Malefique Details

[Highly rated reviewer]

Malefique

Carrere (Laroche) arrives in prison for fraud. He bonds, tentatively, with his cellmates; Wife killer Lasalle (Laudenbach), Pre-op transsexual Marcus (Cornillac) and childlike Paquerette (Rataud). One day they find a loose brick in their cell and, hidden behind it, a book of black magic they believe can help them escape their prison.

It's always interesting to see how a director copes when he sets himself tough limitations. With Malefique debuting feature director Valette has set himself quite a task; he's got one (rather bare) set and four characters with which to make the great bulk of his film. From this standpoint it is a great success. This is great looking film, it's shot through with memorable and often deeply creepy moments and should be able to frequently make the skin crawl. The slow twisting of a man's bones until they snap is but one particularly hard to shake moment but right from the off it's clear that Valette can make nerves jangle and show you images that are both beautiful and disturbing.

It's also, generally, a very well acted film. The intense Laroche may be a largely passive presence but his subtle performance is a fine lesson in saying much while doing little. Laudenbach is also good, coming into his own in the final few scenes in particular. Cornilliac steals the show though; as Marcus he gives a complex and sometimes darkly funny performance.

It's sad, then, to have to report that Malefique ends up being considerably less than the sum of these parts. The problem lies with the script, a knock off of several better films before it whose twists are never less than predictable. It's more than that though; lack of originality would be rlatively easy to forgive in a film so well executed. If I cared.

I simply didn't give a crap about these people, I didn't even understand why I was supposed to. That's death for a film, I never engaged with the story, I merely watched a succession of (strong) images pass in front of my eyes. I won't remember this film in 10 years, hell I won't remember it in 10 hours and that's why, technically unimpeachable though it is, I can't give it a higher grade than 2/5

Disturbing and memorable

I'm not sure what to make of this film. It is very low budget, subtitled and French. Not the best start. However I found it mesmerising throughout. What has been acheived with few resources is very impressive, and some of the performances are of a high standard. It is a disturbing horror rather than a comedy gore fest. I wouldn't say it directly copied other films as the ideas have been around in much older literature. I certainly wouldn't call it one of the best films ever made, but I am glad I watched it. Interesting, disturbing and far from forgetable.