‘MadS’: One-Take Horror Film Is Simply Stunning [Fantastic Fest 2024 Review]
Zombies are hard to do right nowadays. It feels like we’ve seen everything when it comes to hordes of the undead and anything else that tries simply feels derivative. But, David Moreau, the mind behind Them (a pillar of the New French Extremity subgenre and a core inspiration for The Strangers), has done the seemingly impossible with his new film MadS, which had its world premiere at the 2024 Fantastic Fest. Told in one take, MadS is Cloverfield meets Diary of the Dead, a hellish fever dream that takes you on a hazy yet terrifying ride through the worst night of three people’s lives.
Romain (Milton Richie) is an attractive young man with a rich dad and plenty of money to blow on, well, blow. After picking up a new drug that promises to give you the craziest night of your life, he heads home only to be accosted by a woman on the side of the road. Covered in blood, she scrambles into his car and screams at him to drive. Then she begins slamming her head against the dashboard, bathing the car and Romain himself in her blood. Unsure if this is real or just a really bad trip, he drives home and, unknowingly, into hell itself.
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From here, Moreau switches perspectives twice, letting the potentially limiting scope of a single-take horror film fall away. This isn’t just Romain’s story; this is also a story told from his girlfriend Anais (Lucille Guillaume) and an ex-fling’s perspectives. Both are women who have feelings for Romain and how, inadvertently, are potentially infected by the changing young man. This is about the spreading of infection through his closest friends and what happens when your body starts to turn while you’re also experiencing the wildest high of your life. Just the thought alone provokes anxiety and seeing it manifested on screen through three rich young people just trying to struggle their way through life is all the more terrifying.
Plus, switching perspectives keeps the narrative feeling fresh and never lets the viewer feel comfortable or safe. You never know when our “main” character is going to change and take us down a totally unexpected path. Moreau uses a lean runtime strategically, providing enough information for us to care about these characters but never going deep enough to distract from the action at hand. It’s a delicate balance that is carefully and beautifully struck.
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The standout performance in MadS is Guillaume as Anais, a woman trying desperately to hold onto a changing Romain and, eventually, her own humanity. Her transformation sequence is a master class in on-screen physicality. As she snarls, she also cries for her mother and begs not to die. She stands in the street channeling Isabelle Adjani in the iconic subway scene from Possession, without all of the goop. Guillaume moves her body and contorts her voice in ways that seem unnatural, which is perfect for a film like MadS. It’s terrifying and heartbreaking in the same breath. But Moreau never lets you linger in that for long as we’re off into the next hellish scenario as Anais’ body changes around her.
MadS is a chaotic trip into the worst night of several people’s lives, fueled by experimental drugs and raging libidos. While MadS is by no means a found footage movie, Moreau’s use of handheld techniques often seen in the subgenre helps add to the film’s frenetic energy. Moreau delivers a clever take on the zombie film that’ll have your heart pounding from start to finish.
Summary
With MadS, David Moreau delivers a clever take on the zombie film that’ll have your heart pounding from start to finish.
