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In the `70s and `80s, the Italians ruled the horror roost. In the `90s, the Asians took over
and showed their scary stuff. Now, in the early 2000s, we have a new force to be
reckoned with: the French. Alexandre Aja’s Haute Tension is just one recent
example of this new wave of Gallic viscera. Well, after all, they gave us the “gore as
entertainment” treatment back in the late 19th and early 20th century with the Grand
Guignol. It’s only fitting, then, that they should see the new millennium in with equal
fervor with one of the best low-budget independent movies I’ve seen so far this year:
Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury’s Inside.
Alysson Paradis plays Sarah, a pregnant woman who, in the opening sequence, nearly
loses her life in a violent car crash. She does, however, lose her husband. Four months
later, at Christmas, she’s on the verge of giving birth, but she still hasn’t gotten over the
death of her husband. The audience gets a strong sense of that loss as Sarah stares at
photographs of the two of them in happier times, barely holding back the tears. And as
another backdrop to this Christmas story, we hear about violent race riots happening in
the Paris suburbs and the fear these riots have instilled in the citizens.
The story kicks into gear when, one night, a stranger (played by Béatrice Dalle) knocks
on Sarah’s door, claiming that her car has broken down. Sarah refuses her entry. Big
mistake. The stranger breaks in and moves wraithlike through the house. While Sarah
sleeps, the stranger enters her bedroom with a scissors and proceeds to try to cut
Sarah’s baby from her womb. Blood and mayhem ensue as Sarah fights to keep herself
from the blade and hands of this psychotic home invader.
Inside is both riveting and brutal. Dalle, as la femme, gives the screen a new and
nuanced psychopath—a primal animal focused solely on maternal instincts. We do get
an insight into her motivation, but while she still comes across as a twisted individual,
there is dimension to her character.
Technically, the movie is a joy to look at. The camera work is organic and fluid, and the
frames have a vivid composition that belies the genre and elevates the material. The
majority of the movie takes place in one location—Sarah’s home in the Paris suburbs—adding pressure to the claustrophobia.
What the filmmakers have created is a movie layered with symbolism and metaphor.
The house—the pregnant Sarah’s personal womb—and her actual pregnant belly are
twined beautifully, enveloping all in an ironic sense of protection. And, coupled with its
almost unbearable moments of silence, Inside offers an experience not for the
faint of heart.
If you enjoy a liberal smattering of gore with your tensely wound psychodrama, then this
is the movie for you.
