Review of Calvaire (2005) by Paul B — 02 Feb 2009

Having been compared to the likes of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Straw Dogs" I was eager to see "Calvaire," ultimately though, I'm not sure that the film ever lives up to their of them.

The bus of a performer breaks down in the middle of the country while on his way to his next gig. A local offers to help him out, and put him up for the night at - then things get really wacky. "Calvaire" is one of the weirder films I've seen in a while.

Beatings, guys forced to dress like women, animal rape, people rape, shootings, there's a little bit of everything tossed in here, and I give director Fabrice Du Welz some credit for creating an incredibly creepy atmosphere.

My problem isn't so much with the visuals, or overall feel of the film so much as it is with the script - feels a little jumbled to me. I fully understand a lot of this is done purposely in order to ramp the creepiness to factor ten and beyond, but forsaking story for scares is like walking a tightrope, and unfortunately "Calvaire" stumbles quite a bit while doing so.

Don't get me wrong, the film is more than worth checking out if you're a fan of movies that make you a little bit uncomfortable - There are a lot of very good things going on. At the same time though, I can't shake the feeling that it could have been so much more.