Review of Irreversible (2002) by Derek S — 24 Aug 2011
Irreversible is a foreign horror/thriller film made back in 2002, and is directed by Gaspar Noe, a pretty unfamiliar face in my book. Very interesting premise here, as it takes the main idea right from Memento.
The reverse order shots are very intriguing, especially when performed with such prowess, like Memento. With Irreversible, it's actually pretty dang well structured. That is if your into brutal films.
The camera is constantly moving around like crazy, which I found added to the intensity. At first glance you'll notice this is no ordinary film. The credits are completely unique, and very creative at that.
The limited soundtrack it presents in the beginning is also creepy, settling the audience in for a dark thrill ride. Now, I've seen slashers of all kinds, torture flicks, and basically "snuff" films, if you will.
They were all disturbing to an extent, but it wasn't too much or too little. I feel that in Irreversible they took one scene much too far, and it made this experience just that much more disturbing.
This shouldn't really be much of a spoiler, but the rape scene goes for what seems like a good ten minutes. I'm not a sicko or anything, but I don't MIND a quick scene like that in horror's.
This just pushed the limits. What I really did like about this film though, was how no-holds-barred it was. There's only a couple scenes of violence, but one of them is just brutal, brutal, and brutal.
The director clearly wanted it that way, and it really fit well with the setting and vibe of this flick. The story is very fast paced, despite a couple scenes, and it really had me anticipating the next scene.
One thing I noticed that was presented under a deep layer of violence and bloodshed; the relationships between the three friends. Noe really made them believable which is rare these days in films like this.
Not a great film, not a bad film, just a very odd, out there, and very graphic film, that I actually recommend, as long as you have a strong stomach and tolerance for oddity.
This review of Irreversible (2002) was written by Derek S on 24 Aug 2011.
Irreversible has generally received positive reviews.
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