Inside

            Leave it to the French. This has become my motto towards horror films lately. The 2000s were somewhat of a bleak era for American horror. America was caught up producing remake after remake of the genres greatest hits including: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, and The Hills Have Eyes just to name a few. There was a sever lack of creativity outside of Eli Roth and a few select others. So while this was going on here, the French were busy upping the ante with their own imprint of brutality. In 2003 the French unveiled Haute Tension (High Tension). High Tension was released in North America two years later. Its depiction of violence and depravity was something that hadn’t been seen since the golden years of horror in the 70s and 80s. This was a very good first impression of French horror that would only be outdone with future films, which leads us to Inside.           

            Inside, or À l'intérieur, found its way onto DVD in the states in 2007. The film starts our with a nasty car wreck in which we find our main character, Sarah. Sarah, our lone survivor of the wreck also happens to be pregnant. Fast forward to Christmas Eve, our heroine is due the next day. Visions of her deceased husband from the wreck haunt her through the night. Here is where things get awfully bad. Late in the evening, Sarah gets a ring at the doorbell. Santa, maybe? I wish. It turns out to be a mysterious woman who knows a lot about Sarah. Frightened, Sarah calls the police to report the incident. The police arrive to find nothing at all and wish our poor Sarah a safe and merry Christmas.

            What unfolds for the next hour is one of the greatest achievements of the horror genre in a few decades. I won’t get into great detail because I don’t want to spoil much of the surprises, but consider this: our villain’s choice of weapon is a large pair of scissors. The blood flows real quick as Sarah is stuck in a nasty game of cat and mouse in her home with this mysterious woman who wants to take her baby from the womb. A few poor guests meet a grim fate at the hands of a pair of scissors. Throw in a lobotomy, an incredible blown off head scene, and a human hand stabbed to the wall and you have yourself an ultraviolent French horror film.

            Although the film takes place entirely in Sarah’s home, the tension is nightmarish. The FX is some of the best I’ve seen, and doesn’t rely on CGI to get the job done. The last fifteen minutes of the film are pure carnage and chaos that won’t leave your mind for a few days. I’m sure everyone has heard that before in a horror film review, but you haven’t seen it like the French do. So does Sarah survive and keep the baby? This is one hell of a journey you’ll have to make for yourself to find out. Welcome to French horror 101, courtesy of Highbrow Horror. 

- Chris

Poster by Micah Moseby.