La meute

After watching "Martyrs" and "The Inside", it's easy to understand why one would dub the French Horror films as the sickest, vilest and most sadistic. The Pack, on the other hand, isn't as shocking or as well-made (well made as opposed to good, as I didn't really like The Inside).

The build up is actually rather nice, regardless to a pretty much non- existent exposition. It starts up as another Torture-Porn/Occult film. Unfortunately everything goes downhill from there. The story is simple and not original, with some details having very non convincing explanations. The screenplay and script are lacking, and the ending seems extremely non related to the plot, leaving the audience not bewildered as much as annoyed and feeling cheated. The cinematography, shooting and effects are simply cheap, making the low budget very apparent. I didn't mind the voldermort's nose looking "monsters", I did mind the painfully obvious and visible masks...

However, I must say the characters were very good and the acting was excellent, especially by the supporting cast (i.e the three bikers). Also, an excellent soundtrack! Do these make the film worth watching? Not really. This is one of the very very very few times when I agree with IMDb's rating. Good looking actresses and fine acting can be found in countless other films, and this one simply isn't good (in my opinion of course).

I wonder whether the script for this one was complete before filming began or whether they just made things up as they went along. The film is a tonal mish-mash, falling into three distinct segments of notably varying seriousness, starting as a coarsely comic affair it then moves into dark "woman in peril" territory, ending in the realms of loopy siege horror. Fortunately things are underpinned by a fine lead, inspired villain and constant dark ambiance that is rather chilling at times. We follow the attractive young Charlotte Massot, driving across France when she picks up a long-haired hitcher. Stopping off at a roadside restaurant they narrowly miss getting raped before Charlottes new friend goes missing and things get worse from here. The film combines numerous backwoods horror tropes into one tasty brew, geographic isolation and cultural isolation with all character bar the heroine being rather strange, threat of being raped, threat of being eaten, broad characters and wonky dialogue, all dealt out with mania that never winks at the audience, no matter what the cliché. Handy performances give this one a big leg up, Emilie Duquenne is a delightful lead, tough but convincingly frayed when things get nasty, and affectingly traumatised when her ordeal gets nasty. Eric Godon gives suitably greased up and shifty vibes as the hitchhiker, while Philip Nahon plays things broad as a dirty minded cop. Highest marks go to Yolande Moreau as physically imposing, fearsomely tough restaurant owner La Spack, homely looks and unwieldy size hiding creepy malevolence and impressive vigor. Director Franck Richard largely plays things unflashy but has some imaginative flair, the film is focused less on action or big setpieces than mood, with plenty of time spent highlighting the grim and grimy art direction, bleak surroundings and atmospheric outdoor conditions. Some gore, though the gore scenes are around just long enough to be appreciable rather than dwelt on. Score and sound design brood, erupting in industrial pounding when events really hot up, a good complement to the visuals. Tighter handling would have helped this one, also some better dialogue but altogether I had a great time. Well worth a look for loopy backwoods/hicksploitation horror enthusiasts.

First off, I'm sick of "tough girl" lead roles. A cigarette, leather jacket and a sneer is not character development.

As the plot developed it also dragged. I was wondering if it was going to be another "hostel" or similar torture/gore flick. And, I was starting to get annoyed because, I was already bored. Then came the twist of "The Pack" being revealed and it was original. It got my attention and I thought it might pick up.

Problem, every single character in this movie was such an overacted, quirky oddball, that the creatures are underwhelming. There is no prior reference to where they came from in the landscape or on the road traveled. The explanation of them is hastily thrown at you with a few unconvincing news clippings found later. The policeman was just a stupid character in a stupid shirt and according to the films own time line everyone was wearing the same exact clothes for a week (I know its France and that is a possibility). The biker crew was ridiculously awful, especially the one that wouldn't stop giggling. They reacted with the slightest skepticism when told monsters are coming to get them. When the big gory action scene comes you just don't care.

It was a very slow movie. There was not enough script to fill an hour and a half. With a bad, weird dream sequence ending that gives no closure.

In the middle of a snowy no man's land, Charlotte Massot (Emilie Dequenne) picks up Max (Benjamin Biolay), a hitchhiker; they stop in a truck-stop restaurant... hilarity ensues.

Trying to define this movie, or even give it a coherent plot, is a bit of a challenge. There are definitely elements of "Saw" or "Hostel" with the torture sequences. But that is not the focus. There are zombies (or something like zombies), but it is not a zombie film. And there are outlaws that conjure up images of "Mad Max", but it is not really like that either. Does this film fit into a category? No. Which, I suppose, is both a compliment and a complaint.

I will say that the film was beautifully shot and the special effects far exceed the low budget American films that come out these days. I am not aware what the budget of this film was, but I am willing to bet it was not nearly the amount it appears to be. The cinematographer and special effects crew deserve every bit of praise heaped on them.

I first saw this in 2011 on a dvd which I own.

Revisited it recently.

The film started off very well and i thot it might b a good thriller like Kurt Russell's Breakdown but never mind it took another approach n succeeded as a horror film albeit with a few flaws.

A young female Charlotte, probably after her break goes for a road trip all alone and gets harassed by a group of bikers at a snack store to which she just ignores n rides off on the empty road only to see the bikers behind and a hitchhiker Max asking for a lift.

She gives the lift to Max and later they both stop at La Spack, a rundown roadside eatery run by a fat n sturdy woman.

The biker gang reappears and when one of the gang members is about to rape Max, the entire gang is chased off by the owner of the restaurant. Moments later, Max vanishes after heading to the bathroom. Charlotte inquires the owner n a retired cop but to no avail.

How can a person wear a coat of mail most of the time?

Now who stands next to a person presumed dead/down by facing away?

How the creatures were able to get inside n outside the mud without effort?

How the creatures were able to hang the gìrl upside down?

Why the bikers rested at the same spot. Also where were the bikers when the lady took the meals for the creatures for the first time.

And why wud any biker jus rest at somebody else's property by trespassing? Weren't they suppose to move on the roads.

The background story of the miners doesnt add to the scariness. They shud have jus left em as creatures from the marsh.

We have Matthias Schoenaerts in a tiny role as a gang member.

Claustrophobic n bleak landscape wise, the film has a similar tone of that of Calvaire and the wet, muddy n uneven roads wise, this will remind Straightheads aka Closure.