange and inbred.
When he gets back to the inn he notices that Bartel has gone completely mad and this is when the fun begins. Marc must escape Bartel and make it out of a village populated by inbred pig-fuckers, things get a little tense.
IN THEIR SLEEP
In Their Sleep is a slow-burning, disturbing French horror/thriller.
The film is about a woman who is grieving the sudden and tragic loss of her only son. Not knowing if it was suicide, the son fell from his bedroom window and got impaled on spikes below.
Time passes and life has not got any better. She has become a zombie, her husband has left her and she leads a sorrowful and depressing life. When this starts to affect her work she is sent home and ordered to get some rest.
On the drive home, she almost hits a young man who is running for his life. He says that he is getting chased by a psychopath, who wants to kill him. She sees a resemblance of her dead son in the boy, and without hesitation, she agrees to help him which turns out to be the worst mistake of her life.
A great cat & mouse type thriller/horror that is full of clever twists.
The violence is minimal but when it does happen, it’s done in a way that will stick with you for a long time after viewing.
In Their Sleep [DVD]
COLD GROUND
The last I heard, this film was still in the early stages of pre-production and the film-makers were seeking funding to complete the feature.
People might be tired of the found-footage genre but I love it (if it is done right). Cold Ground is set in the 70’s and is about a group of skiers that come under attack from some vicious creatures while on holiday in the French Alps.
A bit of test footage was released and it gave us a feel of what to expect. The creäture design looks very impressive, I don’t think they will have a problem getting this project finished. I’ll look forward to it.
HOSTILE
Hostile is another new French horror movie. The thing that sets this one apart from the rest is that it is directed by a 14-year-old-kid called, Nathan Ambrosioni
The film had its première at this year’s Cannes Festival and then went over to Montreal to Fantasia Film Festival and has picked up some really impressive reviews along the way.
As I said in an earlier post – releasing a film at this age is some achievement. It really doesn’t matter if the film is any good, nothing but huge respect should be shown for such young and dedicated talent.
LIVID(E)
Met with a lot of mixed reviews – Livid(e) is a dark fantasy vampire tale from the directors of French shocker Inside.
Although it didn’t have the madness of their previous movie, it still had some shocking and genuinely scary moments, and from a visual POV, it was stunning and hauntingly original.
Official Plot (IMDb)
It’s young Lucy’s first day as a trainee in-house caregiver. She visits Mrs Jessel, an old woman who lies in cerebral coma, by herself, in her large desolate house. Learning by accident that Mrs Jessel, a former dance teacher of repute, supposedly possesses a treasure somewhere in the house, Lucy and friends William and Ben decide to search the house in the hope of finding it. At night, they get into the house, which reveals itself to be increasingly peculiar. Their hunt for Mrs Jessel’s treasure leads them into a horrifying supernatural series of events that will change Lucy forever.
Livid [Blu-ray]
AMONG THE LIVING
You may be noticing a pattern here with French cinema, but it is unavoidable, they just have so much great stuff and without a doubt, they are the dominating the Euro-horror scene.
We have another great film from Inside and Livide directors, This time, Maury and Bustillo have a stab at the serial-killer genre.
This has been on my watch-list for too long. I have no doubt that it’s going to be great because of who is behind it and the guys keep going for strength-to-strength with each feature they release
Official Plot (Wiki)
Three young adolescent friends decide that they want to start their summer vacation early, so they decide to skip the last day of school in favour of having a little fun. Their adventures that day get them into a little trouble, which causes them to wander to an abandoned film studio lot on the edge of town called Blackwood Studios. The young boys are horrified when they see a man in a clown mask dragging a chained woman across the lot. They manage to flee and try to get the police involved, only for the police to assume that because the adolescents are only causing more trouble. The adolescents end up going back to their respective homes, unaware that the masked man and his father are planning on taking their revenge on the three friends.
Among The Living [DVD]
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