French with English subtitles
You know, it's not easy being a single mother-to-be. There are so many things to worry about. Like how are you going to get to the hospital when the big day comes? And how can you be expected to work and take care of a baby at the same time? And how are you supposed to keep strange women dressed in unflattering BDSM costumes from breaking into your home and slicing through your abdomen with your own ridiculously large knitting shears? And where does one buy Diaper Genie refills these days? Seriously.
It's a wonder women still get pregnant at all.
In case you haven't guessed it, Inside is the gruesome tale of the maternal instinct gone terribly wrong. The film's protagonist, Sarah (Alysson Paradis) is a woman on the brink of motherhood. Her belly is not just swollen with child, the middle of her person practically has its own zip code. In fact, she is in such a state of gastronomical distension that her socialized medicinal caregiver, (a.k.a. "the doctor") insists that she come in to be induced ON CHRISTMAS DAY! That's right. The kid is going to get screwed out of presents for the rest of his life and no one seems to care. (Please heed the hard "R" rating that this movie obviously deserves, folks.)
Making matters worse, because of a car accident four months earlier, Sarah is bringing her child into the world without the love and companionship of her, um...husband? Boyfriend? Sperm donor? Oh well, we're not sure and it really doesn't matter. All we know is his name is Matthieu and he looks like a really tall member of One Direction. And also that he was smashed to pieces in the front seat of an unsafe foreign automobile because he let his wife/girlfriend/sperm recipient drive. (Breaking up isn't THAT hard to do, apparently...)
So Sarah returns to her cozy ivy-covered home and hangs up the phone on her mother, mopes on her couch, and generally acts like a 13-year-old girl after hearing Justin Beiber and Selena Gomez are dating again.And then things get weird.
A stranger knocks at the door asking for help. And incredibly, SARAH DOES NOT LET THE STRANGER IN! Kudos to the writers for not taking the easy way out by having the stranger shoot a bazooka through the breezeway and enter the house uninvited. Then, after several more scares and mild teases, Sarah does the unthinkable again and actually CALLS THE POLICE! (Unbelievable. It's kind of a miracle that this film ever got made, don't you think?)
Anyway, events progress fairly logically for a movie of this kind, and tension comes honestly and effectively throughout the rest of the film. Although there are moments of broad-brush "characterization" the minor characters in this film are just placeholders and stereotypes meant to distract as little as possible from the central theme of motherhood and all the madness that has engulfed Sarah and the stranger because of it. The final scene is cleverly shot and vaguely haunting, but the true scares have come much earlier in the convincing depiction of a single-minded woman unable to empathize with anything or anyone other than the new life she is determined to claim at any cost.
Inside is an above-average slasher movie with as much anticipatory horror as blood. And the shocks are effective and central to what is happening onscreen and are not just set-pieces meant to cause a stir and give the tech guys something to do. But make no mistake, this is a violent movie with several incredibly disturbing and rectum-puckering scenes. You will be amazed at how many "weapons" are in the average single-woman's household.
And after viewing this blood-soaked ode to motherhood, don't be surprised if you find yourself tossing out all of your sharp utensils and investing in a good pair of safety scissors.
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