Incident in a Ghost Land

[stroopwafel]

So, this march French director Pascal Laugier returns to horror with (Incident in a) Ghostland which got me pretty hyped. Laugier directed Martyrs back in 2008 which is such a relentless movie like a blast of dark energy that really made an impression on me. The horror is deeply serious and existentialist and got under my skin like no other movie ever did. Definitely watch it(the original, not the remake) if you want to see what French cinema is capable of.

Anyways though 10 years after Martyrs Laugier is finally back with another horror movie which sounds pretty interesting..


Following her aunt's death, Colleen (Farmer) and her two daughters the eldest, Beth (Reed), totally locked-in and shy, finds comfort in the stories she invents in the books she writes, and Vera (Philipps), way more open and self-confident, inherit her house. However, during their first night in this new home, murderers break-in, pushing Colleen to fight to save her daughters' lives. During this highly traumatic night, the girls' disparate personalities diverge even further.

Sixteen years later, Beth becomes a famous horror author with a perfect family and life in Chicago, while Vera can't cope, and loses her mind faced to an unshakable sense of paranoia. Daughters and mother finally reunite at the house where Colleen and Vera still live. It is only then that strange events begin to take place.

Could be interpreted as cliche, but in Laugier's hands I highly doubt that.. So anyone looking forward to finally a true horror movie? (hopefully )

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Crazy daughter in a haunted house suffers an emotional breakdown and tries to kill her family. So its just Fall of the House of Usher with the part of the fiance played by an already married sister.

Not the worst idea ever. Would have thrown in an animitronic bear myself, but could be worth a laugh

 

[stroopwafel]

Crazy daughter in a haunted house suffers an emotional breakdown and tries to kill her family. So its just Fall of the House of Usher with the part of the fiance played by an already married sister.

Not the worst idea ever. Would have thrown in an animitronic bear myself, but could be worth a laugh

Yeah, if it was any other director I wouldn't have cared but I'm only interested since it's by Laugier who is really someone with an uncompromising vision. He even gave Weinstein the finger a year into the Hellraiser remake since he wanted a cliche horror movie and Laugier respected the source material too much for that and would only work on the movie if the studio didn't interfere with his vision. I really, really admire that. Every concept has been done but the difference is in the execution.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

Hey OP, I know you mention up above why you enjoyed Martyrs so much but I wanted to ask, from someone who doesn't enjoy those types of movies, what is it you enjoy about films that feature so much torture? Not judging at all, it's just not my thing at all. I can't find any enjoyment in watching other people being tortured or forced to endure so much pain and violence. It's the helplessness and cruelty that bothers me, not the violence per-say. War movies and other violence don't have the same effect, but when an innocent is being brutalized it turns my stomach.

For that reason I have to skip a lot of horror movies even though it's a genre I do like to dip into now and again.

 

[stroopwafel]

Hey OP, I know you mention up above why you enjoyed Martyrs so much but I wanted to ask, from someone who doesn't enjoy those types of movies, what is it you enjoy about films that feature so much torture? Not judging at all, it's just not my thing at all. I can't find any enjoyment in watching other people being tortured or forced to endure so much pain and violence. It's the helplessness and cruelty that bothers me, not the violence per-say. War movies and other violence don't have the same effect, but when an innocent is being brutalized it turns my stomach.

For that reason I have to skip a lot of horror movies even though it's a genre I do like to dip into now and again.

'Enjoy' is not really the right word, I've just never really seen any other movie that I found so intense. Not really to do with torture as I'm not even a fan of movies like Hostel or cheap gross out tactics in general. Martyrs defies any kind of label I would put on a movie. Yes, there is torture but it's a means to an end. Martyrs is a deep exploration of suffering and despair contextualized by it's contemplative approach to death and (the absence of) afterlife. The horror in Martyrs is not meant to entertain but to be transgressive and I think Laugier fully succeeds in that goal.

 

[BreakfastMan]

So, New French Extremity is coming back? Interesting.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

Hey OP, I know you mention up above why you enjoyed Martyrs so much but I wanted to ask, from someone who doesn't enjoy those types of movies, what is it you enjoy about films that feature so much torture? Not judging at all, it's just not my thing at all. I can't find any enjoyment in watching other people being tortured or forced to endure so much pain and violence. It's the helplessness and cruelty that bothers me, not the violence per-say. War movies and other violence don't have the same effect, but when an innocent is being brutalized it turns my stomach.

For that reason I have to skip a lot of horror movies even though it's a genre I do like to dip into now and again.

'Enjoy' is not really the right word, I've just never really seen any other movie that I found so intense. Not really to do with torture as I'm not even a fan of movies like Hostel or cheap gross out tactics in general. Martyrs defies any kind of label I would put on a movie. Yes, there is torture but it's a means to an end. Martyrs is a deep exploration of suffering and despair contextualized by it's contemplative approach to death and (the absence of) afterlife. The horror in Martyrs is not meant to entertain but to be transgressive and I think Laugier fully succeeds in that goal.

Hmm I see. I can understand the appeal of such an intense and draining experience. The only movie I can compare from my own experience is The Road, which I found just exhausting to watch thanks to its absolute hopelessness and nihilism. Those instances where you truly have an experience watching a film are rare so I can appreciate your love for a film that gave you that.