Saturday, October 22, 2011

Just straight-up awesome: Inside.

is this any environment in which to raise a child?

Inside (2007) is a french horror film that I watched on the same day I watched Martyrs. And there is a lot that links them in addition to language. Both films are infamously brutal and violent, and both films have a single-minded clarity of vision that I find utterly compelling. The difference here, is that I hated Martyrs even while I admired it, and I absolutely love Inside.

This is not a movie that trades in subtlety. Two women are locked together in a house. The first is a pregnant woman who survived a recent car crash, and the second woman is trying to take the first's unborn baby from her with a pair of scissors. 

Knife to meet you?


Inside is not subtle, and god knows what insane point it might be trying to make about maternal instincts, but it is well made and fun to watch. Where Martyrs took away the audience's hope, Inside keeps you guessing what will happen. It is horrific, but never forgets that it is an entertainment. A grisly entertainment to be sure, but sometimes you don't want a creepy and atmospheric ghost story. Sometimes you want a train wreck of a film that hurtles forward while you alternate back and forth between holding your breath and saying, "What the FUCK?!" Sometimes you want a movie that threatens to show up in the middle of the night to take your baby from you with a pair of scissors.


No comments:

Post a Comment