À l'intérieur

... although the ones that follow aren't that shallow.

What would you do, a stranger's coming after you, just a day before you birth, with a rather heavy girth; finds a way into your home, from room to room she walks and roams, like a demon after blood, of which there ends up quite a flood (or a torrent or a deluge, take your pick).

The fantastic Béatrice Dalle, who gave us one of the most outstanding performances of her career in the brilliant Betty Blue, gives us another intense interpretation, as a stalker/house breaker intent on causing chaos and carnage, while wreaking havoc and mayhem - which she achieves with some aplomb and more.

The French are having a bit of a horror renaissance on their shores right now it would seem. After Haute Tension stirred up a tremendous hype a few years back, films like Malefique, Them, and Frontieres are doing the exact same. But none of them have received the word of mouth that this brutal film has. Inside is a damn mean film. I think it goes too far in its excess, but that's what you have to do to shock an audience these days. And shocking it is. Can you imagine what the angry mob of parents that wanted to ban Silent Night, Deadly Night would think about Inside? If you've seen it, you probably can imagine. If you haven't, I suggest giving it a spin. The less I say about the movie, the more powerful the experience will be. Inside is a film I will most likely never watch again, because I'm sure I will never forget it.

First thing: If you don't like blood or gore, stay far, far away from this. Also, don't watch this if you're pregnant. Really.

This is one hell of a horror movie, quite literally. What you need to know about this is that there's a pregnant woman in serious peril. And by peril, I mean, torture, gore, revenge, lots of blood, death and... scissors.

Like Irreversible, Sheitan, Ils and Maléfique, "Inside" is yet another proof that the best horror these days are coming from Europe (France, Spain and Germany specially). Filmed with what appears to be a micro-budget, most of the action occurs in a small, two-storey house. However, the talent of those involved with the film make this irrelevant.

One important thing about this film is that is very good at maintaining tension and suspense, something that very few gory movies do. You know you're watching something terrible, but you can't look away for curiosity's sake.

Many interesting details in the movie, such as the victim's house number, black cats and overall a feeling of dread and death. Worth watching twice for catching these pearls.

Anyway, as a last minute warning, THIS IS VERY violent and graphic. The ending was great and haunting, and with the exception of a scene or two that didn't really make sense and thus seemed somewhat out of place, this is a solid horror and fans of the genre won't be disappointed.

6/10

A mother-to-be is menaced by a strange woman who traps her inside her own house. What does the stranger want? Why, her unborn baby, of course. This film received a great deal of praise from the horror community, but when I watched it shortly after it's U.S. DVD release, I didn't think it was worthy of any of it. Since I blind bought it back then, I figured I might as well give it another chance. Alas, this film didn't improve at all upon my second viewing. French horror seems to be all the rage among fellow genre fans these days, but where films like Haute Tension and Martyrs succeed at being more than envelope-pushing for the sheer hell of it, Inside fails miserably.

I'm a fan of Béatrice Dalle. She's fantastic in 37°2 le matin, and her menacing performance is easily the best thing about this film. To be frank, it's the only thing this mess has going for it. Alysson Paradis is the victim, but pregnant or not, the film didn't give me much of a reason to invest in her character. Clearly, this kills any potential suspense factor. Another suspense vacuum is the rampant idiocy on display here, most notably from the police. A cop's two partners just disappeared into a dark house where gunshots emanated from. Am I to believe that the moron would head into the house with his latest arrest handcuffed to his wrist, all without calling for backup? Then there's the thing with the circuit breaker, and it's just absurd. I also didn't care for the inside shots of the baby at all. I thought it was an awful idea, made all the more annoying by the obvious CGI and ridiculous expressions the baby would make. Was I supposed to be disturbed whenever this popped up? If anything, it was amusing that the directors thought this would work in any way, shape or form.

Now, onto the film's sole reason for existing... The gore effects are wet and brutal. They're not always convincing, but they're very graphic. And that's all there is to Inside. Honestly, this thing is basically just one big excuse for pushing the envelope with gore effects and attempted shock factor. There is no depth, no suspense, no scares... It's a revolting bore. I'm surprised by how well-liked it is. This belongs at the bottom of the barrel with other French drivel such as Sheitan and Frontière(s). The only true horror that comes from watching this is realizing that something so bad is actually being praised to the heavens.

Of course I have seen films like MARTYRS, FRONTIER(S) and JACK KETCHUM'S THE GIRL NEXT DOOR but I have to say INSIDE was in a class by itself in terms of the ending, it was so bloody and violent I had trouble wrapping my head around what I just saw.

At first I wanted to hate the film and kick myself for buying it but later on I couldn't stop thinking about it, especially about the ending, very few films have had that effect on me, so in the end I thought maybe it was a good film, because I can't even remember the last film that had this particular effect on me, so I'll go ahead and say among all the graphic violence and all the intense moments there was actually a very unique experience.

If I could give good advice to all male horror fans, don't think of this as the ideal date movie, it might cause a few problems in your relationship.