Cannes

Inside

À l'intérieur (France)

By JAY WEISSBERG

'Inside'

A La Fabrique de Films production, in association with BR Films, with the participation of Canal Plus, Cinecinema, in association with Cofinova 3, Soficinema 3, Uni Etoile 4. (International sales: Celluloid Dreams, Paris.) Produced by Verane Frediani, Franck Ribiere. Directed by Julien Maury, Alexandre Bustillo. Screenplay, Bustillo.
 
With: Beatrice Dalle, Alysson Paradis, Nathalie Roussel, Francois-Regis Marchasson, Jean-Baptiste Tabourin, Dominique Frot, Claude Lule, Hyam Zaytoun, Tahar Rahim, Emmanuel Guez, Ludovic Berthillot, Emmanuel Lanzi, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Aymen Saidi.
 

For those who like their blood by the barrelful, "Inside" is just the ticket. Awash in red liquid that drips, oozes, spurts and pours, pic restarts the French gore genre with an over-the-top sadism sure to please fans of schlock horror. Featuring a vengeful psychopath terrorizing a pregnant woman, Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo's helming debut relishes every chance to show sharp objects plunging into flesh. Low-budgeter should see decent local returns, though ancillary will be what really makes its mark.

A nasty car accident leaves shutterbug Sarah (Alysson Paradis) alive but widowed, her fetus (seen periodically slammed against its amnio sac) intact. Nearly at full term and home alone, she's spooked by a woman (Beatrice Dalle, dressed like some superannuated Goth chick) trying to get inside. Sporting a major pair of scissors, the woman soon enters, making it clear she's intent on cutting the baby out of Sarah's tummy. Assorted would-be rescuers also fall victim -- can't anyone turn on a light? Fright level is average, with laughs dependent on whether skewers in eyes tickle the funny bone. Soundscape, like Dalle's crazed character, is unrelenting.

Camera (color), Laurent Bares; editor, Baxter cq; music, Francois-Eudes Chanfrault; production designer, Marc Thiebault; costume designer, Martine Rapin. Reviewed at Cannes Film Festival (Critics' Week), May 24, 2007. (Original title: A l'interieur) Running time: 81 MIN.