A Look into Foreign Horror: French Language Top 5 Films

Wikipedia describes horror films as this.

A horror film is one that seeks to elicit fear in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films additionally aim to evoke viewers’ nightmares, revulsions and terror of the unknown or the macabre. Initially inspired by literature from authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, and Mary Shelley, horror has existed as a film genre for more than a century. Horror, in my personal opinion, is the ultimate film genre when done right.

The United States has been severely lacking when it comes to horror in recent years, churning out films aimed at teenagers and making the scares way too predictable. In an earlier article, I visited China, Japan, South Korea and Thailand checking out some of their best horror films.

Next, we’re going to take a jaunt to France, which is home to some of the most disgusting and unsettling horror films I have ever had the pleasure to bear witness to.  Fair warning now, most of these films are not for the weak of heart or people with weak stomachs. They will be disturbing to a fair few of you.

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#5. La nuit a dévoré le monde aka The Night Eats the World (2018) TV-14

Synopsis: After waking up in an apartment where only the night before a party was raging, Sam is forced to come to grips with reality: He is now alone and the living dead have invaded the streets of Paris. Petrified with fear, Sam is going to have to barricade himself inside the building and organize his survival. But is he really the sole survivor?

A friend introduced this film to me one day when we were discussing zombie movies and I hadn’t seen it. Boy am I glad he recommended it to me. This is one of the best zombie movies in recent years, hands down. The main character runs the gambit of emotions and his struggles to survive the zombie apocalypse really draws you in. It may only be rated TV-14 but don’t let that discourage you from seeking out and watching this gem. You won’t regret it.

#4. À l’intérieur aka Inside (2007) R

Synopsis: Four months after the death of her husband, a woman on the brink of motherhood is tormented in her home by a strange woman who wants her unborn baby.

Most of the current iteration of French horror films have not received the word of mouth that this film has. Inside is a damn brutal film. It pushes limits and boundaries to the breaking point, but that’s what you have to do to shock an audience these days. The less I say about the movie, the more powerful the experience will be. So if you’re brave enough, go out and find this film.

#3. Grave aka Raw (2016) R

Synopsis: A young woman, studying to be a vet, develops a craving for human flesh.

Raw is.. unsettling to say the least. While nowhere near as brutal as Inside is, it is still a powerful and sometimes disgusting piece of film. This is a dark, cruel and disturbing horror film which gets even more unbearable, but everything that takes place works for the sake of a truly inspiring screenplay which provides amazingly well-written characters and also runs as a clever allegory about the awaking of sexuality in a repressed environment. Raw may just make you never look at a steak the same way again.

#2. Haute Tension aka High Tension (2003) R

Synopsis: Best friends Marie and Alexia decide to spend a quiet weekend at Alexia’s parents’ secluded farmhouse. But on the night of their arrival, the girls’ idyllic getaway turns into an endless night of horror.

High Tension, aka Switchblade Romance is the movie real horror movie fans have been waiting for. It’s a bloody, merciless, no-humour and no-holds-barred homage to the classic slasher pics of the 70s, and yet it surpasses almost every movie it draws its inspiration from. We get an unstoppable but definitely human killer because of his obviously being human and because he makes some undeniably smart decisions and operates in a continuously logical, inescapable way.

Like all good horror films, there is a killer twist that you won’t see coming. Sit back, relax, and wait.. what was that noise? Look over your shoulder as you watch this movie, you never know if someone is watching.

#1. Martyrs (2008) R

Synopsis: A young woman’s quest for revenge against the people who kidnapped and tormented her as a child leads her and a friend, who is also a victim of child abuse, on a terrifying journey into a living hell of depravity.

Oh where in the hell do I even begin with this one. Martyrs is a brutal, horrifying masterpiece. There is no sugarcoating that. It is easily one of the saddest horror films I’ve ever seen while at the same time being one of the most disturbing. You feel for the protagonists. You understand them and you sympathize with them. But when the rug gets yanked out from under you, and believe me it will, the film takes a dark and terrifying turn that is utterly believable.

I could easily see some dark stuff like this being real. There is one particular scene, and I am not going to give it away, that may make you reach for the trash bin as you lose your lunch. Watch at your own risk and discretion.

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Thank you all for coming along with me on this journey. It’s been an absolute pleasure bringing you these 10 films and I hope you’re brave enough to check them all out. Especially the French ones, I cannot stress enough how brutal the majority of those films are. I’ve seen a lot of gore and disgusting things in my day, but those films are on another level. Enjoy, ladies and gentlemen.