A very uplifting little French take on the power of motherly affection, on the heart-warming effects of maternal dedication, and the feeling of vulnerability pregnancy leaves many women with. “Charming” would be the word, if not for the fact that one such mother is on a massacre spree, and her key target is a mother to be (to be tomorrow, as in “this is the night before she is supposed to go to hospital to deliver”). The latter really does not know what she did to deserve this level of attention, nor do all the other people who get in the way of “The Woman’s” (Beatrice Dalle! Where have you been all those years??) wrath.
Think “New French Wave of Really Disgusting Horror Movies” with Korean motives of female revenge sprinkled on top, and you are halfway towards how disturbing this is.
The film is relentless is introducing known, spooky elements (woman on the door, woman on the window, woman in the background of a picture taken in the park…), and upping the ante one by one. Only when it’s time for climactic confrontation, it just won’t stop. There’s more. And more. And more… I won’t argue that the plot is the most credible ever conceived, nor that the almost comical avoidance of getting rid of that damn woman on part of everybody including a whole flock of policemen carries any sense of realism. On the other hand – at some point you understand that however many opportunities for escape and counterattack are offered, SHE will always fight back, and leave some bloody prints on the scenery. (I particularly like this sentence from the short Variety review: “… laughs dependent on whether skewers in eyes tickle the funny bone.”)
This is cringe-inducingly violent to begin with, and I dare the world’s behavioural psychologists to set up lab experiments with pregnant ladies and assess how many of them can watch this for how long. My guess is that of a sample of 1000 women a maximum of three endures, and I would suggest to keep a good distance between yourself and those particular three girls…
Not suitable for antenatal lady’s nights…
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/inside_2007/
P.S.: Beatrice Dalle – where HAVE you been indeed…
thomas4cinema 