So far the 2 movies I have mentioned have been pretty tame when it comes to the violence. Sure My Little Eye breaks out the violence in the last 3rd but up until that point it is a pretty cerebral movie. Day 3 is going to be a bit of a jump into a movie that is a bit more violent and extreme: À l’Interieur (Inside)
. I want to right off the bat say that while the gore is very extreme in this movie that is not why I am including it in the 31 Days of Horror. À l’Interieur knows how to build tension and it has one of the best freak out scenes I have ever seen in a movie.
On the night before Sarah (Alysson Paradis) is set to go into the hospital to be induced into labor a woman invades her house and proceeds to terrorize her throughout the night. Sarah is all alone as her husband was recently killed in a car crash and she is forced to fight for survival against a scissor wielding woman (Alysson Paradis) who has decided to kill her. There is something to be said for those simple movies that keep everything from becoming too complex. This is a home invasion movie that twists things by having the invader be a woman and pushes buttons by going down a very dark nasty gory path and boy is it a lot of fun.
I mentioned the freak out scene. This is a very mild spoiler so you might just want to skip down to the next paragraph. At one point before the attacks have happened we see Sarah sitting on the couch. We can see the whole room behind her and off to the corner we can see a dark hallway. From that hallway we slowly see the shape of the woman form in the darkness. It is done so gradually and perfectly that it still haunts me today and while I can’t help but remember the gore it is really the way À l’Interieur is able to build a sense of tension throughout the movie that really won me over.
À l’Interieur is one of those horror movies that will play well either by yourself or with a huge crowd of rowdy friends. It is easy to become distracted by the idea of all the gore and violence but if you really look closer you will see well put together horror thriller that has a wonderful way of building tension throughout the entire movie.
Be sure to check back tomorrow for Day 4 of the 31 Days of Horror.
I shelled out good money for this (the day the video store carries this I’m throwing a party) and GOOD GOD.
***SPOILERS*******SPOILERS*******SPOILERS****
The stomach stabbing is the bit that did it for me. I had to pause it at that point and come back to it. It’s an awesome little movie though.
I’ve seen it at my VHQ (now called Movie Gallery) here in town. Of course I own it so I don’t think I’ll end up renting it.
The phrase “Hitchcockian” is not out of place here. That is indeed what makes the movie work. In fact it was one of the (if not THE) best horror film of 2007.
GREAT villain and one of those movie where after about half way through, you say out loud “holy shit,” or “OH MY GOD” at least every ten minutes. Craziness. Probably the best horror film I’ve seen in the last few years.
Scariest villainess to ever be onscreen in my opinion. The scene where she’s standing in the back and banging on the window will always freak me out.