The 2000s were a strange, brutal time for horror. Extreme, violent films found an audience that comfortably rejected the cleanliness of 90s endeavors. These works seems to tap into world events, and the national cinema seemed to, independently of each other, shift to an unrelentingly cruel place. Where America had torture porn, France had the new French extremity. And 2004’s Calvarie (The Ordeal) is a prime example of this movement.
Fabrice du Welz’s feature debut (co-written with Romain Protat) follows Marc, a travelling entertainer (an impressive Laurent Lucas) whose journey home at Christmas is disrupted, first by his transportation breaking down and then by the individuals he comes into contact with in his pursuit of help.
Calvarie taps into other backwater horrors (such as Deliverance and the original Hills Have Eyes) whilst retaining a queasily uncomfortable atmosphere. This is a rather unpleasant watch, a tad too far for this viewer. And yet there are beats where the film pulls away from the violence on screen, Welz’s sensibilities are to avoid some of the provocation of his peers. This may be why the film reaches for Christian imagery or feels more comfortable in the surreal comedic beats. That’s not to deny the extreme on display here with violence of a physical, sexual and emotional level divided out on its characters.
What impresses about New French Extremity over other works of extreme cinema is the space given to interpretation and metaphor. Calvarie, eventually, feels like a more minor part of the movement but it make an impact nonetheless. An intriguing time capsule that encapsulates what a strange time the 2000s were for horror.
Fabrice du Welz’s feature debut (co-written with Romain Protat) follows Marc, a travelling entertainer (an impressive Laurent Lucas) whose journey home at Christmas is disrupted, first by his transportation breaking down and then by the individuals he comes into contact with in his pursuit of help.
Calvarie taps into other backwater horrors (such as Deliverance and the original Hills Have Eyes) whilst retaining a queasily uncomfortable atmosphere. This is a rather unpleasant watch, a tad too far for this viewer. And yet there are beats where the film pulls away from the violence on screen, Welz’s sensibilities are to avoid some of the provocation of his peers. This may be why the film reaches for Christian imagery or feels more comfortable in the surreal comedic beats. That’s not to deny the extreme on display here with violence of a physical, sexual and emotional level divided out on its characters.
What impresses about New French Extremity over other works of extreme cinema is the space given to interpretation and metaphor. Calvarie, eventually, feels like a more minor part of the movement but it make an impact nonetheless. An intriguing time capsule that encapsulates what a strange time the 2000s were for horror.