[Editorial] 8 of The Best New French Extremity Horror Movies

Extremity in horror is both a cause of disdain as well as interest in horror fans. Some people wish to challenge themselves by pushing the boundaries of what they consider decent, choosing to endure images and stories that encapsulate the worst of mankind and what we are capable of doing to one another.

Some extreme horror is met with such utter disdain that it takes extensive searching to find a fan who will defend what is shown on screen. Analysis in the forms of podcasts and papers can be sought out on almost any subject within the extreme horror genre. The amount of research and criticism of the genre proves that, while many feign outrage at the mere thought of films that deal in feces, necrophilia, sadism, sexual torture, and other characteristics of the underbelly of the human condition – really, there is a fascination in exploitation. These are the films that you watch out of the corner of your eye while alone in the dark.

Despite the fervid indignation against taboo films, there is a sub-genre that has managed to exist alongside much of the severe judgment aimed at extreme horror films while still being considered to have something important to say. The New French Extremity is a term coined by critic James Quandt who described the movement as “a cinema suddenly determined to break every taboo, to wade in rivers of viscera and spumes of sperm, to fill each frame with flesh, nubile or gnarled, and subject it to all manner of penetration, mutilation, and defilement.”

Quite the endorsement!

But this reductive description does not take into consideration the effects of the time in which these films were created and for what purpose. It is easy to dismiss transgressive films as having no merit, but it must be asked how much of the emotional strain a viewer experiences when watching these films colors their opinion. It can be difficult to look at the meaning behind the creation of such traumatic images and sounds as can be seen in the films of the New French Extremity; easy to condemn the filmmakers as having manufactured pornography rather than art.

The movement was first started in the late 90s and continued into the 21st century. It was created during a time of great turmoil in France as the streets were rocked with police brutality, violent riots, severe xenophobia, and what seemed like a sort of reckoning for a country with a harried and bloody past.

As stated in Alexandra West’s book Films of the New French Extremity, “The films of the New French Extremity are an important cultural touchstone because horror films reflect and refract the terrors that contemporary societies face.” Similar to works such as A Serbian Film, the New French Extremity was a means for filmmakers to expressly show on screen what they had seen in their lives and in their country. For filmmakers such as Gaspar Noé, Claire Denis, Pascal Laugier, and others, the time for denying the ugly truth was over. Much like the American films of the 70s such as Last House on the Left and I Spit on Your Grave, a movement was created by these directors in which the camera would no longer cut away from the scenes that truly encapsulate the experience of what it is to be human.  

The films of the New French Extremity are bloody, sexual, and unforgiving – but they are also often heartbreaking and gorgeous – a juxtaposition that can be difficult to understand. Extreme horror does not go gently into the night, it barrels through the viewer, fucks with their mind, makes them feel those dark emotions that are not explainable, makes them identify with incestuous siblings and sadistic vamps, vengeful lovers and amoral heroes.

Here are eight of the most beguiling and truly disturbing films of the New French Extremity. These are listed in no particular order, because all are worthy of a watch.

A note on Trigger Warnings: All extreme horror films should be approached with the knowledge that there may be some or all forms of violence – sexual and non – and that to watch these films is to be exposed to possibly triggering content.

8. Haute Tension

(High Tension, aka Switchblade Romance – 2003 – Dir. by Alexandre Aja)

Haute Tension follows best friends Alexia and Marie as they visit Alexia’s parents at their secluded farmhouse. They are almost immediately beset by a sadistic, necrophiliac killer who butchers his way through the remote countryside. High Tension is one of the more accessible films on this list as, while it is incredibly gruesome and brutal, the stalk and slash nature of the narrative will be familiar to horror fans and is overall a palatable amount of violence compared to its fellows down the list.

7. Irréversible

(2002 – Dir. by Gaspar Noé)

Most will have heard of Irréversible by reputation alone. Reception was divided amongst viewers, with many walking out of theaters in outrage, with others embracing it as a work of art. The film begins at the end, with two friends Marcus and Pierre (Vincent Cassel and Albert Dupontel) raging through a gay club called The Rectum seeking a man named Le Tenia. When they think they have found the man they are looking for what follows is an intense scene that, as the narrative has not yet been revealed, feels worse for its context-less brutality. Irréversible then moves backward through the story as Marcus and Pierre search for La Tenia, until we meet Monica Belluci’s Alex walking alone in a tunnel at night. From there the film moves into a 10-minute rape scene that sees the camera, for the first time in the film’s chaotic and frenzied runtime, still and focused. The film is a devastating and thought-provoking masterpiece.

6. Dans Ma Peau

(In My Skin – 2002 – Dir. by Marina de Van)

The connection between a woman’s dermatophagia and her relationship with modernity and subjugation by society is explored in Dans Ma Peau (In My Skin). Marina de Van, who also directs, stars as Esther, a woman who appears to have her life perfectly planned until she injures her leg at a party and realizes that she doesn’t feel the pain. This discovery leads to Esther’s further exploration of self-harm and self-cannibalization. This film is a well-crafted and stomach turning feat of feminine discovery and psychological boundary pushing. You can read Zoe’s review of Dans Ma Peau here.

5. Frontière(s)

(Frontier(s) – 2007 – Dir. by Xavier Gens)

A film that is heavily influenced by the extreme-right movement in France, Frontière(s) is a blood-soaked backwoods horror that follows a group of young criminals into the country after a robbery goes horribly wrong. Predictably, the inn they stop at for the night is run by bad actors, but everything that happens from there must be seen to be believed. This film stands out for its strong messaging and overwhelmingly gory set pieces.

4. Pola X

(1999 – Dir. by Leos Carax)

It is safe to say that Pola X’s extremity comes from thematic elements rather than outright disturbing visuals. Pierre (Guillaume Depardieu) is a young writer with a successful career and a lovely, doting fiancé. But Pierre has dreams he can’t shake of a young woman with dark, tousled hair and is shocked one day to see the very woman from his dreams watching him in the shadows. When he confronts her, she tells him she is his sister, and from there the two embark on a journey both beautiful and disturbing. Based on the novel Pierre by Herman Melville, Pola X is a moving film that highlights the lengths one man will go to for his beloved. The film also stars the inimitable Catherine Deneuve.

3. À l'intérieur

(Inside – 2007 – Dir. by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury)

À l'intérieur is another film whose narrative is told amidst riots and, despite its strong and realistic violence, was met with critical acclaim. Sarah (Alysson Paradis) is a pregnant woman whose husband is killed in the opening of the film in a horrible car crash. The night before her due date Sarah is visited by the shadowy La Femme (Béatrice Dalle) who seems hellbent on tormenting her. You can read my review of À l'intérieur for Ghouls Magazine here.

2. Trouble Every Day

(2001 – Dir. by Claire Denis)

A film that delves deep into eroticism and gender politics, Trouble Every Day follows American married couple Dr. Shane Brown (Vincent Gallo) and June (Tricia Vessey) as they travel to France to seek out a neuroscientist and his wife. The film also stars Béatrice Dalle as the ill-fated Coré, a savagely seductive woman with an appetite for flesh.

1. Martyrs

(2008 – Dir. by Pascal Laugier)

Perhaps the most notorious film on this list, Martyrs is a horrific tale of revenge and punishment. After a young girl, Lucie, escapes from a slaughterhouse where she is being held captive, she is put in an orphanage and befriends kind-hearted Anna. Every night Lucie is tormented by a ghoulish, disfigured woman and though Anna never sees the woman, she comforts Lucie through the trauma as they grow up together in the orphanage. Fifteen years later, Lucie arrives on the doorstep of a seemingly normal family and proceeds to murder each member of the family, children included, with a shotgun. Lucie then calls Anna to help her, who arrives quickly and is shocked at what Lucie has done. Lucie begs Anna to believe her that they are the family who abducted and tortured her when she was a child. Anna’s love for Lucie leads her to help with the removal of the bodies, but soon Lucie’s abusive, emaciated dark passenger returns, pushing Lucie to the absolute edge as Anna is forced to look on.

Martyrs is on the top of every list of most extreme films and for a good reason. The film is relentless, it batters its viewer with each twist and turn, barely giving pause for a breath before showing some of the most vicious scenes of torture and detached cruelty than any film of its kind. Throughout the narrative, the film forces the audience to question their own part in the violence, and the end offers no catharsis, only further depths in which to sink.   

Sources:

Quandt, J. (2013). FLESH & BLOOD: SEX AND VIOLENCE IN RECENT FRENCH CINEMA. Retrieved 20 March 2021, from https://www.artforum.com/print/200402/flesh-blood-sex-and-violence-in-recent-french-cinema-6199

West, A. (2016). Films of the New French Extremity (1st ed., pp. 7-8). Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc.

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