The cinematic pigeonhole that is Horror has long stretched out its corrupted limbs in search of fresh and innovative interpretation. But, like the Western, it had long appeared that this genre had conclusively been sapped of its fertility. Modern audiences had hardened toward and tired of the ‘easy scare’ craving instead a filmmaker who could again gouge a hole and slip their brand of fear just beneath the skin.
French Extreme Meets Subtle Nordic
A new tide of standout ‘French Extremism’ is now available to incite repulsion. Both the type intended by these most recent puppeteers of the macabre and the type reported by audiences and critics who see only exploitation and senseless gore. This is just one country’s contribution to a definite undertow of distinctively European horror cinema that is rapidly ripping away from the formulaic. A welcome antithesis to a mainstream industry where film titles intended to scare are invariably followed by a number (Even the once promising Saw franchise is now mass packaging its seventh outing).
The following is an overview two very different approaches; one masterfully subtle the other anything but. Each of these releases has been the recipient of both fawning praise and unmitigated disgust – this perhaps the perfect recipe for a new age of terror.
Martyrs
‘Martyrs are exceptional people. They survive pain, they survive total deprivation. They bear all the sins of the earth. They give themselves up. They transcend themselves... they are transfigured ‘ – Martyrs
- Director: Pascal Laugier (Saint Ange)
- Starring: Morjana Alaoui, Mylene Jampanoi
- DVD Release: April 28, 2009
- 100 minutes
- France
Martyrs is one of those films that sets itself up from the very beginning as an antagonizing brat just begging to be shouted down. Its plot line seeks to combine brutal abuse, self-mutilation, execution, religion and mental illness with a prolonged dash of graphic torture and degradation. And it succeeds, rarely before has so many controversial flare points been stacked so closely together. The question then is whether or not this good cinema. Is it ever entertainment to watch as a character is systematically and brutally pummeled and peeled of any semblance of humanity? Entertainment is not the word, but it is an experience that will leave the viewer indelibly affected.
Martyrs – Intelligent By Design
There is a psychological backbone to this piece that at times holds the film erect and at others allows it to slump into the dreaded realm of contrived gibberish. It is always a fine line when filmmakers conspire to present their ultra-violent work tagged with the notion that it is deserved justification because of the transcendent message that it is delivering. In the case of this film there is a definite vein of intelligence that guides the narrative through its outrageously over the top landscape. And it is this that grounds the film in a crazy kind of acceptable reality – one where the time is taken to inexplicably drag bodies away for burial rather than fleeing and where a totally impracticable stairway to hell takes on a character of its own.
Martyrs – No Friday Night Slashfest
Those trying to view this film as a variation on the Hollywood standard may be shocked at the raw brutality of the unfolding violence. There is no Freddy or Jason figure here to cheer for as the bodies begin to stack. But the set pieces do seem to be specifically drenched in ever increasing levels of nauseating gore for a purpose. The unsuspecting viewer is propelled toward a conclusion that struggles to present itself as profound at the foot of the harrowing inhuman decent that it has just explicitly chronicled. If you desire to be enraged, offended, shocked or just plain horrified then this is not a film that will disappoint. 4/5
Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in)
Oskar: Do you want to be my girlfriend? Eli: Oskar, I'm not a girl.
- Director: Tomas Alfredson (Four Shades of Brown)
- Starring: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson
- DVD Release: March 10, 2009
- 114 minutes
- Sweden
Let the Right One In perfectly yings Martyrs yang by offering up an all-together different style of horror. The seeming thrashed dead vampire theme is here given a refreshing and beautifully imagined rebirth. The traditional staples of vampire lore are barely tampered with but become unrecognizable within this subtle and wonderfully visual experience.
Here immortality is a tragic curse and the necessity of the afflicted that they cannot merely enter your home, that they must be 'invited in' presents perhaps the films most poignant scene. Simple yet simply unforgettable it, even if only for a short moment, infuses the living dead with a soaring emotional charge. This is film art at its very best.
Let the Right One In – Haunting Imagery
The cinematography adds to the directors’ seamless ability to derive tactile substance from any of the elements with which he has to work. Images of rectangular icebound apartment blocks induce you to shiver, curling into your chair. The performances coaxed from the films two young leads likewise chill with a slowly fostered intensity as they form an irretractable bond.
But it is perhaps this slowness, its thoughtfully labored pace that will throw many not used to the absence of smash cuts and telegraphed frights. There is much more going on here than meets the eye and that is at once its greatest strength but one that will ultimately keep this a lesser known treasure. That is of course until the inevitable time when it is poorly remade into the English language and it is then held up as the far superior original source.
Let the Right One In – Transcending the Genre
Testament to the true power of the narrative is that if all mention of vampirism were removed a poignant and achingly real story would still remain. The supernatural aspects of this film enhance but rarely overpower the proceedings. The result is an acquired taste that is well worth the effort. 4/5
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Hari Navarro - Hari Navarro is Topic Editor for Suite 101's Horror Film section and Editor/ Writer at online horror review site, The Hell Street ...
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