A Mulher Mais Assassinada do Mundo

Excellent French film about the Grand Guignol theater in the early part of the 20th Century. Impressive period details, engaging plot and interesting twists. I loved that much of the film took place in the theater itself. Perhaps some of the supporting characters weren't as fully developed as I would have liked (never sure where the "bad" theater manager was coming from) and I always prefer complex three dimensional characters instead of caricatures, but I enjoyed all the other dark shadings given to most. And a rather lovely "dark" ending that skirts close to a movie cliche, twice, before revealing it's something far deeper and more meaningful. For all parties involved. And in response to some of the other reviewers; on my TV the photography was extremely well done! I had no problem seeing what was going on, and, honestly, I worry some folks might need to see an ophthalmologists or optician or maybe they had their fingers too close together as their hands covered their eyes during the creepy and bloody bits.

How was the director able to see what was happening. Cannot make out the characters most of the time.

Generally nice and very entertaining movie that manages to give you a strong feeling of anxiety especially in the final moments. But it has flaws especially in the final where the plot degenerates and becomes meaningless, it seems that they have half thrown away the final moments and it's a shame because the film is very nice.

This somewhat unusual feature incorporates elements of slasher horror with a period drama. Its story centres around the woman who could be described as the original scream queen, Paula Maxa. She was the lead actress in the Parisian Théâtre du Grand-Guignol; a theatre infamous in some quarters for putting on dramatic shows which enacted out a variety of incredibly bloody murders. This is a place so influential on the subsequent horror cinema genre that the term Grand-Guignol has become a broad term readily associated with a certain type of gory excess. But even then, I daresay most people don't know a great deal about the place itself. Perhaps the chief strength of The Most Assassinated Woman in the World is that it is largely set in this theatre and showcases some of the salacious visceral plays they put on. I was actually quite amazed at the level of violence that these theatre productions revelled in and can see that they were precursors to the cinematic splatter movies kicked off with the release of Herschell Gordon Lewis's Blood Feast in 1963. Its probably no coincidence that the Grand-Guignol itself closed the year prior to that ground-breaking gore-fest, as once cinema finally caught up it was always going to struggle to remain as relevant.

The movie itself mixes reality with fiction. To that end we have an authentic place and a bunch of real characters form the basis of the story. The one fictional character, the reporter Jean, is a connection to the other main invention of the serial killer who has an obsession with Maxa. But even this too had a basis in some reality in that there was an active serial killer operating in the Montmartre area at the time. It is overall a nicely original idea for a film and it makes a great backdrop for a story. I particularly liked the gloomy photography which not only reflected much of the Parisian art of the 1930's but also made you feel you really were in the bowels of this old theatre. It created considerable atmosphere. Anna Mouglalis is also excellent as Maxa, and the film tries to explore to some degree what it was like for her being effectively murdered on stage every night in a myriad of gruesome ways, many of which are listed in one inspired sequence. Another effective aspect was the score by Keren Ann, which mixed period accurate music with energetic modern stuff which combined to give the film a unique energy I thought.

This is definitely a pleasingly distinctive movie. The excellent setting and interesting central character are enough in themselves to ensure this is a fascinating watch, with the bloody re-enactments in the theatre itself being enough of a reason alone to at least see this given their attention to authentic detail. But the whole production is elevated further by blending in a serial killer angle, dark past psychological events from the heroine's life and the additional pressures caused by the outcry of the moral guardians of the city. It ticks a few boxes, this one.

Streaming services have taken over - and I'm not saying that in a bad sense. There are a lot of good productions out there and a lot of people get funding through them. On the other hand, some movies might not get a theatrical release even when they might have deserved one.

So one of those is right here. I might have had the chance to watch it on the big screen (Frightfest) and it really is a great thriller that is quite twisted. I have to admit I didn't see certain things coming, but I really just dived in without any prior knowledge and also without thinking too much while watching the movie. It is a great story and the acting is really good and you should not get discouraged that it is inspired by real life events/actress. It's only losely based on that and that's why I didn't even bother researching more about the real woman. You can if you want to, after you've seen the movie. I don't think it should make a difference. Just enjoy the (thrill) ride