Calvaire : the Ordeal

France / Belgium 2004

directed by Fabrice du Wetz

genre: Horror

label : DFW, Holland

A B horror film with a stylish if slightly self-conscious take on all sorts of overlapping nightmares from the likes of Deliverance, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Psycho, Calvaire: The Ordeal is the strange story of a traveling musician, Marc (Laurent Lucas), whose van breaks down on a country road. Running across an inn owned by Bartel (Jackie Berroyer), Marc feels at ease until a walk through a nearby village reveals the town’s taste in bestiality, and Bartel later indicates he has unwholesome designs on his guest. Terrifying, depraved stuff follows, capped by a gruesome climax that gives Tobe Hooper a run for his money. The debut feature of director Fabrice du Welz, Calvaire is enormously intense if calculating in its depiction of pure chaos.

French language

optional dutch subtitles

widescreen