Les Affames (TIFF-2017)
Starring Marc-Andre Grondin, Monia Chokri, Micheline Lanctot,
Directed by Robin Aubert
As time rolls on, and we the people are faced with the prospect of another zombie film staring us directly in the face, one can only hope and wonder, “what will set this apart from the rest of the pack?” In director Robin Aubert’s one-off undead presentation, Les Affames, while the prospect of the world being overtaken by zombies is present, these minions are infinitely more frightening to deal with on a larger scale.
Set along a very docile (for the moment) Quebec countryside, the film centers around a man (Grondin) who is smack-dab in the middle of a full-blown apocalypse, although you wouldn’t know it from the pacing of the movie itself – very timed out, and extremely sluggish in spots, however I say that with the utmost respect, as this movie thrives on the slowed-down tempo. Grondin’s character alongside Tania (Chokri) canvass the countryside in an attempt to simply gain some distance between themselves and the packs of rabid victims, and the scary thing about these killers is that while they have their moments of track-star induced speed, the majority of the time they stand in a trance-like state, almost studying and stalking their prey. It’s simple, it’s frightening, and it’s effective as all hell considering every other type of zombie has been constructed in varying fashions over the years.
Aubert’s cinematography gains a 4 star mark here, as one shot in the film’s opening minutes has a couple of young women (zombified) standing hand-in-hand across a far stretch of path in the forest, just waiting for their moment to strike while a hunter debates taking a shot at them – truly terrifying stuff. As the time ticks off the clock in this one, the action does ramp up a bit in the latter stages, and the gore is more than acceptable for those wanting a little crimson with their rotted flesh. Hard to gauge performances as the dialogue can be a bit subdued (and subtitled), but for all intents and purposes, the portrayals were decent, and the movie really was a lot of fun to watch, especially considering how jaded I am at the entire zombie sub-genre in this day and age. Overall, Les Affames is not just another zombie flick, it’s one that hopefully can breathe some new life into a very stagnant landscape – give this one a look when it becomes available.
-
Film
Categorized:Reviews
