Among the Living

2014's Among the Living (French title: Aux yeux des vivants) was directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, the super duo who first gained recognition (or notoriety) for their 2007 film, Inside, one of the bloodiest, most violent films I have ever seen. While it never registered as one of my favorites, I've been eager to see what the pair has done since. So how did this one compare?

The story revolves around three friends, including our hero, Victor, who skip their last afternoon of school before summer to smoke, set things on fire, and tour a long abandoned old movie lot in the nearby woods. It is at the movie lot where they discover a kidnapped woman and the weird family who've kidnapped her, including a creep in a clown mask. When the boys attempt to tell the police what they've seen, they're dismissed as delinquent kids telling tales. Unfortunately for them, they left behind evidence of their identities and are subsequently tracked down one by one by the masked man.

Some truly chilling moments follow ("I don't have a clown..."), but the movie is hampered by some plot holes and illogical character behavior. Multiple people fall prey to the killer by refusing to leave their house once they know he's inside, and it's never quite revealed how the killer (a child in a man's body) was capable of figuring out exactly where everyone lived. I also could probably have happily lived forever without ever seeing the full frontal nude shots of the grotesque murderer.

I was also surprised by the lack of gore in the film, given Maury and Bustillo's earlier hit. A lot of deaths are cut away from at the last minute, and I wouldn't even have known for sure that two of the characters were dead if their deaths weren't confirmed in the last scene.

If these complaints make it seem like I didn't like the movie, then I am doing it a disservice. I actually think it was a well-done creep show that improved immensely upon Inside. Bustillo and Maury have shown maturity and growth in their filmmaking, and I look forward to seeing their other films. I currently have Livid (their first film after Inside) on my movie shelf and Leatherface (which received poor reviews) in my Amazon queue. I look forward to seeing what they have in store for us in the future.