Sheitan

Co-producer Vincent Cassel gave his handsome star Vincent Cassel (son of the late international star Jean-Pierre) a chance to essay the colorful character role of the repulsive gardener Joseph. Watching him mugging about in a scruffy-haired, ugly-toothed make-up provides most of the fun that is to be had from this peculiar but largely disagreeable diabolical French horror flick; there is little I hate more than the sight of young people waving their arms around in that silly 'hip-hop' fashion and, unfortunately, there is a lot of that going on in the first half of the film…but I must say that watching Cassel's baffled reaction to it was very amusing! Anyhow, three youngsters (each of a distinct race and creed) get in trouble during a Christmas Eve on the town until a beautiful girl (Roxane Mesquida of 2001's FAT GIRL fame) they meet in a disco invites them to spend the night at her farm on the outskirts; there they meet Joseph, his equally unattractive and very pregnant wife, a mentally-challenged relative, the town slut and several of her lusty pretenders. While there is not much gore to be had during the 94-minute running-time, the film-makers decided to substitute that with some disgusting visuals instead: a free-for-all nude swim in the hot waters of a cave; Joseph licking his pregnant's wife tummy; the latter breaking water in the corridor at the climax; an all-important eye-gouging and, worst of all, a completely irrelevant flashback to one of the youngster's one-night stand with (again) an unattractive girl in a tent where her private regions are represented as a table replete with unappetizing food! The events depicted in the film could well be a nightmare being experienced by that same unlucky youngster after being beaten up at the discotheque…or the would-be Satanic rituals revolving around the birth of Cassel's child might really be happening – but, frankly, one never cares enough about any of the characters to spend much time afterwards on sorting it all out. For what it is worth, Cassel's real-life wife Monica Bellucci appears briefly as a female vampire in the black-and-white film-within-a-film being shown on TV at one point!

I really enjoyed this film when I saw the showing at FrightFest '06. Although not a "great movie" in the traditional sense it is absolutely hilarious!

Take human traffic and add a splash of the family from House of a 1000 corpses and then you have this film! ! ! I can honestly say that this film is worth watching just for the relationship between Joseph and Bart. If you want to watch a film with some messed up characters and truly funny scenes with a horror undertone then watch this mad French movie!

P.s. Watch for the "Red Rocket" scene in the grotto, anyone that has seen South Park should get that ! ! !

Unaware that this is a French film, I liked the sound of the premise, so when I put the DVD on was (pleasantly) surprised that it was in French, makes an interesting differentiation from the usual U.S. films of the genre.

"Sheitan" begins similarly to "Wolf Creek" in terms of a group of young adults just doing ordinary things, before the terror is unleashed upon them, so for some time it does not seem as though you are watching a horror / thriller - even though you know you are.

The film switches between ordinary (men and women wanting to hook up with each other), to plan bizarre (the arrival and subsequent "adventures" in the small town) to the shocking (everything that follows). Seriously, some of it is so absurd and it feels totally original.

The acting is very good. Vincent Cassel is unrecognisable as the creepy Joseph. Hottie Oliver Bartelemy is terrific as Bart, Roxane Mesquida is great as Eve, as is Leila Bekhti as Yasmine, and Nico Le Phat Tan as Thai and Ladj Ly as Ladj.

Some of the phrases that the young adults say seem a bit strange, but I don't know if that is because of poor translation (I can't speak French), but it did become a bit distracting at some points. Overall though, an odd, disturbing and highly entertaining film.

If you took the movies The Devil's Rejects, The Hills Have Eyes, Rosemary's Baby, and Psycho, and then stuck them in a blender, your end result just might be Sheitan, the second film from French Director Kim Chapiron.

The film revolves mostly around three men, who after a night of partying at the local discotheque, meet up with a young girl named Eve. Eve encourages the three friends (plus a girlfriend of the three men) to come to the countryside, to stay at her house. Shortly before arriving at the house the characters meet up with Joseph, the supremely creepy housekeeper to the rundown manor (played by French actor Vincent Cassel), where Eve lives. A very minimalist plot, but if this were a Hollywood movie, the housekeeper would have brutally murdered the guests one by one, and this would have been your run of the mill slasher flick.. But this is not a Hollywood movie, and it's not a slasher flick, and this is what makes Sheitan so refreshingly different. The film instead elects to take the viewer on a different path, which turns out to be infinitely more disturbing. Instead of becoming a blood bath, Sheitan starts out quite normally, but at the same time the viewer is left with the thought in the back of their head, "What is wrong with these people." From then on the film seamlessly balances black humor with a genuine creepiness, which continues up to the very end, and then brace yourself. The film closes with an extremely disturbing 15 minutes or so, of family dysfunction on a grand level.

The acting isn't especially well done, but is adequate for the story. The cinematography is pretty straight forward and typical, although the opening features some Mtv inspired, fast paced camera work, but the film still works well regardless of these two-weaknesses.

The only real weakness the film has, is as the credits roll, the viewer is still left with a lot of un-answered questions. Don't get me wrong, some of my favorite films have open-ended conclusions, but in Sheitan, some of the unanswered questions involve major plot points, and undoubtedly some viewers will be frustrated by this.

All in all, the film works quite well. If you're a fun of twisted, strange, disturbing movies, Sheitan is for you, if demented films aren't your thing avoid it, and go rent Bambi instead.

My rating 8 out of 10. (Truly different story, with a horrific ending, but too much Ambiguity )

In the Christmas Eve in the Styxx Club in Paris, the troublemaker Bart (Olivier Bartélémy) and his scum friends Thaï (Nicolas Le Phat Tan) and Ladj (Ladj Ly) meet the bartender Yasmine (Leïla Bekhti) and the costumer Eve (Roxane Mesquida), and after a fight of Bart in the nightclub, Eve invites the group to go to her house in the country. While in the road nearby the cottage, they are introduced by Eve to the weird shepherd and housekeeper Joseph (Vincent Cassel), whose wife is pregnant. Joseph feels a sort of attraction for Bart, and along the Christmas night, Joseph discloses his real intentions.

"Sheitan" is a weird and intriguing French horror movie, with an atmosphere of nightmare. The creepy and odd story has many points open to interpretations, very bizarre characters and situations, good performances of the cast and a gorgeous and sexy unknown French actress, Roxane Mesquida. I am not sure if I missed some point, since there are references to Eve, the serpent and the apple; Joseph and the new born child on the Christmas day. I liked this refreshing movie, in spite of the non-clear screenplay, but I do not dare to recommend it except for specific audiences. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Satã" ("Satan")