Inside Movie Review (2007)

Also known as À l'intérieur, Inside is a French horror film part of the Dimension Extreme Collection. It is considered a notable film in the New Extremity or New French Extremity genre, films that feature extreme scenes of violence and/or sexual violence, torture and gore. Other films that fall into this category include Martyrs and High Tension, but I would argue Inside is more disturbing and brutal than either of those.

After surviving a horrific car crash that killed her husband, Sarah is preparing to give birth to their child. The night before she is expected to be admitted to the hospital, a stranger comes to her house asking to be let inside. When questioning her motives, she says that her car has broken down and needs to use Sarah's phone. When Sarah makes the excuse that her husband is asleep and she can't come in, the stranger replies saying that she knows her husband is dead. After calling the authorities and the subsequent search inside and outside her home, Sarah resumes her evening but continues to be stalked by the stranger and is eventually awoken when the stranger enters her home and stabs her in the stomach and face with a pair of scissors.

Things only get more complicated as both Sarah's boss and mother show up to the house and are both killed. Sarah mistakenly kills her mother thinking it's her attacker while the stranger kills Sarah's boss after seeing her in a bloody state asking for help. Eventually, more officers stop by the house as the cops who were there earlier said they would have a follow up visit to ensure she was okay. Upon entering the house and seeing the bloodbath, both officers are killed by the stranger who is now even more dangerous as she has the firearm of one of the slain officers. This culminates to one of the most disturbing scenes where the officer who is attempting to help Sarah has his brains blown out right in front of her face. To her surprise, there is another officer waiting in the car who hears the gunshots and rushes into the house before the stranger can cause Sarah any more harm.

As Sarah tries to escape, she is found by the stranger and pulled into the kitchen. After threatening to stab herself and the fetus, Sarah is hit in the face with a toaster, knocking her to the floor. While the stranger is gloating over Sarah's body, she lights a cigarette and Sarah reaches for an aerosol can and sprays it in the stranger's face causing massive fire damage. She then constructs a weapon made in the kitchen with a knife and metal pipe. When Sarah finds her and goes to kill her, the stranger says, "Kill me. You already have." and there is a flashback to the auto accident that took Sarah's husband. The person in the other car was the stranger who was also pregnant and ended up losing her baby as a result of the accident.

The end of this movie is fucking wild and really needs to be seen to be believed. Sarah winds up on the stairs and says the baby is coming. The stranger then cuts the baby out of her and proceeds to walk through the house before finding a rocking chair and sitting down, kissing the child as it starts to cry. The aftermath of Sarah's body and the river of blood surrounding her with her stomach cut open is a grisly, nauseating scene that not many will be able to stomach.

~TJ