New on DVD – Inside (À l’intérieur)

by Andrew Jupin

Back in 1988, Chuck D and the rest of Public Enemy were adamant when they told their fans ‘don’t believe the hype.’ I say the same whenever I hear people going on and on and on about a movie they just watched and how funny it was or action packed or terrifying or how absolutely incredible and unbeatable the film is. I tell myself and others not to believe the hype because everyone sees movies in different ways and there is no way you’re going to absolutely agree with someone on a film and thus will be let down time after time. About three months ago, I first heard of this film, Inside (À l’intérieur), and the hype was exactly the same. Expressions used to describe the film at the time were things like, “mind-blowing” or “the best horror film of the last twenty years.” [That last statement is obviously ridiculous because it means whoever said it never saw Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III. Kidding.] I know I myself am hyping up the introduction in this review. You’re probably waiting for me to say something like, “Well this time, kids, believe all the hype you want.” Well I’m not going to say that. But what I will say is this: the hype comes close.

Inside starts with our heroine, Sarah (Alysson Paradis), sitting dazed in the aftermath of a horrible car accident. She sits, pregnant and bleeding, while her dead husband lay next to her. The film jumps to four months later; it is Christmas Eve and Sarah is still very much pregnant and due the next day. Is there anything more precious than giving birth on Christmas day? Don’t ask Sarah. The aftermath of the car accident and the death of her husband has left her very cold and distant. She is incapable of sadness or crying. She seems more or less ambivalent about the fact that she’s about to have her first child.

She turns down a Christmas Eve dinner invitation from her mother (Nathalie Roussel) in favor of going home, watching the news (the immigration protests in France are commented on in the background of this whole thing) and going to bed. As she tries to relax and wind down, there is a knock at the door. Here’s where you need to sit down or hang on to your hat or whatever it is you need to do when really terrifying stuff happens.

Enter the Girl (Béatrice Dalle). She knocks on the door, asking if she could come in and use Sarah’s phone; apparently she is having some car trouble. From here on, the film becomes one big game of Cat and Mouse. Or in this case I should say something more like Tyrannosaurus Rex and Mouse. The film traps us inside the house with Sarah and the Girl and for the next hour and a half, poor Sarah is beaten, bashed, abused and tortured. Why? Because the Girl is on a mission to cut Sarah’s unborn child out of her.

I will and cannot say anymore about what goes on in this film, nor should I. What I can say is that Inside smashes any sort of boundary you put in its way. This is not a PG-13, Sarah Michelle Gellar, J-horror remake; it is also not some sort of Eli Roth, torture porn flick. This is something new. An artistic, well thought out, beautifully shot, terrifying piece of cinema that will be at the front of my mind for a long time to come. It’s not so much a horror movie as it is a terror movie. The events that take place in the film are indeed horrific, but the situation itself is just so incredibly mind-bending to sit back and think about because, theoretically, this could actually happen to you.

The DVD does not provide much assistance in the way of any sort of justification for the madness. Everyone who participated in the production of the film seems very balanced, well-adjusted and kind. The actress who plays the Girl, Béatrice Dalle, is still slightly unnerving to watch during interviews—especially after what you’ve just watched her do over the course of the film. But all the filmmakers are very genuine when they say that they wanted to direct a beautiful looking film but at the same time wanted to spatter the entire house with blood.

Aside from the ‘Making Of’ featurette, all we are left with is a theatrical trailer which is funny because the only theatrical release the film seems to have received was via random Horror film festivals throughout the world. I’m not saying rush out and rent this movie, but for a select few, you may be intrigued. The first half hour is worth the rental price alone.

NOTE: In all honesty and seriousness, if you have any semblance if a weak stomach, please go watch something else.

Inside is out on DVD today.