Inside (A' l'intereur) Review

Written by: moviemaven   

Decisions seem to be split so far over this controversial film. I do feel the need to preface this review by saying that if you are pregnant, have children or are just one of those people who are squeamish about things to do with babies, I would recommend you skip this viewing. I personally think they should slap a warning label on it just for that purpose.

Luckily I don't suffer from any of that so I enjoyed it immensely. Now is the time where I get to elaborate as to why.

I would like to take a moment to point out that I am pleased with the direction this crop of French films is headed in. They are well on their way to surpassing even the Italians for no holds barred violence, amok and blood. But Inside found a delicate balance. I honestly found it beautiful in many ways.

It may have been disturbing, raw and just plain old vicious, but I love what was going on visually. To take a solid white backdrop and paint it with arterial spray takes guts and imagination. If there is a thing called artistic gore, then this is a prime example. If not, then they just invented it.

The story is rather simple. One woman is pregnant and another wants that baby. The catch is it's not finished cooking yet. I liken it to a messy version of The Hand that Rocks the Cradle on acid as well as some really nasty steroids.

There is no question that fans of outright gore will be pleased, but I found myself pondering much deeper issues while watching Inside. Notice how they deftly juxtapose the violence taking place in Paris at the time with the violence taking place in Sarah's home. Very clever.

At first glance, this film appears to be one giant splatter fest, but look closely and you should find quite a bit of substance amidst the twists and turns of the unflinching plot. At the very least I beg you to consider who you think is the true protagonist of this film. It just may surprise you.