LIVID

(A.k.a. LIVIDE)

From Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, the makers of INSIDE …

Lucie (Chloe Coulloud) sits on a bench in a bus shelter, waiting for her lift. Catherine (Catherine Jacob) arrives moments later and talks Lucie through the do’s and don’ts in her new job of trainee home carer, as she drives her to her first client: the elderly Deborah (Marie-Claude Pietragalla).

Deborah owns a plush, if somewhat rundown-looking place, surrounded by acres of overgrown greenery. Already bored with the prospect of her potential new career, Lucie takes to the task at hand with a sense of disdain typical of someone of her tender years.

But when Catherine introduces Lucie to Deborah – comatose and living through an air mask in her bed, her chambers closed off from the outside world with metal shutters on the windows - even our surly teen heroine can’t fail to be intrigued.

That evening, Lucie meets with her fisherman boyfriend William (Felix Moati) and the pair of them go for a drink at his mother’s bar, where his brother Ben (Jeremy Kapone) waits tables. She tells them of her day, and describes how rich but sedate Deborah is said to be lying in a house where treasures are hidden.

William, wanting a better life for all three of them, suggests they break into the house and search for the treasure. This suggestion initially turns Lucie’s stomach. But, hey, she’s poor too – and she soon agrees to go along with the dastardly plan.

And so, Lucie meets up with William and Ben, the three of them venturing in the dead of night to Deborah’s house in Ben’s car. They break in, and begin negotiating the previously unchartered rooms of her house. It’s here that they make a remarkable discovery and things get supernatural …

There is a slow build to LIVID, a definite focus on scene-setting and atmosphere during the stylishly reserved first half. The second act, however, delivers what the co-directors must surely know to be what is expected of them, with lashings of gore and jump-shock horrors.

While both halves are good, it has to be said that the first one – lots of cryptic conversation and subtle character development (William’s political unrest; Lucie’s longing for the return of her late mother), along with some wonderfully controlled cinematography – is the better of the two. For all that the action is ramped up by several notches during the film’s final 40 minutes, this segment feels strangely anti-climactic.

Still, LIVID does get very bloody in parts and the FX are largely brilliant. The score is eerie, performances are solid and there is a great mystery element to the story as a whole that is sure to keep even the most cynical viewers watching.

At times, the film is perhaps too self-consciously stylish for its own good. These filmmakers are clever and have a keen eye for what looks good – and they want you to know it. But thankfully Coulloud is strong enough of presence to add some emotional depth to what would’ve otherwise been a bit of a wanky exercise in showmanship.

In many ways this is a better film than INSIDE though. It certainly shows that the co-directors have matured, focusing more on pace and dramatic escalation. There is a wealth of exposition, granted, but this arguably helps LIVID have more impact when it starts to hit. Technically, it’s excellent – it’s just lacking some connection that prevents it from being a bona fide classic.

Oh, but we do get Beatrice Dalle (the nutter from INSIDE) who turns up in a cameo role as Lucie’s mum. Cool.

The UK DVD from Studio Canal offers LIVID uncut in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and enhanced for 16x9 television sets. As you’d expect from a new film made by two young men with a keen eye for stunning visuals, it looks superb. The transfer is crisp, clean and clear throughout. The DVD offers fantastic picture quality: I look forward to checking out the blu-ray in due course.

Likewise, the French audio track – proffered in options of 2.0 and 5.1 – is excellent on all counts. Forced English subtitles though … what’s all that about, in this day and age?

The disc opens to an animated main menu page. From there, a static scene-selection menu allows access to the film via 12 chapters.

Extras begin with a highly valid, engaging and satisfyingly candid 17-minute behind-the-scenes featurette.

We also get a few interviews. Perhaps the best of these is the 6-minute chat with the co-directors discussing their love of horror, how they gravitated towards the genre and their thoughts on what works within its confines.

Pietragalla is also on hand for a relaxed 8-minute chat, speaking more specifically about the film’s shoot. Jacob turns up for a shorter interview – 3 minutes – while Moati and Kapone bounce off each other while talking in a pub about their characters.

Finally, we get the film’s trailer. This is 93 seconds long and comes with 16x9 enhancement. It looks great and does a good job of conveying LIVID’s stronger points.

LIVID’s a good film. It’s unlikely that it’s going to be remembered as a classic in years to come, but it holds up very well as a watch regardless – and this release is definitely worth a buy.

Also available on blu-ray.

Review by Stuart Willis