Films of the New French Extremity: Visceral Horror and National Identity

The New French Extremity film movement has been popular for years because of its tendency to push the boundaries of cinema even beyond the horror genre. These films are typically nihilistic with extreme violence, social commentary, and other taboo that most consider beyond the pale. Alexandra West's book starts out with a history of France with turmoil, resistance, tyranny, and blood soaking it all. It's completely the opposite of what people typically view as France: romance, the city of lights, and idyllic beauty. Their history (and present in some cases) of beheadings, fascism, concentration camps, and racism isn't widely known and not represented in their film. Charles de Gaulle famously advocated moving forward without acknowledging or coming to terms with French support of the Nazis during the occupation, causing any film to do so fail. Many of the films in this genre acknowledge this denial and cite it as the cause of reactionary attitudes and politics as well as the resulting public unrest and riots. I found this fascinating as I knew about Vichy France, but never studied the events that followed.

Then, West covers a brief history of French cinema, starting from the very first horror movie ever created, The Haunted Castle in 1896. Later, horror in France was characterized by surrealism and the conflict surrounding self and identity, especially after World War II. The New French Extremity movement took real life fears and made them even more horrific. Interior struggles become exterior and irrevocably damage the world around the characters. They also take the buried history of France, especially the atrocities of WWII that went largely unacknowledged, and make it a focus. Many of the films have that seed of racism, fascism, and violence either festering over years and growing or exploding. Many of the films have civil unrest in the background usually as a response to a conservative government. She mentions Antonin Artaud's Theater of Cruelty, which uses theater as a means of confronting harsh realities for an uncomfortable catharsis instead of escaping into fantasy in idyllic films such as Amelie and The Artist. The concept describes this movement well. These directors take the formula for horror films and alter them in unsettling ways to make something unique.

The first wave of French Extremity was based in art house films by the likes of Gasper Noe, Catherine Breillat, Claire Denis, Marina de Van among others. The most notorious of these was Irreversible, which many don't consider horror at all. It has all of the elements of this movement in the extended rape scene, its brutal violence, and its nihilistic ending. Its homophobia and racism were frequently called out by critics, but proponents argued that they are both an intrinsic part of France and its history portrayed honestly. Breillat's Romance showed that family isn't the happily ever after everyone expects in the face of an unstable and insecure society and critiques society's view and expectations of women. Palo X has a successful man rejecting the society that valued him and has the viewers act as observers rather than judges of his morals. In Baise Moi, lower class women inflict violence that they have become accustomed to onto others in a Thelma and Louise-esque road trip. My personal favorites of this sub-genre are the cannibal films Trouble Every Day and In My Skin. They act as this movements version of body horror. The former centers on love and desire as a disease and the other on isolation in success and the need for connection. Both have shockingly tender moments among their carnage that I respond to.Many of these films subvert expectations in the horror genre and in gender norms while pushing the boundaries of cinema and audiences.

The last evolution of the genre takes conventions of American horror films and infuses them with the brutality, nihilism, and social commentary of the art house wave. The first and most iconic is Alexandre Aja's High Tension, which takes a slasher film and twists it. I found the twist to be homophobic in nature, but West reads it differently. Although I don't agree with her, it shows how complex these films are and how even a decade later they are still being hotly debated. Calvaire is a particularly odd film that almost feels like it doesn't belong and the film I liked the least of this genre. West's observations let me see another side of the film. Xavier Gens' Frontier(s) is my favorite of the later wave. I had seen it years ago and dismissed it as a Texas Chainsaw ripoff, but I gave it another chance and it has so much more going on than that. The historical implications make the film so much more tragic and upsetting. Martyrs is the most notorious entry and even West can't convince me that it isn't poorly constructed, misogynistic, exploitative, and ridiculous. I do enjoy her reading and interpretation of it even if I disagree. For instance, although the plot is linear, the way it deals with trauma isn't. It starts with the aftermath, follows with the trauma, and ends capture and torture. Its condemnation of religion and the exposure of its inhuman sides set it apart from other religious themed films that usual uphold religion's patriarchal system. Inside is another amazing film, but the added critique of the media and their portrayal of violence and conservatism makes the film even deeper than I thought.

I have seen and reviewed many of these films throughout the years on my blog because I feel so strongly about them. (Here are my reviews for my more extensive thoughts on these films: Inside, In My Skin, Frontier(s), High Tension, Trouble Every Day, Martyrs, and Calvaire.) Whether I find them problematic or I absolutely love them, I keep returning to them because they have a singular element that combines violence, social commentary, and true emotions. I see the echoes of this movement in more recent films like Raw, which isn't as extreme, bleak, or violent, but shares a lot with films like In My Skin and Trouble Every Day in breaking gender and societal norms through cannibalism and body horror. Although I didn't entirely agree with West's reading of a few of the films, she still gave wonderful insights on all of the films as well as a look into the cinematic history, social history, and hidden conflicts within France that give much needed context to these films. I will definitely be watching more of these films as I didn't know some of them even existed before reading. I hope this book with help other viewers expand their view of this genre beyond the most popular films.

My rating: 4.5/5 fishmuffins

Raw

* spoilers *

Justine, a lifelong vegetarian, goes to veterinary school where her sister already attends. She complies with her parents wishes in all things, shown when she refuses to eat when accidentally given meat. Her mother's reaction is way over the top as she berates the server who gave it to her. Justine dresses conservatively in clothing that makes her look much younger. She is woefully unprepared for the school's hazing and party atmosphere which hits her like a freight train. The very first night, students are dragged out of their beds and forced to party for hours while the elders trash their rooms and party even harder. It's the first time Justine has had so much freedom plus access to alcohol, drugs, and sex. Her initial reaction is confusion and withdrawal. She reconnects with her sister Alexia and avoids the rest of the party.

In one of many hazing rituals, Justine eats a piece of rabbit kidney, pressured by her Alexia after refusing. Despite the fact that she threw up just after she ate the kidney, the effects of the meat wreak havoc on Justine's body in the form of itchy, huge rashes that she scratches until they bleed. When she's treated for the rash and it finally goes away, she find herself craving meat. It starts out as attempting (and failing) to steal a hamburger patty from the cafeteria and then eating schwarma at a gas station, away from the prying eyes of classmates with her friend Adrien. It seems fairly normal for a person to push the boundaries past what they were allowed at home and explore other choices not endorsed by parents. But then she escalates to secretly eating raw chicken and finally eating human meat.

The scene where Justine finally has the opportunity to eat human flesh changes tone lightning fast. Alexia convinces Justine to let her wax her bikini line. Alexia views Justine's body hair as a sign of immaturity and naivete. The first side goes well, but of course it's painful. Justine tries to say no to any further, but Alexia already puts the gunk on the other side and it's stuck. This scene feels realistic and like the type of thing sisters would do together that goes hilariously wrong. The turn comes when Justine kicks wildly and Alexia's finger is lopped off by the scissors meant to cut out the wax. Alexia faints while Justine is left alone with the severed finger. Her fascination with and eventual consumption of it feels so forbidden and uncomfortable to watch. Every fiber of my being was silently screaming no. After the incident, Alexia covers for Justine and reveals she also eats people, but chooses to kill in order to do so. She opts to show Justine how she does it instead of talking to her about it, likely a familial habit to avoid uncomfortable conversations. Justine rejects Alexia's method as immoral, but she still craves human flesh.

Sexual desires accompany the craving as well. Justine starts to dress in more revealing, formfitting outfits, wearing makeup, and being more open to the school's party atmosphere. In one scene, she is splashed with blue paint and shoved into a room with a guy covered in yellow paint and told they wouldn't be allowed out until they are both green. Normally she would just leave, but she chooses to touch and kiss. The scene ends with the guy screaming with a chunk bitten out of his lip. Another instance of this when she has sex with her best friend Adrien. Throughout the encounter, her attempts to bit him were rebuffed and redirected. She only achieves orgasm when she bites on her own arm so hard she draws blood. Adrien seems fascinated by her but later lashes out when he feels his sexuality is threatened. Much like Claire Denis' Trouble Every Day, the cannibalistic urges are inextricably entwined with her sexual desires.

At the heart of this film, Raw is about two sisters dealing with the exact same feelings and trying to deal with them in different ways. Justine hasn't really decided concretely how to deal with it, but soundly rejects Alexia's method. The rejection causes an unspoken rivalry and enmity between the sisters that culminates a series of increasingly violent events. The first is Alexia's very public humiliation of Justine. The second is a fight between them involving savage biting that was also a public display in front of their classmates. The fight ends with others rushing in to pull them apart. Justine and Alexia fight free and go off together to tend each other's wounds, showing that they still care for each other despite everything. All of this culminates in Alexia murdering and eating Adrien, the object of Justine's affection, lust, and hunger. The central conflict is essentially a sibling rivalry that goes further than most.

After the murder, Justine returns home, forced to return to her vegetarian, controlled life with her parents. Justine isn't the same, rejecting their food and refusing to be the person they want her to be. Her father reveals that her mother has that same cannibalistic lust when he shows her his bare chest full of scars and partially healed wounds. He thinks she will find her own solution to the problem, which boils down to society's view of womanhood compared to the reality. This includes female sexuality, anger, and rebellion with an added fantastical layer of violence and taboo in cannibalism. Both Alexia and Justine were raised in a restrictive household that didn't prepare them for the realities of the real world, how to communicate in healthy ways, or even the changes of their own bodies, which caused this whole mess.

Raw is a fascinating coming of age film that takes the concept from Trouble Every Day and gives it relevant meaning, interesting characters, and a true plot with direction. The acting is superb, especially from Garance Marillier as Justine. Julia Ducournau's writing and direction put the viewers right into Justine's journey in alternately relatable and offputting ways. I didn't love Raw the first time I saw it because of the fainting people hype. I expected it to be a lot gorier. I braced myself for the worst and came away disappointed. However, after repeated viewings, the story and characters ring so true. The film has an odd, magnetic quality that shows an honest coming of age story with humor, horror, and emotion.

My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins

Frontier(s)

An ultra conservative is elected as the French president, giving rise to riots in Paris. A gang of Arab Muslims that include Tom, Alex, Farid, Sami, and Yasmine steal money to escape the regime, but Sami is shot. They split up, hoping to meet up in a remote location later on. Yasmine takes her injured brother to the hospital with Alex, where he dies and she escapes the authorities. Tom and Farid with the money go to an in run by a strange family near the border. The people are welcoming in an uncomfortable way and something is deeply wring. They have no idea the inn contains horrors that they never imagined.

I watched Frontier(s) years ago and felt underwhelmed maybe because of its similarities to other films. However, upon rewatching, it's a powerful, intense film that's part Hostel, part Texas Chainsaw Massacre and pushes it further than either of those films. The film starts with the riots in Paris, establishing the city as dangerous. The drama within the Muslim gang is quickly revealed as Yasmine is pregnant with Alex's child and thinking of having an abortion because they aren't together anymore. Yasmine and Sami are the most likeable of the entire group, which makes it all the more tragic that Sami dies at the hospital. I was completely outraged when the hospital staff opted to notify the authorities of possible criminals rather than helping the man bleeding out. This shows how the world won't help them due to some brand of bigotry because there was no indication that they committed any crimes beyond the color of their skin. The imperative of the hospital to help people is secondary to that bigotry. Alex and Yasmine have no time to mourn Sami before they are forced to flee and meet their friends at a remote inn.

This brings us to the Hostel segment of the film where Tom and Farid arrive at the inn, greeted by Gilberte and Klaudia. The women offer them rooms free of charge and seduce them. Tom is completely into their offer, but is also quick to insult them when they reject sexual advances later. Farid rejects them at first, but then ends up videotaping their encounter. Like Hostel, the seduction proves to be a way of luring and distracting the men for more nefarious purposes. Through all of their seduction, it's pretty clear that Klaudia and Gilberte feel scorn at best or hate at worst for them.Then all of them plus the women's brother Goetz and their mother have the most awkward family dinner ever. Farid and Tom FINALLY get the hint that they are in danger, but their escape foiled by Goetz who runs their car off a cliff. They survive, but they wander into a mine shaft full of horrors. Meanwhile, Yasmine and Alex arrive at the inn, but aren't as easy to seduce or as gullible as their friends.

Yasmine is eventually captured by the family who are revealed to be Nazis. Their patriarch, von Geisler, stayed in France after World War II and created his twisted family by capturing children and having his own children to raise as Nazis and to carry on luring and killing people for their possessions and for their meat. He decides to use Yasmine to save them from inbreeding, as many mutated products of it live in the mine shaft. He isn't bothered that she is already pregnant and plans to force her to wed his son Karl who will eventually take his place as patriarch. This neo-Nazi family is the product of France's complicity in their occupation during World War II. Some resisted, but others gladly participated. The focus on moving forward afterwards led to the nation refusing to acknowledge the atrocities committed on French soil. In the present day of the film and of real life France, this also led to conservative, racist ideals to fester over time, leading to the election of President Sarkozy and the horrible treatment of immigrants, especially of Muslims. The Geisler's aren't shown to be odd outliers, but a product of ignored French history left to develop in a remote part of the country.

The Geisler family isn't completely devoid of good people. The most sympathetic member is Eva, a child-like woman underestimated by her family. As a child, she was kidnapped and told that she might be returned to her family if she was obediant. Her own children are the monstrous mutants in the mine shaft, but she loves and cares for them as she would any other child. Her kindness sets her apart from her family even though she is complicit in their crimes. Yasmine and Eva reflect each other in a way, as pregnant mothers doing their best in the midst of criminals and being criminals themselves. Both go to extraordinary lengths for their children even in the face of great opposition and they help each other. As von Geisler resolves to teach Yasmine's child to hate its own history and people (echoing Sarkozy's recent comments of immigrants rejecting their own culture to become truly French), she resolves to make her baby safe and allow her child freedom in the face of a toxic society. It's clear right from the beginning with her treatment at the hospital that if she does return to conventional society, her treatment would not be much better.

Fronter(s) does have familiar elements seen in other films, but the basis in French history and society plus additional elements such as Eva sets it well apart from American horror films. It's a particularly brutal film in the New French Extremity movement and one of the best in my opinion. Alexandra West's book on the subject was instrumental for me to gain historical and social context for this films and others in the movement. French history is much more tumultuous, dark, and bloody than a lot of media will have you believe and it's fascinating that the horror genre is the one to show that dark underbelly.

My rating: 4.5/5 fishmuffins

The Horde

A group of Parisian cops are reeling from the loss of one of their own at the hands of a drug dealer and his cronies. Some of them decide to get revenge by storming their enemies' hideout when zombies suddenly attack. The criminals and cops are forced to work together in a tenuous truce in order to survive.

I have been meaning to watch this film for literally years. The Horde has a different premise than a lot of films. The cops are in huge trouble after trying to infiltrate criminal headquarters when zombies actually save them from certain death. The criminals and cops have to put aside their differences, but they still snipe at each other. Both groups have experience fighting for their lives and with different types of weapons. Keeping a cool head is paramount and some people on either side won't let go of their feud. Arguments and near fights happen a lot. It's understandable since both sides of killed their members of the opposing faction, but the leaders see they have to bury the hatchet permanently to have a small chance of success. This situation seems more realistic than everyone being best friends during an apocalypse situations.

I was bothered by the way female characters were treated and portrayed in the film. The only human female character is Aurore, who is currently pregnant with another policeman's baby. When the apocalypse hits, she automatically goes all "my baby is the most important thing ever." This does drive her to fight back harder, but it also allows her emotions to cloud her judgment. She pretty much sabotages the entire group as a result after others throw her pregnant state in her face and dismiss her judgments. I didn't find her likeable at all, but I respected her at the beginning of the film. By the end, I felt she acted very out of character. She also did other nonsensical things like abandoning her bulletbroof vest and leather jacket that could actually protect her from zombie attacks to sport a tank top with no bra. Seems like the male audience was more important than practicality.

The men in the film treat a female zombie in a most disturbing way. Both men are criminals and not the most moral, but I had grown to like them throughout the film. This scene completely destroyed that. A female zombie couldn't walk anymore and the men start to taunt her. Then they make horrible sexual comments about her and threaten to rape her. This is a nonsentient rotting corpse, but it's clear these men have made comments like this before. They see this rotting thing the same way they see living women, as a subhuman thing for them to do whatever they want with. This with the disdainful treatment of Aurore and her out of character behavior left a bad taste in my mouth.

The film as a whole is enjoyable. The action scenes are exciting. I didn't think there could be so many zombies in one building. The sheer numbers of the horde are shocking and incredibly dangerous. Although I had some problems with the treatment of women, The Horde had some unforgettable scenes and a unique situation.

My rating: 3.5/5 fishmuffins

Women in Horror: In My Skin

Esther is a self conscious woman who is moving up in the public relations firm she works at. Her boyfriend wants further their relationship and move in together. Her life is pretty successful as a whole, but this all changes when she goes to a party and she severely cuts her leg open when she falls down in her friends' unfinished backyard. The wound goes unnoticed as she dances and mingles until she goes to the bathroom and sees blood running down her leg. She is shocked at the severity of the injury, but still goes out for drinks with her friends before going to the doctor. While patching her up, the doctor notes that it was unusual that she waited hours to get help. The next day, she goes to work as usual, but she is distracted by her wounds and goes into a private room to create new gouges in her leg. This is the start of her obsession with harming herself. Her boyfriend and her co-workers worry about her and are horrified by her sick impulse, but she does it all the same and going to great lengths to blame the injuries on other things. Why is she hurting herself? Can she stop so she can resume her seemingly idyllic life?

In My Skin is a French film that was written and directed Marina de Van, who also starred as Esther. The film is incredibly disturbing and undeniably original. It's far from the conventional slasher type horror film, but features a more subtle Cronenburgian type of horror. Esther could be any one of us because she is the typical middle class everyman. The real triumph of a work like this is the realism and intimacy of the self mutilation scenes and the lack of any clear, defined reason for it. I like that this prompts the viewer to substitute in their own meanings and think for themselves.

One take on the film is that Esther's motivation for her self mutilation stems from a need to fill the void of her shallow, vapid life, much like Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. He focused his violence outwardly and Esther looks within. This view is most apparent during a scene where she's having dinner with her boss and some of their clients. At first, Esther is the model employee, engaging intelligently in conversation and making her boss happy. Then she hallucinates that her arm is separate from her body and becomes distracted, succumbing to her self mutilating urges in the wine cellar of the restaurant. This hollow feeling extends to every part of her life. Her boyfriend is controlling, borderline abusive, and picks a fight at every little opportunity. It's no wonder why she seems passively resistant to moving in together. Esther tells her only friend, a coworker, of her obsession perhaps in a cry for help. The next day, that same friend abandons her and allows her to be humiliated at a work party all because she was jealous that Esther was promoted above her. These are the only two real relationships Esther has and they are revealed to be void of any actual human connection.

Another view of the film is that Esther feels disconnected from her body, much like Dawn from Teeth. Again, this is most exemplified in the restaurant scene with her disembodied arm. The only way her body feels whole again is through pain. The scenes of self mutilation are filmed in an intimate, erotic way, as if it's a twisted form of masturbation for her. From the very beginning, she treats it as an illicit affair: hiding it from her boyfriend, telling her friend to gauge her reaction, and lying to hide how often she does it. She even flaunts the behavior in public like an exhibitionist when she stabs herself under the table at a business dinner, cuts herself at work, and fondles chunks of her flesh on the street. Her love and connectedness with her body can only be shown through blood and pain, but she seems to also get pleasure from it.

The self mutilation in the film can also be taken as a metaphor for self destructive behavior such as alcoholism, drug addiction, or eating disorders. It starts out small. The mutilation goes from cutting to drinking her own blood to cutting parts of her flesh off and eating them. At first, the cutting gives her energy and keeps her focused on work. As it worsens, it consumes her life, making it impossible to function normally. At this stage, the behavior is so extreme that it threatens her life. The blood loss and cutting of pieces of flesh invites infection and the possibility of nicking an artery or major vein and bleeding to death. Any other addictive behavior could have been substituted in and it would have fit perfectly. Her attempts to reach out to her friend seems to be a cry for help, but jealousy and bitterness causes the friend to turn her back on Esther. Her boyfriend seems more concerned about controlling her as opposed to actually helping her.

There are probably a million ways for this film to be interpreted, so I'll stop here. This film definitely isn't for everyone. It's not very gory, but it's guaranteed to make you feel uncomfortable. I highly recommend this film, but be warned that it is slow in some parts. This doesn't bother me at all because I think it fits the type of film that it is, but it might bother some. I watched this film over a year ago for the first time and I still feel the need to rewatch it and re-evaluate my theories on it. I highly recommend this engaging and memorable film.

My rating: 9/10 fishmuffins