The New French Extremity is a so-called
movement used to describe certain French filmmakers that deal in,
let's be honest here, some of the most fucked up films imaginable.
Films hit with this label often specialize in a combination of
EXTREME sexuality and violence, with a heavy learning towards the
horror genre. I've yet to review any of the films associated with
the movement, but have mentioned them on here before when discussing
directors Xavier Gens and Alexandre Aja, as both have entries on the
list with their films Frontier(s) and
High Tension, respectively.
Of all the films I've seen, none
affected me as much as 2008's Martyrs, written and directed by
Pascal Laugier. Without spoiling anything, it concerns a young woman
getting kidnapped by a cult the horrific experiences she has as their
captive. It is probably the most uncomfortable move I've EVER
watched in my entire life, but unlike torture porn schlock like the
Hostel series, its over the top violence had a point. A
massively powerful film that I still think about seven years later,
which is more than I can say about the majority of movies I've seen
since then. I was very anxious to see what else Laugier had done,
disappointed to find out he had only made one other film: 2004's
Saint Ange, which I've never been able to track down.
Very recently I discovered he made a
third film with almost no fanfare whatsoever, 2012's the Tall Man.
I vaguely remember seeing trailers for it, but the second I saw
Jessica Biel was the star I dismissed it and never gave it a second
thought. The film only got a limited theatrical release before being
released on home video less than a month later, and it generally
faded into the great realm of obscurity. Until today that is, where
we're going to check it out and hope that Laugier isn't just a one
hit filmmaker. Get ready to cross your fingers and pray he gets a
watchable performance out of Jessica Biel, because it is now time for
A Ghoul Versus The Tall Man!
