Inside (Julien Maury, Alexandre Bustillo, 2007)
Beforehand Thoughts:
Right now, I feel exactly like I did when I was told to watch the film Martyrs. Pretty nervous, but excited. I haven't read what Inside is about or anything like that. All I know is that it is part of a "French New Wave Horror Gore Blood Fest" genre (or something like that). The cover of the film has the imprint of a child on the mothers womb and a pair of scissors so I should probably be ready for some intensely grotesque violence. Maybe even a self-administered abortion. Who knows what those crafty French are up to these days...
The last film I watched in 720p was [REC], and that alone was terrifying in High-Def. So, lets see how this is...
Post-Trauma:
Well... That was... Hmm... So, I was bracing for it to be a lot more visually terrifying than it was. As far as blood and gore goes, it has a ton. There is an overwhelming amount of violence, but with these films, I expect nothing less.
The plot for Inside is like this: A pregnant woman is driving and gets in a car accident and her husband dies. 4 months later, the night before she is going to be induced into labor, she is terrorized by a psychotic woman who wants her child.
For some reason, when I watched this, I was expecting a bit more Rosemary's Baby and less "Dr. 90210," so I was letting myself get far more frightened than I should have. This is basically your stereotypical slasher film, but with the violence turned up to "Ultra" and less scantily clad co-eds being slaughtered. I mean, it's fairly predictable. But here is my rant about slasher films, why are the characters absolutely brainless? Sure, in a situation like that, you may make some bad decisions spur of the moment, but I think we have all played enough video games to know that if you have a gun, and someone is stalking you, you hold up in a small room with the door open and shoot whatever steps in front. But the protagonist of this film doesn't think like that; no traditional logic. She is more the
So there is someone coming to kill me. Do I:
A) Hold up in a bathroom, lock the door and ONLY open it when I am 100% positive of my safety?
B) Peek out every now and then, vapidly fighting back when attacked, getting my shit rocked, only to retreat right back to where I started?
C) Find a sharp object and take that ho-bag on while yelling, "COME AT ME, BRO!"?
D) Walk out and let her have her way with me? I'm gonna die someday, why not make it now?
Traditional logic says A and if you are a Viking or a Bear, C. But for some reason, she says, "B sounds like a great plan! You can never be covered in enough of your own blood! And really, who needs extremities? So I lose use of my ankle or my hand, whatever!"
Ugh, it's beyond me.
★★★½ - The good thing about films like Inside, High Tension and Martyrs is that, usually, they are really well shot. It makes the gore look a lot more elegant (if that makes any sense). At some point, it ceases to look like a snuff film and it looks more like an artsy gore film, which is essentially what it is. If you are into the tense, ultraviolent horror film, I'd say this was pretty decent. I liked the concept behind Martyrs a lot more than this (both fall into this same French pretty/ultraviolent genre). But, besides the stupidity of the protagonist, it's a pretty cool little film. Prepare yourself for a LOT of blood.
Funny story, while writing this I have been listening to the song "Bloodrocuted" by Dethklok. It seems to fit well.
