Inside (À l’intérieur)
Directed by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury
Written by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury
2007, France
Inside (À l’intérieur) takes the home invasion genre about as far as it can go with an exceedingly simple premise. Four months after the death of her husband, Sarah (Alysson Paradis), who is nine months pregnant, is tormented by a strange woman (Beatrice Dalle) lurking outside her house on Christmas Eve. After a few unsuccessful attempts at trying to talk her way in, the mysterious woman invades Sarah’s home with the intent on killing her. The twist here however, is the intruder first plans to perform an botched C-section with a giant pair of scissors so she can take Sarah’s baby for herself.
This movie is not recommended for women on the brink of motherhood. Inside is one of the most vicious and cringe inducing horror thrillers ever made. Directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury stage with grisly proficiency, scenes lasting a beat longer than normal to maximize dread in every frame; every camera shot, edit, and musical cue has been meticulously mapped out to terrify audiences. From a visual standpoint, the film is a beauty to watch, with incredibly stylish visuals that bring to mind the best of Giallo – but the film’s biggest attribute is in its lengthy and nifty long shots of the cat and mouse chase. The directors are very patient filmmakers and know to get audiences gripping onto their seats. Meanwhile the blood-soaked hand-to-combat scenes, in which each woman grabs whatever house tool within reach, will have audiences shielding their eyes. Paradis does a superb job of ensuring that Sarah never becomes a horror-movie stereotype and Dalle’s sinister performance will leave the hairs on the back of your neck standing. This nasty first time feature, shot on a limited budget, and mostly all in one location, is without a doubt, the best of the French new wave of horror: Bloody, gory, unsettling and chock full of suspense – what more could a horror fan ask for?
– Ricky D
