Inside (2007) Review – A Visceral and Brutal Festive Nightmare

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are reviewing Inside (2007).

Tense and suspenseful festive horror

The story here is simple. Set on Christmas Eve, Inside sees a pregnant woman stalked inside her house by a madwoman that has one intention – to steal her unborn child. This isn’t the most obvious Xmas horror, to be honest. The sheer horrific nature of the movie doesn’t lend itself well to festive themes. Still, we do have Christmas decorations, cold weather, and the timing is perfect. Make this an early December film if you do want to check it out. You don’t want to ruin your Christmas and you will need some time to recover.

“Inside is absolutely not a movie for people who dislike violent horror. In fact, it is up there with the most violent horror I have ever watched. Nothing is sacred.”

Set in a small house consisting of only a few rooms, Inside feels claustrophobic and extremely intense. Opening scenes inside the house feature Sarah being harassed by an unknown woman. Standing ominously at the patio window, she cracks the glass and disappears. Tension is already pretty damn high. I mean, the thought that somebody wants to get into your house is terrifying. The fact that La Femme does it so brazenly is shocking.

La Femme enters the house while Sarah sleeps. As she looms over her bed, scissors in hand, it is impossible not to anticipate what is about to happen. This sets the tone for what is about to come. The entire first 20 minutes are a fine example of atmosphere building. A tense and hyper-violent game of cat-and-mouse is about to play out in one of New French Extremity’s greatest hits.

Ultra violent

We should focus on this point before anything else. Inside is absolutely not a movie for people who dislike violent horror. In fact, Inside is up there with the most violent horror I have ever watched. Nothing is sacred. We are presented with a heavily pregnant woman just days from being induced. I am sure you can imagine what might happen. It goes without saying that pregnant people and couples should avoid this movie. It is that brutal in parts.

“Béatrice Dalle’s performance as La Femme is absolutely fantastic. Fully committed to the role, she delivers a physical and intimidating performance.”

There are numerous characters that appear during La Femme’s time at the house. Sure, they are introduced for dumb reasons but they are there purely as cannon fodder for La Femme to take her rage out on. The different ways she finds to dispatch of her victims are inventive and horrific. New French Extremity movies act as explorations of ways to cause pain. Inside is a great example of this. That’s not to say that The Woman doesn’t experience violence herself.

Sarah is fighting for her life and will try whatever she can. She proves to be fairly capable and the result is both sides dishing out the hurt. One scene in particular features Sarah fighting back in a way that is both unique and very cleverly done. The injury detail is present throughout and well supported by some tremendous special effects. Always gory and never anything other than extremely graphic. The movie ups the ante continuously until its shocking conclusion. As I said before, if you don’t like violent horror, don’t even bother.

A tremendous performance

Béatrice Dalle‘s performance as La Femme is absolutely fantastic. Fully committed to the role, she delivers a physical and intimidating performance. Anyone who knows anything about Dalle’s life knows she has been to some pretty dark places. Perhaps a woman who claimed that she ate part of a corpse’s ear while high on acid is perfect for a character like this? She is utterly convincing as the psychopathic lunatic desperate to cause harm.

Alysson Paradis, as Sarah, is perfectly fine. Once again, she puts on a committed performance and is very believable as a woman fighting for her life. Scenes where she is in pain are very convincing. She drags herself around in a manner that makes you believe she has been through the ringer. It’s well done but she still takes second place to Dalle’s La Femme. Side characters are fairly unremarkable due to their insignificance. Some of the side characters can, actually, be quite frustrating due to their stupidity. They are literally marching to their death and have no sense whatsoever.

Shot in chronological order, cinematography is excellent. Heavy use of greys, browns and blacks lend a sense of desperation and gloom to the film. Shots are framed perfectly to highlight how trapped Sarah is. Creative use of the camera helps relate to the viewer the frustration La Femme feels. Tight framing helps build up the scares. The total lack of light in certain scenes also feels very oppressive. It’s a well shot movie given the low budget and very effective given the subject matter.

Extremely controversial

This is a difficult movie to recommend. I think an argument could be made for the movie being, potentially, too graphic. I wouldn’t necessarily agree with this because it is a horror movie, after all. We all know what we are here for. But this is a movie that refuses to pull any punches.

“The entire first 20 minutes are a fine example of atmosphere building. A tense and hyper-violent game of cat-and-mouse is about to play out in one of New French Extremity’s greatest hits.”

Inside reminds me a lot of some of the more brutal J-horror movies. I would wager that Bustillo was at least a little influenced by Audition. The violence is heavily stylised and La Femme’s appearance is, like Asami, similarly bizarre and very deliberate.

It has to be said, however, that I imagine Inside is sure to upset some people. It will definitely be too graphic for others. Themes of violence to a pregnant person are always going to be controversial. When it is this graphic, it would be irresponsible of me to not mention it. If you have a strong stomach, however, you should be fine. Just don’t whack it on while curled up on the sofa with your new partner.

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Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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