Review: Inside (A L'interieur) (2007)

Ever since the New Wave of the '50s and '60s, which saw the release of such films as Last Year at Marienbad, 400 Blows, and Breathless, as well as such directors as Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, and Alain Resnais, the French have been known to provide experimental, challenging cinema. French films have long held the distinction of appealing only to "cinema snobs", at least within the U.S., thanks to their generally slow-moving plotlines, overemphasis on dialogue and character development, and often ambiguous endings, that did not appeal to the American masses, who have always seemed to enjoy cut-and-dry endings in which the main character got whatever (or whoever) it was that he/she desired.

They have always seemed to be the anti-thesis of the Hollywood picture, which often simply strive to tell the same tired, clichéd story is as predictable and as familiar a way as possible, so as not to upset or leave the audience members guessing. But while they have long owned the drama, and occasionally the comedy, the French have never been known for horror films. After all, horror films are all about what the French of yesteryear were not: Action, suspense, and, perhaps above all, violence.

Over the course of the past couple years, and largely from out of nowhere, all that has quickly changed. The French are not only big players in the horror genre--they are arguably thee leading force in the genre today. While American cinema seems content with remaking horror movies and recycling one-note ideas into franchises (Saw, Hostel), the French film of the present is all about pushing those ideas into entirely new boundaries. The end result is not always good (Ils and High Tension, I'm looking at you), but they at least have the decency to try new things; to experiment with ideas, thus going places that Hollywood, for all its seemingly infinite power, would never dare to tread.

Inside is such a picture. Hell, even just the simple synopsis provided by the IMDb is enough to make one's stomach churn: "Four months after the death of her husband, a woman on the brink of motherhood is tormented in her home by a strange woman who wants her unborn baby." But even as far as that goes, and it is already farther out there than most films would be willing to go, it cannot even come close to preparing you for what you are in for. Chances are, if you are reading this, you have already heard at least something about it, whether it be its shocking violence, or maybe even its bold, fearless ending. Believe the hype--Inside is a graphically violent picture. But it succeeds in an area that I never would have guessed in a million years: It creates an unrelenting, almost nauseating tension; once the "action" starts, it never lets up long enough for you to catch your breath.

This is the kind of movie for which the term "cat-and-mouse" was derived, and I can think of not a single situation more deserving of that tag: An evil woman who will stop at nothing to cut out the baby of an innocent, defenseless pregnant woman one day before she is to give birth. The film's unpredictability is what adds to the intensity; by its conclusion, both women go through so much physical and emotional torment, that it is a wonder they are still alive at all. Watching it, I was reminded of a wrestling match, as both women trade vicious blows back and forth, for over an hour, until one has to be declared the winner, if only for the simple reason that she is the only one left standing.

Alysson Paradis plays Sarah, the pregnant woman who lost her husband in an accident. When the film settles down after its slam-bang intro, she is planning on "enjoying" her last day of pregnancy all alone in the comfort, and safety of her own home; she is to be induced first thing in the morning. Just as she is about to crash for the night, there is a knock at her front door. It is a woman who claims she is having car troubles and needs to use her phone. In a move so common-sensically smart for a horror film, she refuses to let the woman in. But where there is a will, there is a way. The woman (known only as "la femme", and played maniacally well by Beatrice Dalle) tries the back door. Sarah snaps a picture of her and calls the police, and the woman is gone.
The police stop by, don't find anything, can't make out anything from the picture, assure Sarah she is gone, blah, blah, blah. The usual. Of course, we know they are wrong, because we've already watched the trailer. The police tell her they will check up on her later, and then, just like that, they are gone.

No sooner does Sarah fall asleep, then the woman gains entrance into her house. Armed only with a pair of scissors, she starts to go to work, stabbing it into Sarah's belly button. Of course, you are not going to cut a baby out of a stomach without anesthetic, and expect your subject to simply lay there and take it; in an instant, Sarah is awake, and manages to get the woman off of her, escaping to the bathroom. And that is more or less the rest of the movie, save for several friends, relatives, and police officers that come to check up on Sarah, only to meet explicit, bloody demises (it comes as no surprise to me that the film was originally granted an NC-17 rating for the level of its violence; this is one of the few known examples of that rating actually being earned). But the deaths are not "fun", or "campy", or played for laughs the way many slasher films like to present them: Characters convulse, gasp for air, and cry for their mommy's before meeting their ends; the effect is nothing short of disturbing.

However, as stated earlier, the most impressive thing about Inside is not its shocking, realistic violence (though, that is "impressive", though that does not seem like the proper term), but the atmosphere. From a rather simple premise, directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury wring out just about every possible drop of intensity, though special mention must also go to Francois Eudes, who wrote the absolutely nerve-jangling, unique score. By the end of the movie, as I slowly went to the DVD player to eject the disc, hands shaking, my heart felt as though it would pound out of its chest. It has been a long time since a horror film has done that to me. To call Inside an emotionally-shattering experience somehow feels like an understatement; this is a film that aims to damage them permanently.

As with most movies in general, there are some problems in the "logic" department: Why would a woman about to go into labor want to be left alone in the first place? Why don't the cops call for backup once they find one of their officers dead? Wouldn't the neighbors notice that a rather large number of cars are collecting up front, with no one coming back out? Plus, there is a sequence when an officer hands Sarah a gun, only to have her toss it aside in favor of another sharp instrument, and the gun is forgotten.

But watching any movie, we are expected to cast aside at least some level of believability, and must take the film on its own terms. Some movies overuse this license, thus becoming silly, ridiculous, or laughable. With Inside, it doesn't even matter. This is a film that boldly overpowers its problems with sheer force. You must agree to go into it with an open mind, but don't expect any of it to be leaving it any time soon.

Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 4)