After the disappointing Ils (2006), I wasn't sure if I wanted to review another French horror so soon, at least not until next year. But there is something about French horror that keeps drawing me back. I don't know if it's the sheer brutality of many of these films or the thought that I feel like I usually connect better with characters in most of these films, but I'll say it again: the French have made some damn good horror lately. Frontier(s) was by no means original nor was it the best of the French horror lot that I've grown so fond of, but it was a good film that had me at the end of my seat by the end.
The plot follows a group of thieves fleeing from Paris after some political riots. One of the thieves is a girl named Yasmine, who is pregnant by one of the guys in their little group of criminals. The group splits up and agrees to meet outside of town. The two guys who leave first drive into the countryside and find a cozy little hostel to shack up in and wait for the others. They pick the wrong hostel, obviously. After a night of debauchery and fornication, the two lads start to realize that they are holed up with the Texas Chainsaw Massacre family of the French countryside. Which really sucks because now Yasmine and her boyfriend, Alex, are headed there to meet up with the others. Sucks for them, but is really awesome for the group of cannibals. I included the TCM reference for a reason. While some hail this as a rip-off and the French version of Texas Chainsaw, I see it as more of a homage. This film is littered with scenes that will remind you of the original TCM. From the dysfunctional family with the mother who has to be force fed (Grandpa, anyone?) to the meat hooks, it is painfully clear that the filmmakers took a lot of inspiration from the 1974 classic. But there is also enough originality here that it s unfair to call it a rip off.
Moving on, now Yasmine and Alex arrive. They sit to dinner with the family, wondering where their two pals are. Alex eventually goes outside to take a leak and finds out just what happened to their two friends. Having uncovered the family's dirty little secret, the two are then captured and shackled in the pig pen. The fight for survival then ensues.
It turns out the family is actually a group of Nazis hell bent on keeping their genes pure and growing their family. When they find out Jasmine is pregnant, it's like Christmas morning over at the ol' Gestapo household. Since the family is starting to become inbred and deformed, they need to dilute their gene pool so Jasmine and her fetus are set to become integrated into the family. Though it seems unclear to me why a group of Nazis would choose a dark haired French chick to induct into their pure gene pool, it's clearly just a plot device by filmmakers. I guess when you live in a shack in the woods and run a secret Nazi-cannibal cult, waiting for Aryan chicks to stumble down the dirt road every day as your family is dying out and becoming deformed from inbreeding is a little too much to ask for.
Anyway, let's talk about the violence. As a longtime gorehound and lover of all that is grotesque and repulsive, I can say that Frontier(s) delivered. The first half of the film was a little slow and didn't hold my interest as well, but by the time Jasmine escapes, this film really picked up. We are treated to some delightful scenes , most notably one with a saw towards the end and even a head explosion. I was really rooting for Jasmine throughout the film. The actors who played the Nazi guys were chilling and sadistic, and despite the overwhelming darkness that enveloped this film of sadism and torture, there was a light at the end of the tunnel that I couldn't help but keep rooting for. I hate spoiling film endings, but all I can say is that you should check it out.
The film was rather straightforward and there is nothing here that hasn't been seen before. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed it and I think that if you can just sit back and get lost in the world of a film despite its flaws and lack of complete originality, you will too. This film was no Martyrs. It was no Inside, and hell it wasn't even a High Tension. But this film is certainly a nice little feather to add to the cap of the impressive French horror cap. Not perfect by any stretch, but recommended.
3 1/2 OUT OF 5 STARS
*** 1/2 out of *****
The plot follows a group of thieves fleeing from Paris after some political riots. One of the thieves is a girl named Yasmine, who is pregnant by one of the guys in their little group of criminals. The group splits up and agrees to meet outside of town. The two guys who leave first drive into the countryside and find a cozy little hostel to shack up in and wait for the others. They pick the wrong hostel, obviously. After a night of debauchery and fornication, the two lads start to realize that they are holed up with the Texas Chainsaw Massacre family of the French countryside. Which really sucks because now Yasmine and her boyfriend, Alex, are headed there to meet up with the others. Sucks for them, but is really awesome for the group of cannibals. I included the TCM reference for a reason. While some hail this as a rip-off and the French version of Texas Chainsaw, I see it as more of a homage. This film is littered with scenes that will remind you of the original TCM. From the dysfunctional family with the mother who has to be force fed (Grandpa, anyone?) to the meat hooks, it is painfully clear that the filmmakers took a lot of inspiration from the 1974 classic. But there is also enough originality here that it s unfair to call it a rip off.
Moving on, now Yasmine and Alex arrive. They sit to dinner with the family, wondering where their two pals are. Alex eventually goes outside to take a leak and finds out just what happened to their two friends. Having uncovered the family's dirty little secret, the two are then captured and shackled in the pig pen. The fight for survival then ensues.
It turns out the family is actually a group of Nazis hell bent on keeping their genes pure and growing their family. When they find out Jasmine is pregnant, it's like Christmas morning over at the ol' Gestapo household. Since the family is starting to become inbred and deformed, they need to dilute their gene pool so Jasmine and her fetus are set to become integrated into the family. Though it seems unclear to me why a group of Nazis would choose a dark haired French chick to induct into their pure gene pool, it's clearly just a plot device by filmmakers. I guess when you live in a shack in the woods and run a secret Nazi-cannibal cult, waiting for Aryan chicks to stumble down the dirt road every day as your family is dying out and becoming deformed from inbreeding is a little too much to ask for.
Anyway, let's talk about the violence. As a longtime gorehound and lover of all that is grotesque and repulsive, I can say that Frontier(s) delivered. The first half of the film was a little slow and didn't hold my interest as well, but by the time Jasmine escapes, this film really picked up. We are treated to some delightful scenes , most notably one with a saw towards the end and even a head explosion. I was really rooting for Jasmine throughout the film. The actors who played the Nazi guys were chilling and sadistic, and despite the overwhelming darkness that enveloped this film of sadism and torture, there was a light at the end of the tunnel that I couldn't help but keep rooting for. I hate spoiling film endings, but all I can say is that you should check it out.
The film was rather straightforward and there is nothing here that hasn't been seen before. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed it and I think that if you can just sit back and get lost in the world of a film despite its flaws and lack of complete originality, you will too. This film was no Martyrs. It was no Inside, and hell it wasn't even a High Tension. But this film is certainly a nice little feather to add to the cap of the impressive French horror cap. Not perfect by any stretch, but recommended.
3 1/2 OUT OF 5 STARS
*** 1/2 out of *****