It's the French and the Spanish that are getting me jazzed as a horror fan these days, though their approaches to meditations on the human condition couldn't be more different. Taking two films about motherhood as examples, compare The Orphanage's dreamy and dread-filled atmosphere to Inside's brutality and you'll see what I mean.
I've got Calvaire and La Horde sitting on my shelves, staring at me with accusing...err, words on their spines, but if my history with modern French horror is any indication, I need to, like, clear my schedule to watch them- meaning, they're not to be approached lightly. I wish I could say that about every horror movie I've got sitting around waiting to be seen, but unfortunately much of it feels just...there.
And one of these days, I swear I'm going to write about Martyrs. I knoooowwwww I keep saying that, but it's daunting. For now, in case you don't know my feelings on it:
The short answer: I love it
The long answer: IIIIIIII loooooooooooove iiiiiiiiiiiiiiit
For more modern French horror posters, click here for part one. For more Martyrs posters, click here. To watch the intro for the show Small Wonder, click here.
Calvaire's not French! We're a real country :D (At least for the time being...)
ReplyDeleteThose HORDE posters are something special - minimal but high impact.
ReplyDeleteMartyrs is a piece of crap. In My Skin is very good though.
ReplyDelete"Calvaire's not French!"
ReplyDeleteAh, I have been misinformed! Is it Belgianonian?
"Martyrs is a piece of crap."
Guess I like crap then.
In My Skin should have been properly named In My Head, because I'm never going to get it out of there. Disturbingly astonishing ;)
ReplyDeleteSure is! It's a realistic depiction of our culture.
ReplyDeleteAh, all of them are inspiring selections....
ReplyDeleteAwesome collection there!
Yep, Calvaire's Belgian, and an excellent black comedy. Don't go into it expecting gore or anything like that.
ReplyDeleteLa Horde doesn't "stay with you" quite like its French contemporaries do, but it is well worth checking out.
ReplyDeleteI don't care much for "La Horde". I thought it was pretty standard action-horror stuff. A John Carpenter film without that John Carpenter magic.
ReplyDelete"Mutants", though nothing special, is a much more interesting recent French zombie film.
There's also "Les Revenants" ("They Came Back"), one of the more original zombie films of the last decade. Though it's very much an acquired taste.
Nice to see some love for Spanish horror too. There has been a steady steam of quality Spanish - or should that be Spanish language - fright flicks coming out since the late 90s.
I'm confused about why I haven't seen In My Skin yet....I think what happened was that someone recommended it to me and then I forgot to put it on my Netflix. Curses! I'm fixing this now, top of the queue wahoo.
ReplyDeleteand wait, Martyrs is a piece of crap?!
Wow
I forget if you have seen Sheitan or not...tell me, tell me everything!
Oooh guurrrrl, you are in for a treat! I think you'll really like it.
ReplyDeleteI have not seen Sheitan! However, I have now WRITTEN IT DOWN, so when I'm out of deadline hell I will try to rectify it.
As to Martyrs, that guy said it's crap so it must be crap. Just because you like it, that doesn't make it otherwise! I mean, anything I don't like is crap, so it makes sense.
Sheitan is on Instant Watch! Film Club suggestion>??!
ReplyDeleteOoh, your jib...I like the cut of it! Let's see what Monday holds...(probably a Film Club announcement about Sheitan, which makes me think of seitan, which makes me hungry).
ReplyDeleteMy $.02 :
ReplyDeleteI've seen- Sheitan (meh), Haute Tension(YaY!), Calvaire (hmmm interesting), Inside(WoW!), Ils(I like!)...but I wonder how I haven't heard of In My Skin ? I will rectify.
From what I gather Martyrs doesn't sound like my cuppa...maybe I'm wrong.
Also lovlovelove Spanish horror! The Orphanage ROCKS!
Hey Stacie have you heard of this obscure one called: The Uninvited Guest? I dug it! More suspense than gore...but with some bizarre touches. It's Spanish. I had to buy my own copy I liked it so much.
I look forward to the Euro-Horror now more than our own!
I have not, but consider The Uninvited Guest WRITTEN DOWN!
ReplyDeleteI finally got around to watching Inside after lots of pestering from my writing partner. Holy shit snacks, that is one ridiculously effective horror movie. I gotta say though, the slow fade-in shot where what's her face is standing over the sleeping what's her name's bed, is scarier than any of the brutality that follows.
ReplyDeleteI thought High Tension was a great horror movie for the most part but the ending kind of left a bad taste in my mouth.
Regardless, the Europeans have been on fire with horror lately. Actually, when it comes to genre movies in general, I think the Europeans and South Koreans have been besting us for some time. It's not strictly a horror movie but you should definitely check out the Korean movie The Chaser.
I know exactly what you mean about having to clear your schedule to watch some of these movies. I need to be sure that A: I can watch them uninterrupted and B: I can sit there in a daze for several hours afterward. The only American film that has had the same impact on me in recent years is Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door. Do not watch lightly. For some good Dutch horror, try Slaughter Night (SL8 N8). It's a bit silly, but fun, effective, and gruesome.
ReplyDeleteLovely list!
ReplyDeleteIf you like Marina De Van (In My Skin) you could watch "Sitcom" by François Ozon, it's not an horror movie but, still, it is really disturbing and good, she plays a paraplegic sadomasochistic "bourgeoise" in it. There is "Vampires" too, from Belgium (so I don't know if you can admit it in your list), a film about the vampire community in Belgium and Quebec, it's pretty fun and pretty grim. (I hope my english is understandable).
"Martyrs" was awesome. I felt like someone threw a brick through my window or something.
ReplyDelete