Inside

   One of my new year's resolutions for 2016 was to watch more horror movies in general, not just cram a ton into October and call it even. Nah, that's fun, but spread em out more. Anyways, if new year's resolutions could have footnotes, this one would've said "specifically, watch the ones you've been meaning to watch." Which, in this case, included the French, new-wave horror flick... Inside. It's a move that frequently pops up on 'most disturbing', 'most gruesome', or 'hardest to watch' lists. And, thankfully it actually lives up to it's much hyped reputation. It is definitely disturbing, gruesome and hard to watch. But boy am I glad I dug in.

   I have a thing for French new-wave horror ever since Martyrs blew me the fuck away. All things considered, I'm surprised it took me this long to finally watch Inside. See, I like to test my limits every now and then. For a while, Cannibal Holocaust was one I was working up to. Then, after that, on sheer reputation alone- it was A Serbian Film. I can't say Inside was one I was working up to... but it was definitely one I was working around. The whole premise of the movie got under my skin. I didn't know if I could sit through it, and almost couldn't even now. Not that I was at any point ready to call it quits! But... I took many snack breaks.

   The movie is about a pregnant woman who finds herself cornered in her home on Christmas Eve by a homicidal woman, brandishing a large pair of scissors, hellbent on taking her unborn baby from her. Like... Damn. Damn. I get all antsy in horror movies when someone gets cut. Like, it's nothing to me to see an arm get chopped off with a machete. That's not something I see in person. But cuts? Little cuts? Ones that are small enough you can relate to? Ones that you can feel the pain just by looking at them? Those... those bug me. I've never been dismembered, or decapitated. I've never seen that happen in person. I know those things are horrific because, duh, death and blood and stuff, but... there's still a fiction/reality disconnect for me.

   Nevertheless, when Inside gets going, it starts off with the small cuts. The kind of 'ouch' that you can almost feel. It doesn't start off by drowning the viewer in gore and viscera, it gets under your skin first. Exploiting the unspoken fears that people have about not being safe in their own home. Which any good home invasion movie should be adept at, but Inside isn't about a psycho killer trying to chop some heads off... it's about a crazy lady trying to c-section a baby out for herself, by any means necessary. That puts our protagonist, Sarah, in a unique situation. One I hadn't even really considered.

   She's not fighting off a killer, she's fighting off a thief. A thief prepared to kill to get what she wants, but still- the base goal of stealing this baby from her very body is unnerving to me on a profound level. Which is why the title of the movie works on multiple levels. Not only is there someone inside Sarah's house... this someone is trying to get at something inside her body. I shudder at the thought, for the 50th time. Anyways, there's a proper plot twist there in the end, and throughout the movie the story keeps introducing new obstacles for both Sarah and her assailant. It's like a crazy and bloody game of chess that keeps escalating all the way to the end- eventually turning into a full-on bloodbath.

    Whatever low key scares the movie started out with, it doesn't stay low key for long. The movie definitely veers into extreme gore territory, and gets downright messy. And, while the movie might be low on plot- being ultimately simplistic even, it's still thoroughly stylish and visually stunning. The movie clipped along with a unique and toxic energy that kept the suspense and tension constantly humming at a solid ten. One of the first things I genuinely noticed about Inside was it's fantastic and creative cinematography. I love me a stylish and good looking horror movie, Inside is no exception. What's more is how effectively fucking unnerving it is. Few horror movies can get me so worked up anymore, and Inside had me fidgeting like crazy.

   From the gorgeous cinematography, to the disturbingly well done effects, the well-utilized premise, and the fantastic acting,.. Inside is definitely a new genre favorite of mine. If you're into this kind of movie, it's a must-see.