Among the Living (2014 film)
Among the Living | |
---|---|
French poster | |
Directed by | Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury |
Produced by |
Fabrice Lambot Caroline Piras Jean-Pierre Putters |
Written by |
Alexandre Bustillo Julien Maury |
Starring |
Béatrice Dalle Anne Marivin Nicolas Giraud |
Music by | Raphaël Gesqua |
Cinematography | Antoine Sanier |
Edited by | Sébastien de Sainte Croix |
Production company |
Metaluna Productions SND Films |
Distributed by | Tanzi Distribution |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
Country | France |
Language | French |
Among the Living (French: Aux yeux des vivants) is a 2014 French horror film that was written and directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo. The film had its world premiere on 10 March 2014 at South by Southwest and follows three young boys who discover that the seemingly banal exterior of their town hides a horrific inner secret.
Plot
Three young adolescent friends decide that they want to start their summer vacation early, so they decide to skip the last day of school in favor of having a little fun. Their adventures that day get them into a little trouble, which causes them to wander to an abandoned film studio lot on the edge of town called Blackwood Studios. The young boys are horrified when they see a man in a clown mask dragging a chained woman across the lot. They manage to flee and try to get the police involved, only for the police to assume that because the adolescents are only causing more trouble. The adolescents end up going back to their respective homes, unaware that the masked man and his father are planning on taking their revenge on the three friends.
Cast
- Béatrice Dalle as Jeanne Faucheur
- Anne Marivin as Julia
- Nicolas Giraud as Nathan
- Francis Renaud as Isaac Faucheur
- Chloé Coulloud as Mila
- Zacharie Chasseriaud as Tom
- Damien Ferdel as Dan
- Théo Fernandez as Victor
- Fabien Jegoudez as Klarence
- Sidwell Weber
Production
Bustillo and Maury first announced plans to film Among the Living in 2012 and filming was expected to begin in southwest France in spring 2013.[1] Funding for the film was raised through a successful crowdsourcing campaign.[2] Filming began in June 2013 and a trailer for the film was released in March 2014.[3][4]
Reception
Critical reception has been mixed,[5] and Twitch Film commented that "The tension in Among The Living is so thick that it spawned collective coping mechanisms, wherein neighboring strangers locked eyes when they couldn't bear to look at the screen any longer."[6] Shock Till You Drop gave Among the Living a positive review, remarking that the movie "isn't too deep on a subtextual level, but it's a solid exercise in pure terror."[7] The Austin Chronicle considered the film to be a "bloody good capstone" for nouveau guignol cinema and stated that it was "by turns sublime, comical, and chilling in the blackest sort of way."[8] AMFM Magazine said the film was "little more than an excuse for the baddie to kill off each character one-by-one in uninteresting and tensionless ways."[9] The review from Bloody Disgusting was more mixed, as they noted that the story was "so-so" but praised the film overall.[10] IndieWire was more negative, as they wrote "This could have been a perfect, meta-textual opportunity for the directors to comment on horror movies in general and their movie in particular. Instead, it's a lot of people coughing up blood and slicing each others faces' off, followed by a coda so sugary sweet that it gave us a toothache. That's probably the movie's biggest surprise: that the guys behind "Inside" finished up a movie this sappily."[11]
References
- ↑ "Killer Clown Found Among the Living for Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo". Dread Central. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ↑ "'Inside' and 'Livide' Directors Turn To Crowdsourcing For 'Among the Living'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ↑ Turek, Ryan. "First Look at Julian Maury and Alexandre Bustillo’s Among the Living". STYD. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ↑ "French Trailer Found Among the Living". Dread Central. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ↑ Zimmerman, Samuel. "“AMONG THE LIVING” (SXSW Movie Review)". Fangoria. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ↑ Gayne, Zach. "SXSW 2014 Review: AMONG THE LIVING, A Horrifying Case of Boys Will Be Boys". Twitch Film. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ↑ Turek, Ryan. "SXSW Review: Among the Living is the Richard Laymon Film Adaptation We Never Received". STYD. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ↑ Savlov, Marc. "SXSW Film Review: 'Among the Living'". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ↑ http://www.amfm-magazine.com/1159-at-sxsw-the-midnighters-review/
- ↑ "'Among The Living' Combines Masterful Atmosphere And Gore With A So-So Story". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ↑ Taylor, Drew. "SXSW Review: Horror 'Among The Living' From 'Inside' Directors Julien Maury & Alexandre Bustillo". IndieWire. Retrieved 14 March 2014.