Lastnight, J & I went to the Rue Morgue screening of L'interieur - a French horror flick that has been described as a 'mini maniacal masterpiece' by Scott Weinberg (a reviewer for the TIFF premiere of the film).

First of all, the event itself was quite a show. Before the movie began, there was a performance which reminded me of a traveling circus side-show. One man was screaming out into the audience while another was hovering around a large gong. In between them stood an actor playing a young pregnant girl. I won't go into too much detail about what happened next but suffice it to say, the scene involved a large bowl and some gross red gooey stuff. There were also prizes given away to those who answered movie trivia questions (of course, the film nerds annihilated us regular movie-going folk).

L'interieur is a disturbing film and definitely, not for the weak of heart (or those with strong gag reflexes). The gore was over-the-top and he bloodletting would make a phlebotomist proud. It was an intense, 85 minute rollercoaster ride which had me clinging to J and covering my face, simultaneously. While I know very little about cinematography, the film 'looks' really great. The scenes are quite dense - each shot dimly-lit, with shadows and haze that seem to make it ever more forebooding. Props to Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury who are first time directors. (Alexandre is also the writer of the screenplay.) Beatrice Dalle and Alysson Paradis are the amazing lead actresses. My favorite part about the movie was its score. It was both industrial and beautiful. I especially loved the static-like effects. François Eudes is the composer of the score and has worked on films such as Haute Tension, Qui a tué Bambi? and the Hills Have Eyes.

If you love gore and horror flicks, then this is a must-see. However, if you are squeamish, have a photographic memory and are prone to nightmares, I don't recommend it.

[Case in point - I dreamt that J kept showing me a dead rat in a bucket last night and I was constantly running away]