Who says Wednesday, says cinema. Today, we present to you the films of the week, to guide you through the dark theaters.
1. The Night of the Clowns
Genre: horror
Director: Eli Craig
Actors: Katie Douglas, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac
Summary: Upon Quinn’s arrival with her father in the small town of Kettle Spring, she quickly encounters Frendo the clown, the local mascot. Each summer, a big festival is held in her honor. However, the festival will quickly turn into a nightmare when teenagers start to disappear, thus confirming the legends that circulate about her. Eli Craig’s feature film delivers what audiences expect in a slasher genre: bloody and terrifying deaths, some of which are quite inventive. Like the protagonist and her new local friends, the audience will discover a night of horror where death reigns. This will not reconcile people who aren’t fans of clowns with them.
2. Alpha
Genre: drama
Director: Julia Ducournau
Actors: Mélissa Boros, Tahar Rahim, Golshifteh Farahani
Summary: Alpha, aged 13, is a rebellious young girl who lives alone with her mother. Returning from school, a tattoo appears on her arm, marking the beginning of the end of their world. From these Cronenbergian beginnings, the filmmaker draws her film towards unexpected emotion. In one scene, Amin is depicted with his broken skin, while Alpha traces stars between his bloody spots. “It’s prettier like that.” Everything is here, summarizing Ducournau’s gesture which transforms horror into a magnificent representation. The illusions of message cinema, offering instead a dreamlike dive into the suffering of traumas, as demonstrated by this virulence. After playing the lead role in Monsieur Aznavour (2024), the actor revealed at the Cannes Festival in A Prophet (2009) has immersed himself fully in the film directed by Julia Ducournau.
3. The Orphans
Genre: action
Director: Olivier Schneider
Actors: Alban Lenoir, Dali Benssalah, Sonia Faidi
Summary: Gab and Driss, childhood friends who parted ways after leaving the orphanage, live different lives: one is a police officer at the IGPN, the other a fixer for thugs. When their first love dies in a suspicious accident, her 17-year-old daughter Leïla takes Gab’s gun and sets out to track down a powerful company ready to do anything to cover up the matter. The orphans, forced to collaborate, must stop her before she makes an irreparable mistake… With Alban Lenoir in the lead role, you know what to expect. Forget rural comedies with idle social debates: here, it’s fighting, adrenaline, and nervous storytelling. Pure entertainment as only the Americans usually deliver.
Surprise: it works like a charm. The plot? Streamlined, almost minimalist. However, it’s precisely this that allows it to focus on the essential: stringing together intense action scenes without ever losing pace. Furthermore, the characters are very endearing, supported by an extremely effective duo: Alban Lenoir, always impeccable, and Dali Benssalah, incredibly captivating. Adding Sofia Faïdi, she perfectly complements the trio, even if she stays a bit more in the background.
4. The Ritual – The Exorcism of Emma Schmitt
Genre: horror
Director: David Midell
Actors: Al Pacino, Dan Stevens, Ashley Greene Khoury
Summary: Emma Schmidt is placed in a secluded convent in the American Midwest in 1928. Quickly, unexplained phenomena multiply. The priest then calls on a renowned exorcist, Theophilus Riesinger. Their discovery goes beyond their imagination. This case, based on a true story, was long kept confidential by the Church. It is the best-documented case of demonic possession in United States history.
The ethical questions surrounding the case of this woman considered possessed by demons but who could also have been a victim of psychiatric or neurological disorders are indeed worth exploring. This is what director David Midell attempts to explore in The Ritual, a plot inspired by the famous exorcism that is, according to his words, the most documented in American history. In the feature film, David Midell opts for a quasi-documentary style that has an amateur quality, both in its shots and with its handheld camera, constant and very intrusive. The nervous style can be effective during the many exorcism scenes where the tension and feeling of confusion are conveyed by the camera work. Nevertheless, the lengthy sequences where members of the religious community discuss their position on the situation can be questioned.
5. The Silence Around Christine M.
Genre: drama
Director: Marleen Gorris
Actors: Diana Dobbelman, Dolf de Vries, Edda Barends
Summary: Christine M., along with two other women, is arrested along with a shop owner. The person in charge of reviewing her file is gradually affected by Christine… In the absurd act of these three women who kill without apparent reason, the director offers a sharp analysis of a society where women’s voices are constantly neglected, ridiculed, or manipulated. The film highlights the ordinary humiliations. The silence of one of the characters is resistance, a weapon against a society where the male discourse dominates.
