Review of Frontier(s) (2007) by Ian D — 17 Jul 2008

'Frontiers', or 'Frontier(s)' depending on where you look, is the latest offering in the growing trend of French horror. Written and directed by 'Hitman's Xavier Gens, the film is markedly unlike a slow motion train crash, which is what those who have seen the woeful videogame adaptation may have expected. Nor is it anything like its precursor. Thank God. 'Frontier(s)' is a film that deserves to be spoken about on its own merit, although I must admit that it would be fun to consider the potential of the rather unnecessary bracketed 'S' as a very necessary addition to the front end of 'Hitman's title.

I have developed an increasingly indifferent attitude towards horror films of late, mainly because of the disastrous output of Hollywood which seems to view the horror genre as little more than a remake circus. The undeniable truth, a truth that Hollywood would do well to admit, is that European and Eastern horror films have always had the edge. I can think of no Hollywood remake of an Asian original horror film that has been better or even worth it; everything is watered down and the very essence of what makes the film scary in the first place (usually it's 'exotic' quality, the inclusion of distinctly foreign or unusual themes) is removed and replaced with someone like Sarah Michelle Gellar.

My unconditional advice is that if you want good horror, look to sources other than Hollywood. Gone are the days of the stalker / slasher sub-genre which produced such incredibly original films such as 'Halloween'. No one makes films like 'The Shining' anymore - which is in my opinion a cinematic milestone in the horror genre. In fact, the only American horror film that I found both entertaining and reasonably scary in the last 10 years was 'Hatchet'; a film which proudly declares itself as 'Old School American Horror'. More of it, please. Until then, European countries such as France and Spain are doing the horror genre proud, and in varying styles. Whereas Spain's horror films of late have a distinctly psychological approach represented by last years 'The Orphanage' and 'REC', France seems to be content to put up the gore as fans of 'Switchblade Romance' (or 'Haute Tension' to purists) will certainly be aware.

On the front of 'Frontier(s)' DVD case it says 'from the makers of Switchblade Romance', although having searched (admittedly not extensively) I have been able to uncover no production ties. Both are distributed for the home by Optimum and I assume that such a declaration is their doing more than anyone else's. What is certain is that the two films are very alike both in theme, style and tone. It seems that the French horror genre is determined in producing a tight-knit series of films that represent a specific type of horror product with emphasis on rural settings and the 'terrible house / family. In this respect they have a huge debt to pay to films such as 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' and 'Last House on the Left'.

Truth be told, 'Frontier(s)' is a film like many others. It concerns a group of young Parisians who, having robbed a bank in the middle of a political riot, flee the city to take refuge near the country's border. The hotel that they decide to stay in turns out to be quite uncivil and the rest of the film plays out with our anti-heroes at the mercy of the hotel's inhabitants; a family of fascist cannibals (with mutant children!) Formulaic? Yes. But genre films are and if the front cover of the DVD doesn't warn you about the kind of film that it houses, it's likely that nothing will.

Where the film stands out from others of its ilk is in that it actually provides a commentary on political and social issues. It is set against the backdrop of political unrest in France due to the running and eventual success of an extreme right-wing presidential candidate. Relevance can be found universally in this topic with far-right political groups, although varied in size, common throughout all of Europe. How this theme fits in with the events in the film itself is somewhat problematic. It seems that rather than using the context of extreme politics to actually offer a commentary on the dangers of such radical views, it is merely used to contrive a semi-believable situation in which people can die. Often the scariness of a horror film will come from the unknown, the lack of reason for what is happening, and I can't help but think that 'Frontier(s)' offers a little too much. It is perhaps a bit wishful for the filmmakers to expect people to immediately align extreme right-wing politics with such relentless murder, but we are left with no other explanation.

In any event, the film succeeds in creating a contextual base for the story and although the commentary fails as a significant part of the film, it does a damn sight better than Eli Roth's poor attempt at criticising capitalism in his awful 'Hostel' films. In his short lived, but infuriatingly successful franchise, Roth completely fails to offer any substantial reason for the killing of his victims and throws in an attempt at economical comment almost as an afterthought. American greed, although disagreeable, hardly translates into the killing of innocent teenagers. Roth claims he stumbled upon a website offering the very service that the film portrays, but this is quite obviously the attempt of an absolute idiot to protect his faltering logic in making such an exploitative film.

'Frontier(s)' avoids this short-sightedness and also the exploitative qualities of Roth's 'torture-porn'. It does however offer violence in immeasurable quantity, so much as to even surpass the cumulative gore-rating of both of Roth's films. Once it starts it just doesn't stop, much in the same way that 'Switchblade Romance' explodes with a frenzy of killing and ends as abruptly as is possible. The film's pacing is good; it starts with a bang but still competently allows enough set up before the killing begins. I don't believe that enough time is spent with each character before their ordeal begins; 'Switchblade' certainly has the edge on this front. Our final girl, Jasmine, is revealed as pregnant the second that the film starts, but not much is made of it and it's hard to remember once the blood begins flowing.

The film uses time-lapse editing once the pace really picks up and it is a technique that fits well with the tone of the film. Not only does it offer an unhinged perspective of the events that are unfolding, it allows the film to move at a rapid pace which I believe is really necessary in this style of film. Although already clearly sadistic in nature, I imagine that the film would be nigh unbearable if the numerous torture scenes were fleshed out even more.

'Frontier(s)' is an out and out genre film, and all the better for it. To many it will seem unoriginal and textbook but I would argue that this is exactly the point. Fans of the horror genre, people who really appreciate but more importantly understand the conventions and traits that are commonly used, will see the simplicity and purity in this film. These people will understand that conventions such as the rural setting, the twisted use of supposedly 'safe' elements such as the family / home and the figure of the final girl are used time and time again because they are proven. It is also for this reason that the film will be unable to escape comparisons with every other film I've mentioned so far. Sometimes this can be damaging but often it isn't because horror is one of the tightest knit examples of genre classification going. If you are going to make a horror film the chances are that you're not going to do anything that revolutionary and rather rely on the aforementioned conventions.

An example of the damaging effects of such pigeonholing can be found when comparing 'Frontier(s)' to Roth's 'Hostel'. As much as it pains me to do so, I admit that the films share similar elements - most notably in the torture / killing sequences. Not only would a comparison rely on flimsy and insubstantial evidence, but due to the Hollywood status of the 'Hostel' franchise any comparison would be hugely lob-sided. Many people who like 'Frontier(s)' will also like 'Hostel', but many more who like 'Hostel' will have never heard and may never hear of 'Frontier(s)'.

Bear in mind that the purpose of genre is to alert viewers to the existence of similar films and point them in the direction of them. This does not mean that constant comparison is necessary as this would inevitably lead to a culture of one-upmanship. Films should be judged on their own merits and - where necessary - be appreciated within the context of similar films. The fact is that whilst being conventional, 'Frontier(s)' offers more than most American horror films and should be applauded for doing so. This is the sort of film that genres should lead people to seek out, not trample over.