MadS

The film starts out with terrific potential and appears to have a great concept behind it. The gimmick here is the one shot deal is it appears the entire movie was filmed in one atke. That is actually brilliant and incredibly difficult to do. For that reason, I upgraded the movie by one point. Otherwise, it's really not a horror movie. There are some interesting scenes with some good acting, but by the end even the acting becomes monotonous and difficult to watch. The movie had no closure and really had no direction as a whole. It was interesting and intriguing but needed more development and follow through.

A fresh, fun start to the film that immediately lays out it's ambitions with a single tracking shot, hip soundtrack, and beautiful cinematography. The fresh premise wears thin during the back half however, as the film falls prey to repetition and actors who cannot stop shrieking. The screaming. And shrieking. A director who had shown a competent and semi restrained approach fully betrays this and falls prey to an overly indulgent back half.

I legitimately muted the film at multiple points and considered skipping minutes 70-80 because the screaming and overall sound design was too grating. The influence of 28 days later was also clear during one particular segment of the score, which was neat. Despite not being able to land this, an admirable attempt that I don't regret watching...sort of.

One of the most overused horror tropes in movies is that of twitching and neck cracking. It isn't scary anymore. Was it ever? It's just pure cringe. If that's your thing, you'll find plenty of it here. So I guess this was a zombie movie?? The acting at times was so over the top that I literally laughed out loud. I found the first half hour or so to be pretty great. Unfortunately it starts to drag and becomes very repetitive and redundant. I started to get bored and wanted it to end. But I stuck it through. It feels a bit like a wannabe 28 Days Later, which is a far better film and one of the best zombie flicks ever!

Although the story seems simple and usual, this is a very interesting movie in how it escalates and how it chooses where to focus and what to leave unexplained. In other words we have seen this before but not in this way. Also it is important to point out the different interpresentations that one could extract in general. Drugs related the most important. What it leaves, is a feeling of unease which is very important from the beginning. If you choose to watch this movie searching for allegorical meaning or not, you will be satisfied in the end. Very promising acting from Laurie Pavy and a big hope for the future.

I'll be the first to admit, Shudder has a habit of dumping a lot of questionable content on their platform, but MadS is a real gem. The French director David Moreau brings a fresh take on the zombie genre with his frenetic, one-take style that plunges you straight into the madness. The only thing better than a single-take film is a single-take horror, and MadS uses this technique to perfection, creating a claustrophobic and tense experience that feels both chaotic and masterfully controlled.

David Moreau's take on the zombie genre is frenetic and totally refreshing. The French just know how to make horrors that get under your skin, and MadS does exactly that with its claustrophobic atmosphere and tense pacing. If you're into inventive, pulse-pounding horror, this is definitely worth checking out.