Coroner’s Report: Frontiere(s)

Posted by Robert Fure (robert@filmschoolrejects.com) on May 15, 2008

Welcome back, goons. On this installment of The Coroner’s Report we’re kicking off the start of our After Dark Horrorfest coverage with 8 Films to Die For. Or so they’d have you think. Taking the debut position on my chopping block is the limited theaterical and current DVD release Frontiere(s), which comes to us from Xavier Gens (Hitman) and France.

Frontiere(s) follows a small group of criminals/rioters on the lam after a recent political election in France has started riots. Of course the French take a few seconds to take a dig at both America and George Bush, insinuating that America has met a similar fate. The rag-tag group, including our pregnant protagonist Yasmine, head towards the country side to lay low while planning on escaping to Holland. Things, of course, go poorly when they stay at a local hostel that just so happens to be inhabited by crazed, cannibalistic Neo-Nazis.

This import was bumped away from the initial release of After Dark films because it was “too violent” and extreme and other hyperboles. Like a sucker, I bought into that and was hoping to get my face shotgunned off by this French horror splatter fest. But I did not. Time for the KILLER.

Kills

For what the film promised, I was sorely disappointed with what I got. The film is slow in spilling the real blood, which is always a mistake in a horror movie. The death total stands around a fairly respectable 9, but some of them are rushed and a handful are underwhelming. There is one deliciously bubbly kill and a sweet result from a shotgun to a head. You have got to love that. The best kill by far involves a table saw and that one is legitimately awesome.

Ills

Gore hounds can skip this one. While there is some blood, it doesn’t pour from the walls. I guess for the average viewer it might be ‘gross’ but for real horror fans, its still pretty tame. We get beatings, lost fingers, lost heads, melting flesh, some stabbings and a few scattered shootings.

Lust

Really disappointed here. There were a couple of hotties and even some skanks, but all we get are some scattered bra shots and a side boob late in the show. Lame sauce. Yasmine (Karina Testa) is cute to look at.

Learning

Frontiere(s) is firmly established well within the constraints of the most essential of horror survival tips - avoid small businesses (hostels, butchers, et al) that are run by relatively large families. And if you’re ever in a town where the Sheriff turns out to be someone creepy’s brother, get the fuck out.

Review

This film is over-hyped, most definitely. The storyline is far, far too similar to the oft sequeled, remade, and repeated Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The film is long, for horror, at over 1hr45minutes and it drags both at the beginning and at the end. It is competently directed and well acted, for the most part. The gore, when present, would be satisfying, if I had not been promised a blood bath. What amounts is more like a large blood puddle. Many of the kills are ultimately unsatisfying and rushed, though they are handled well in terms of tension. All but one of the kills comes off as fairly gritty, which can disturb some casual viewers, but horror hounds won’t be impressed.

When it comes down to the line, Frontiere(s) is a very competently made horror film and one of the best of the After Dark Horrorfest - though that by itself is not a ringing endorsement by any means. Ultimately this French flick is worth a look for most people, but it is not ground breaking, intense, or Earth shattering as many may have you believe by reading the reviews or back jacket of the DVD. I don’t feel the need to watch this ever again and I’ll watch almost anything a second time. The problem perhaps is the lack of originality and fun in the movie. Even the grossest and most disturbing of films can be enjoyable and draw you in for repeat viewings. Sadly, Frontiere(s) left me disappointed and unsatiated, despite its strong production values and one excellent kill.

Read more articles by Robert Fure