I debated whether or not to extend this post to a larger topic after watching the latest French genre film from Netflix. But there are some comparisons and generalizations to be made. I'm certainly no expert on French cinema. I hope todmichel and Dr. Kiss and others can help with this. I can tick off about 5 French genre films that have been released in the past decade or so, most of which I've enjoyed to one degree or another. At the top of the food chain is High Tension, Martyrs, and Mutants. I know there are varying opinions about these films, but for me they all included components I appreciate in any film -- primarily fine cinematography; good acting and directing; and usually very, very bloody. Storylines are another subject. What I have found, with the exception of Martyrs, is that French filmmakers usually take a familiar genre trope or topic and spin it in their own fashion. Sometimes that results in predictability, sometimes not. Lesser French films that I watched in recent years -- The Horde; Chaws -- suffer to some degree from a very linear storyline. They are short, compact, and don't provide many surprises even though they are still professionally done.
The most recent French genre film is The Pack (2010), a tidy 78-minute thriller that blends more than one familiar trope to produce an interesting result. There was a section where I nearly gave up on the film -- more or less a torture sequence that was quite nasty -- but perseverance revealed more than one shift in direction, and I was quite pleased with the result. A very nice debut effort from writer/director Franck Richard combines pieces of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Burrowers, and any number of backcountry hillbilly cannibal films such as The Hills Have Eyes, to create a nicely-filmed, enjoyable, albeit ultimately predictable film. The cinematography doesn't dwell on shaky cam techniques, but rather long, slow pans without much soundtrack. There is also one very nice segment where a girl is saved from the clutches of... a bad guy... by a gunshot that goes off right next to her ear. We watch the next several minutes with muted, hollow sound expected from such a loud bang.
The Pack, like the other films mentioned above, is very bloody and violent. But if you can get through what appears to be a requisite torture segment, there are good moments coming up. It seems to me The Pack is very representative of recent French genre films. I'd like to see some comments from CHFBers more knowledgeable about the industry that me.
... Reed
The most recent French genre film is The Pack (2010), a tidy 78-minute thriller that blends more than one familiar trope to produce an interesting result. There was a section where I nearly gave up on the film -- more or less a torture sequence that was quite nasty -- but perseverance revealed more than one shift in direction, and I was quite pleased with the result. A very nice debut effort from writer/director Franck Richard combines pieces of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Burrowers, and any number of backcountry hillbilly cannibal films such as The Hills Have Eyes, to create a nicely-filmed, enjoyable, albeit ultimately predictable film. The cinematography doesn't dwell on shaky cam techniques, but rather long, slow pans without much soundtrack. There is also one very nice segment where a girl is saved from the clutches of... a bad guy... by a gunshot that goes off right next to her ear. We watch the next several minutes with muted, hollow sound expected from such a loud bang.
The Pack, like the other films mentioned above, is very bloody and violent. But if you can get through what appears to be a requisite torture segment, there are good moments coming up. It seems to me The Pack is very representative of recent French genre films. I'd like to see some comments from CHFBers more knowledgeable about the industry that me.
... Reed
