Frontiers
Directed by Xavier Gens
France 2007
PLOT
A group of young robbers takes advantage of the riots in Paris to attempt a bank heist. The robbery goes terribly wrong, and the robbers, pursued by the police, are forced to flee and split up. Some of them find refuge in a seedy and isolated inn owned by some local farmers near the border with Belgium. Things take a turn for the worse when the robbers realize that the owners of their refuge are much more dangerous than the police chasing them: they are a family of deranged neo-Nazis with a penchant for torture and cannibalism.
CONSIDERATIONS
Gens’ debut pulls no punches: it is an important film not only for its inherent value but especially for underscoring France’s absolute importance in the horror genre, further strengthening the significance of French contributions during those years. The premise is essential since *Frontiers* is chronologically close to other remarkable French works such as *High Tension*, *Inside*, and *Saint Ange*.
The director has a clear vision and starts strong, presenting some young antiheroes in a revolutionary climate and hitting hard on the violence pedal from the first minutes, before easing off briefly, only to dive into a spiraling nightmare. Choosing a group of assholes as protagonists is a smart move; it creates emotional detachment between them and the viewer, yet it will be hard not to empathize with them once they start experiencing any form of violence and torture.
Despite drawing from many significant horror titles, Frontiers remains true to its goal of hitting hard and destabilizing the viewer. It is an important film in terms of publicity and budget investment, not underground, extremely violent, and relentless in delivering high-intensity gore moments. Gens delivers a heavy blow, whether detailing splatter scenes or sitting us down at the table with the family hosting the fugitives, revealing their Nazi, xenophobic, and cannibalistic traits. This moment, where group psychosis disturbs and unsettles, mirrors the impact Tobe Hooper had thirty years prior.
A brutal horror film marked by over-the-top but deeply believable characters, consistent in its messages, and excellently made. Kudos to the cinematography, colors, and set designs.
PANDEMONIC MOMENT
When the patriarch severs Achilles’ tendons with the bolt cutters to prevent the boy from escaping. A scene that does not shy away from details and screams of pain.
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