"Les Affamés" is a French language Canadian film, that can be found under the title "Ravenous" in English on Netflix, but not to be confused with the Robert Carlyle vehicle of a few years back.
If you are looking for a scare a minute action-packed thrill ride in your horror movies, this is...not the movie for you.
What this is, is one of my favorite horror movies that I've watched in quite some time. Much is done without much fanfare or affects. Even the music score is used sparingly, and there is time and space to breathe. The pacing is slow, and it seems to reflect the pace of life with horror and a kind of ennui coming in equal measures for the characters in a post-apocalyptic world. It sets up an atmosphere of low grade dread throughout, but never tips into complete bleakness or despair. There is hope and kindness and connection to be found here, even if it may not last for long. There is definitely humor, both that of someone desperately trying to hold on to some sense of normalcy, and moments of complete situational absurdity.
This movie in many ways the epitome of the dictum to "show, not tell." The spare, visual storytelling is so well done, it gives the viewer credit for being intelligent and does not delve into great amounts of unnecessary exposition. There is a definite sense of world-building here, but we are basically dropped into the middle of the world a while after everything has started happening, and some things are allowed to remain a bit of a mystery. Some things are allowed to remain a bit absurd. The behavior of our zombies ranges from terrifying moments to downright eerie and puzzling. I found the moments of stillness far more frightening and disturbing than the moments of them chasing after people full-tilt.
It feels important to mention that there is an accordion, but it is hard to articulate exactly why the accordion is so important, and that's kind of the point. As with all the best movies in the zombie genre, when you come right down to it, it is an exploration of what it means to be human.
If you are looking for a scare a minute action-packed thrill ride in your horror movies, this is...not the movie for you.
What this is, is one of my favorite horror movies that I've watched in quite some time. Much is done without much fanfare or affects. Even the music score is used sparingly, and there is time and space to breathe. The pacing is slow, and it seems to reflect the pace of life with horror and a kind of ennui coming in equal measures for the characters in a post-apocalyptic world. It sets up an atmosphere of low grade dread throughout, but never tips into complete bleakness or despair. There is hope and kindness and connection to be found here, even if it may not last for long. There is definitely humor, both that of someone desperately trying to hold on to some sense of normalcy, and moments of complete situational absurdity.
This movie in many ways the epitome of the dictum to "show, not tell." The spare, visual storytelling is so well done, it gives the viewer credit for being intelligent and does not delve into great amounts of unnecessary exposition. There is a definite sense of world-building here, but we are basically dropped into the middle of the world a while after everything has started happening, and some things are allowed to remain a bit of a mystery. Some things are allowed to remain a bit absurd. The behavior of our zombies ranges from terrifying moments to downright eerie and puzzling. I found the moments of stillness far more frightening and disturbing than the moments of them chasing after people full-tilt.
It feels important to mention that there is an accordion, but it is hard to articulate exactly why the accordion is so important, and that's kind of the point. As with all the best movies in the zombie genre, when you come right down to it, it is an exploration of what it means to be human.
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