The Deep House (2021)

I like a good haunted house movie. I also like the films of Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury, who wrote and directed this. And underwater terror can often easily entertain me. That’s why I retained a healthy sense of optimism when I decided to finally check out The Deep House, despite the many negative reviews that it has garnered since more and more genre fans were able to check it out.

The heart of the story is very simple. Camille Rowe and  James Jagger are a couple who have decided to holiday in France and treat themselves to a unique diving experience, exploring a house that sits at the bottom of a lake. Unfortunately, the house isn’t as still and empty as expected, which makes the creepy underwater exploration even creepier.

I was on board with The Deep House a long time ago. As soon as I heard the wonderfully simple main selling point, I knew it was something I would be interested in. There are scenes that work. It’s just a shame that they become outnumbered by all of the scenes that don’t.

Bustillo and Maury certainly like to make their horror as beautiful as it is scary and/or disturbing, which is why I have, and will, always been interested in whatever they do, even if it feels like a huge step down for them (a la Leatherface). This feels like it should have been an easy “win” for them, a return to form after some stumbles. Sadly, the underwater environment proves to be a bit too constrictive when it comes to setting up, and delivering, the scares.

Everything is set up well enough in the opening 10-15 minutes. Viewers are told about the plan, and characters discuss how much time they have in relation to how much oxygen they will be carrying. Simple. You then get some shots of the divers finding the titular building, and those are as gorgeous as they are unique. Moving in to the house itself, standard living environments are rendered spooky and unnatural by their underwater setting, and I started to think that everyone who disliked this movie was wrong. I would love it, and I would try to convince others of just how good it was.

That didn’t last long though. A few nice details aside, the rest of the film becomes a collage of murky shots, tension ruined by the frame being filled with too many bubbles as people are panicked, and a very poor sense of the geography of the area being explored. There are still a few decent moments here and there, but most viewers will wish the film-makers could somehow find a clearer way to present their concept (which is paradoxically the main strength and weakness of the film).

Rowe and Jagger do just fine, but their characters feel as if anyone could have taken on the roles. Most of us look very similar when wearing a full set of scuba-diving equipment, and the dialogue is delivered more with a focus on relaying information than conveying any deep character development (no pun intended). The main character, the one making the biggest impression, is the house, which proves to be a winner when showcased properly. It’s just a shame that so few scenes really showcase it properly.

Not an unwatchable disaster, the strength of that core idea and the occasional visually stunning moments guarantee that, The Deep House is just sadly disappointing, and isn’t helped at all by an underwhelming and unsatisfying finale. I still have plenty of goodwill left for both Bustillo and Maury, but it isn’t as much as it once was.

4/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Leatherface (2017)

There are some people that like Leatherface, the . . . . eighth instalment in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise (unless I have miscounted). Some people liked Texas Chainsaw. Some people like iced coffees. And pineapple on pizza. And these are the people that I will sit and silently glare at. Yes, ALL of them.

Once again attempting to show audiences the "birth" of Leatherface, this is arguably the tamest film yet for the franchise. There are a few good gore moments, I won't deny it, but it all lacks a certain edge, instead opting to give us a plot that's typical "criminals on the loose" fare, with the addition of an attempted rug pull so entirely predictable that it wouldn't even fool either of my two cats, even if they were watching the film while catnipped out of their tiny cat minds.

Most of the cast do a decent job, despite having such weak material to work with. The youngsters include Sam Strike, Vanessa Grasse, Sam Coleman, James Bloor, and Jessica Madsen. None of them make a very strong impression, but they're only really there so we can find out when the chainsaw was first put to good use. As for the adults, Lili Taylor does the coddling mama act just fine, Stephen Dorff is excellent as an angry lawman who might be confusing revenge with justice, and Finn Jones is present in some scenes.

Written by Seth M. Sherwood, the script is even more forgettable than so many other insipid horror vehicles from recent years. Some very minute characterisations help, and the opening and closing sequences are better than anything we have to muddle through in the middle, but it's certainly not enough to keep you caring, even for what should be quite a perfect runtime.

Sherwood at least has the excuse of inexperience, which cannot be said for the talented co-directors, Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury. Inside and Livid are two of the finest French horror movies from this first part of the 21st century. How the two decided that this project would be a good use of their time and energy is beyond me. It isn't, and their considerable talents are hidden so deep here as to be practically invisible.

Completists will watch this film. Fans who believe that "the saw is family" will watch this film. Undemanding horror fans will watch this film. But I suspect it is only the last group that will end up enjoying it. It's a below average film, hence my rating (as generous as it is), but it's a TERRIBLE Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie.

4/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Inside AKA A l'interieur (2007)

Ho-leeeeeeee crap! Wow!! Goddamn!!! And other such exclamations of genuine shock and surprise. Inside is one mad, intense, brutal, wild horror movie and if you're a genre fan with a strong stomach then you should check it out as soon as possible. But make sure you really DO have that strong stomach.

Directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury, almost from the off, mark themselves out as talents to watch in the future. The premise of the movie is simplistic enough (a heavily pregnant woman is terrorised by a strange woman the night before she is due to head into the hospital and have her baby) but the execution is absolutely fearless and astounding.

Alysson Paradis is the poor, terrified mother-to-be while Beatrice Dalle (still Betty Blue to many who grew up with that poster on their wall) plays the mysterious woman doing the terrifying. There are others who appear on the scene but this movie really isn't about the acting, although I never noticed anyone putting in a bad performance, however small the role.

This movie is about the bloodshed, the carnage and the unrelenting build up of terror. I can't remember the last time I felt quite so tense while watching some poor saps in a horror movie approaching their, possibly fatal, fates. This movie had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish and also had me wincing numerous times when the camera showed some of the more painful moments in far too much detail for comfort.

This is certainly not for those who dislike the horror movies that "show too much" but I should just add that there IS a decent story lurking under the streams of blood and viscera. It may be flimsy but it's there and it actually adds to the dynamic of the movie, making a rewatch a surprisingly enjoyable and rewarding (well, sort of, you know what I mean) experience.

 8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inside-DVD/dp/B002CIZPRQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376209324&sr=8-1&keywords=inside 

 

Livide (2011)

Following on from their SUPERB horror movie Inside, writer-directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury provide fans with yet another slice of near-perfect modern horror. Less visceral, in some ways, and more fantastical than Inside, Livide is as beautiful as it is offbeat and scary. It's a fairytale dripping with blood, something more along the lines of Cronos or Trick 'r Treat than the other French horror movies of recent years (Martyrs, Frontier(s), etc.).

The film begins with young Lucie (Chloe Coulloud) being picked up and taken along to begin her training as an at-home care nurse. Her trainer is Mrs. Wilson (Catherine Jacob). Mrs. Wilson notices that Lucie has two different coloured eyes and explains to her what some people think that means (basically, two different souls in one body). All goes pretty well until they get to the house of Mrs. Jessel (Marie-Claude Pietragalla). Mrs. Wilson orders Lucie to stay in the car and heads in on her own. After some time in the car, Lucie follows. She finds Mrs. Jessel in a comatose state and Mrs. Wilson doing the little she has to do for her. Mrs. Wilson explains that there have been rumours for a long time that Mrs. Jessel has some great treasure hidden in the house. She's searched everywhere and has been unable to find it. At the end of her day, Lucie goes to meet her boyfriend (Will, played by Felix Moati) and tells him about the Jessel house, which leads them to head out with Will's brother (Ben, played by Jeremy Kapone) to find the treasure for themselves. Of course, they end up finding more than they bargained for.

Going from the description above, you may think that Livide is very standard stuff and you'd be right, up to a point. It really starts getting more and more interesting in the second half, as the main characters investigate the house and start to discover mysterious and interesting secrets inside its walls.

The cast all do a good job, especially Chloe Coulloud in the main role, but this is a film all about atmosphere and style and macabre beauty, all of which it has in abundance. Bustillo and Maury don't deliver anything new to the table when it comes to dialogue or characterisation of the three young ones breaking and entering, but they certainly give viewers something quite unusual when it comes to the back-story that's eventually revealed and the elements that all come together during the third act and that's what you'll remember after the credits have rolled.

I can't wait to see the next movie that Bustillo and Maury deliver, they are certainly people that horror fans can rely upon to deliver something interesting, whether you love or hate the end result.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Livid-Blu-ray-Chlo%C3%A9-Coulloud/dp/B007Z0TL1W/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1360351078&sr=8-2