Un jeu d'enfants

You think - at least I THINK - about some Roman Polanski's movies when you watch this film: LE LOCATAIRE, ROSEMARY'S BABY, REPULSION; some kind of domestic horror, "home" horror, horror among neighbours, the same family, involving elements, characters in whom the audiences could recognize themselves. There were batches of this kind in French and American movie industries, even now in 2023. It is quite good, efficient, but if you are used to this kind of plot, you'll not be that surprised. But, it's not boring at all, Karin Viard and Charles Berling are as excellent and convincing as usual. The director Laurent Tuel is rather prolific for a French film maker and he provides all kinds of topics. Something though in the storytelling. When the investigator searches about the Worms family, who visited Karin Viard, at the beginning, this cop is explained that this family died several years earlier, the father killed his whole family before setting fire in his apartment. And a couple of minutes later, this cop tells Karin Viard the father Worms died killed by his own kids....

I'm obliged to say that the best thing in this movie is the oppressive feel of something terrible coming ahead. Even if you know the event already, 'cause the director warns you from the beginning about it, in most of the times you can't help but sense a kind of a danger, a fear that you don´t see but you do feel. On the other hand, the bad thing in Un jeu... fall on the screenplay, that is sometimes incoherent, and it's pace is rather slow. Also it's atmosphere doesn't help much in setting a scenario for originality because as we watch it, never ceases to give strong reminders of films as The innocents, The others and even the mexican one El libro de piedra (The book of stone). And alright, there´s no gore but I don't think the plot need it; if this films succeeds in anything, is in creating a malevolent space and it is precisely where the family moves: their luxurious flat.

Of course it has some flaws but all in all hits right on the target on it's proposal for a psychological fear. Why does happen what it happens? Because there's evil in the air since the old brothers came in for a glimpse at their old home. It's what set everything for what's coming (or what happened; it depends). And I think is fair with itself in this matter and the portrait of child corruption, in the killing of all innocence, hence the name. Nevertheless, this movie is good beyond just an experience for accomplish a wider range of foreign horror cinema. It may not have the best of thrills, but neither is wasted time nor money.

Remember The Possessed? In 1961, Jack Clayton filmed that oppressive story about a young unexperienced lady nursing two innocent kids and facing some supernatural appearances. Or was it her that filled all the atmosphere with her own fears and neurastenic obsessions? Tuel, french director, do the same excellent thing with his movie: two little kids trapped in a huge maze-like parisian flat, between a father who is on the edge of madness and a mother who lost a son a few yew years ago and never succeeded to overgo the drama. Are the two intruders at the beginning of the thriller real persons, ghosts from a past tragedy, or just a projection of the mother (excellent Karin Viard)? Despite an end which sounds just too much of a final explanation, Laurent Tuel's movie is a little masterpiece of building anguish without easy effects, and suggesting horror that can hide istelf behind each of the dorrs of the flat. Wonderful. NAturalist fantasy at its best.

In Paris, Marianne (Karin Viard) and Jacques (Charles Berling), and their son Julian (Alexandre Bongibault) and daughter Aude (Camille Vatel) compose a happy upper class French family, living in a huge apartment (for European standards). The children have a baby-sitter, Daphnée (Ludivine Sagnier) and Jacques has just been promoted in his job. The family's life changes when Marianne receives two weird old visitors, the Worms (Pierre Julien and Manuela Gourary). They ask Marianne for permission to visit the apartment, where they live when they were children. Marianne receives a phone call from her husband, and when she returns to the living room, the strange couple was leaving the children's room. From this moment on, the most mysterious and bizarre things happen with Marianne and Jacques, affecting their lives. I liked this very scary French horror movie a lot. It has the same atmosphere of `Stanley Kubrick´s The Shining', the characters are well developed, and the tension increases in an intelligent way. The viewer is never 100% sure whether the mother or the father is getting deranged or the children became evil, until the end of the plot. Unfortunately, there is a great flaw in the script regarding the visit of the Worms: why have they waited so long to come back to the apartment? My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): `Jogos Sinistros' (`Sinister Games')

Even french critics have regarded this movie as an insignificant movie, I think they were wrong.

The atmosphere was terrific, characters very well interpreted by two excellent actors : Charles Berling & Karin Viard. Without heavy special effects, scenario succeeds to really frighten us.

I was shocked for a while after the last image plays.

I really loved this movie.

Don't look to this if you're expecting a child or if you want to have one :)