The Reel Review
Four months after surviving a tragic car accident that killed her husband, a pregnant woman struggling with her loss is terrorized by a scissor-wielding psychopath on Christmas Eve, the night before she is due to give birth, in this 2007 French home invasion horror also titled A L’interieur.
Inside is one of the goriest films ever made – a veritable field day for torture porn aficionados who relish grisly kill scenes and sets bathed in blood. It is not for the squeamish. But surprisingly, Inside is also extremely scary, deftly capturing the unrelenting shock and horror of home invasion with a vibe that feels like a mash-up of Halloween and The Strangers. Its leads, Alysson Paradis and Beatrice Dalle, are both very convincing. And its writer/directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury, keep the tension taut.
The biggest downsides to Inside are a few blood-spurting practical effects that are so fake looking as to distract from the story, as well as a couple of totally implausible chain of events that defy what otherwise is a horrifyingly riveting and realistic film. If gore-filled horror is your thing, Inside is must-see viewing.
REEL FACTS
• There is an R rated version of Inside, which omits seven minutes of the most graphic gore from the unrated version’s finalé.
• An American remake of the film was made in 2016, starring Laura Harring (formerly Martínez Herring), who in 1985 was the first Hispanic woman to be crowned Miss USA.
• Inside was a nominee for the Golden Camera award at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.
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