Friday, November 15, 2019

Les Démons de la Cave (1998)


Les Démons de la Cave (1998) - France
Directed by: Yoann Malnati

ABOUT THE FILM:
Les Démons de la Cave is an early 44 minute effort by French cinematographer Yoann Malnati, who went on to work on many Canadian television series and films. This early horror short film tells a rather familiar story of a young French man named Franc, who finds an ancient relic in a box hidden away in a cellar. It is soon learned that anyone who touches this relic will become possessed by a demonic entity, and Franc spends the film attempting to fight off this deadly deity.


REVIEW:
Les Démons was produced and filmed in France on weekends over the course of over a year. Malnati wrote, directed and starred in the film at the young age of 17.
Within only about 10 minutes of watching, it becomes clear that Les Démons is a film with naked ambitions. Whereas there are a few clear nods and homages to films such as Evil Dead 2, the film maintains originality and takes its own twist on the classic lore of unearthing demonic spirits by newfound relics. For a 44 minute film, I never felt bored and often found myself on the edge of my seat, anticipating what would happen next. Every scene is carefully interspersed and well-paced; every movement of the actors and the cameras are well-choreographed and the editing for such a low-budget production is tight. The film, for the most part, takes place indoors and is well lit with a nice selection of yellows, reds and greens to give each scene the appropriate feeling and set an awesome atmosphere. Speaking of atmosphere, the film's original score is haunting, well-crafted and further helps set up an amazing atmosphere.


Director and star Malnati steals the show as Franc. Malnati is surprisingly proficient in exhibiting body language and is not afraid to go all out with his performance. This man bashes himself into walls and piles of wood and junk, flips over tables and pulls all kinds of stunts with style. While the actors aren't very good at conveying emotion through voice, all of the cast members deliver strong showings, which is surprising considering they're just a bunch of kids.
The special effects are also very well-done and nicely implemented. The gore effects are never over-the-top and feel moderately realistic, and are used sparingly but used well. The monster and creature effects are well-made and look really good for such a low-budget production! It obviously took a lot of time and careful attention to detail when crafting every mask, hand and other limbs.
Les Démons is probably one of my favorite movies that I've watched since I started To Obscurity and Beyond. Everything about it is awesome and I highly, HIGHLY recommend you looking for this film! It is absolutely worth your time, especially if you love creature features!


RELEASES:
-Les Démons de la Cave was independently released on VHS by Malnaski Production in 1998.
-The movie is officially available to watch on YouTube, courtesy of Malnati himself!

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