Inside (2006) 8/10

Inside is yet another film from France that is brutal, shocking, and totally over the top. In fact, among films like High Tension, Trouble Every Day, and In My Skin, I think this one just might win the award for envelope pushing.

Inside is about a young woman due to give birth any day. On Christmas eve she's alone after the tragic death of her husband in a car accident. The streets are clear of life except for one lone woman who is hellbent on getting inside the house to cut the unborn child from her womb. The heroine must fight back to survive the night and keep her baby.

Really gory doesn't even begin to describe this sickie. Sure there's plenty of films out there that are gory for the sake of gore and end up being hokey. This is not the case here. Inside is brutally gory and borders on the line of nausea. The gore is pretty damn realistic and unending. Every time the film almost becomes desensitizing the violence is pulled back for a bit so the viewer can get a bit of a breather before the carnage continues. This is important because with most hyper gory flicks the shock of the gore wears off pretty quick and becomes almost dull. Inside rides the thin line expertly, shocking this viewer time and time again.

Another important factor is the artistic eye found in this film. Of course is artsy, it's French! Many American gore flicks I've seen lack the artistic eye giving the film a schlocky and cheap feel. Inside feels like an important film and was conceived with a high minded ideal giving it a realistic and professional feel that makes the gore and violence all the more shocking. It's almost as if I was watching an important drama rather then a gore soaked shock fest. It made me feel much more involved with the plot and characters, which makes the film that much more dangerous and affective.

My first thought after watching Inside was that the horror genre has finally topped itself and has created a film that belongs alongside other notorious shockers like Cannibal Holocaust, Faces of Death, and Cannibal Ferox, though decidedly a step down from those animal killing monstrosities. It's quite a dubious recognition, but Inside is truly that disturbing. This one's for strong stomachs and horror freaks only.

Gore - High, very high. Didn't you read the review?

Nudity - none

Overall - 8/10