Taking No Prisoners: The Horrors of New French Extremism

The genre of “New Extremism” is deeply routed in horror’s history and a sub-genre of that, recently dubbed “New French Extremism” is a version I find particularly interesting.  New French Extremism lingers in those moral grey areas that litter our world, shocking audiences with its’ unrelenting deceptions of brutal violence and graphic sexuality.  Taboo is a non-existent word to this group of filmmakers who are growing in numbers, nothing is off topic for these guys and I mean nothing!

Deeply routed in body horror and exploitation cinema this genre takes on many gruesome subjects including incest and self-cannibalism, involving undertones of social or political criticism and sometimes even playing around with gender roles.  These films, filled to the brim with body fluids, ultra-violence, and a myriad of other repulsing and transgressive content continues to influence new waves of extreme horror internationally.

Here’s a small list of films that fall into the horror spectrum of New French Extremism:

Inside

Sarah and her unborn child survive a bad car accident in which her husband dies, sending her into a spiraling depression.  On Christmas Eve while Sarah is close to giving birth, a strange women knocks at the door asking to use a phone and disappears when the police are called.  Later the woman returns and tries to kill the unborn child with scissors sparking an all out war between the two.

Sombre

Jean is a serial killer who murders prostitutes while following the Tour de France in his car, things are shaken up when he meets a beautiful disturbed woman named Claire who desires to save him from his dark side, and for him to take her virginity.

High Tension

Alex and Marie visit Alex’s parent’s secluded country home to study for exams.  That same night shortly after settling in a vicious serial killer breaks in, kills Alex’s family, and kidnaps her.  Marie who was hiding, follows them as she tries to save Alex and ultimately battles the killer in a gory and surprising brawl in the woods.

Them

“Based on real events”, a mother and daughter traveling through the country crash their car while arguing and when the mother steps out to check on things she suddenly disappears.  The daughter gets out and calls for her mother but an unknown voice calls back and she is strangled to death when she tries to call her help.  Meanwhile, after driving past the accident then having their home invaded Clémentine and her boyfriend Lucas are pursued through the wilderness by a ruthless gang of faceless attackers.

Frontiere(s)

As violent riots erupt in Paris a group of young friends take the opportunity to stage a robbery in an attempt to make some fast cash but the group splits up after one of them is badly shot.  They later reconvene at a far away inn run by an eccentric family where things take a turn for the worse when they discover the family that was so nice to them at first, are in fact Nazis hellbent on preserving their family lineage and eating anyone they don’t deem fit.

Trouble Every Day

Shane and June are newlyweds vacationing in France and unbeknownst to June, Shane is searching for fellow test subjects with whom he underwent experiments with years ago that left them with cannibalistic desires.  He ends up reconnecting with Core who unlike himself hasn’t been able to suppress her urges to devour people and as his obsession grows he begins questioning his ability to keep June safe.

Sheitan

A group a friends on Christmas Eve are invited to the country home of someone they just met in a club.  Upon arriving at the house they soon learn that the wacky housekeeper Joesph has a hilarious night of Satanic shenanigans planned.

In My Skin

Esther’s ideal life is turned upside down when see falls and her leg is badly injured at a party.  After seeing a doctor she doesn’t care for her wound and ends up horribly scarred, which thrusts Esther into a gruesome obsession over her body, both outside and in, as she begins tearing her flesh and her relationships beyond repair.

Martyrs

After her life long friend Lucie murders an entire family with a shotgun Anna tries to help her clean up and in a series of grisly twists and turns she discovers there is much more to this house than meets the eyes and comes face to face with a secret organization obsessed with torturing young women in an attempt to get them to “transcend” into the afterlife. What follows is a brutal depiction of this process, changing things forever.

So there you have it folks!  What other “extreme” films are you fans of?