‘Some women would kill for a baby’
Inside is a 2016 Spanish horror film directed by Miguel Ángel Vivas (Extinction) from a screenplay by Jaume Balagueró and Manu Diez ([•REC]). Produced by Adrián Guerra and Núria Valls of Nostromo Pictures (Buried), it stars Rachel Nichols, Laura Harring and Stany Coppet.
The film is a remake of the 2007 French film Inside (aka À l’intérieur) directed by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury (Livid; Among the Living; Leatherface).
Pregnant and depressed, a young widow tries to rebuild her life following the fateful car accident where she lost her husband and partially lost her hearing.
Now, about to go into labour, she’s living in a remote house in the suburbs when, one Christmas night, she receives an unexpected visit from another woman with a devastating objective: to rip the child she’s carrying from inside her. But a mother’s fury when it comes to protecting her child should never be underestimated…
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Reviews:
“Tropes aside, it’s a tense and upsetting journey. The camerawork is kept tight, highlighting the fact that our lead is enclosed. Rachel Nichols is feisty and lioness-like as our protective mother-to-be. Her performance elicits a great deal of empathy, you feel first her pain of grief and later her fear of death. Also on point is Laura Harring as the deadly stranger intent on grabbing the child.” Kat Hughes, The Hollywood News
” …the bare bones of the transgressive storyline are still here, the performances are decent (if low-key), and some of the suspense mechanics still work, but the last act is rejigged to allow for a slightly more conventional outcome […] Harring, too little-seen since her breakout in Mulholland Dr., is interesting casting as a Dalle analogue, but literally lacks the French star’s attack in the role. And Nichols is just bland and blonde.” The Kim Newman Web Site
“It may a be a simple premise as a home invasion slasher, with a lot of the film focus around one room, but a combination of a great score, Miguel’s visual direction and strong performances from the films lead actresses keeps you on edge wondering what is going to happen next.” Philip Rogers, Nerdly
” …Miguel Ángel Vivas might seem the right pair of hands to deliver this baby, and for the first two thirds, he follows Maury and Bustillo’s prescribed narrative pretty closely – but then, even as he takes these familiar events both outside and to new womb-like locales for a rebirth, if anything he gives them a happier, more sanitised ending.” Jonathan Hatfull, SciFi Now
“Laura Harring does not match the sexy scary of Beatrice Dalle in the original, but is still the best thing about the remake, which lacks the original’s power and ruthlessness, and is a home/womb invasion horror film that feels painful and laboured in delivery.” Alan Simmons, Live for Films
“The rousing score, the slow motion moment of transcendent survival: it’s all there and it comes across as a total parody that makes the pot-boiling, and occasionally silly, preceding hour seem entirely subtle in comparison.” Benedict Seal, Bloody Disgusting
“To compensate for the lack of gore, Vivas resorts to cheap filmmaking techniques like herky-jerky camera movements and an overcooked score. It’s a movie that’s constantly telegraphing its intention to scare you without actually doing so, especially in a midsection that feels like it’s dragging its feet just as the movie needs to be building suspense.” Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com
Main cast:
- Rachel Nichols
- Laura Harring
- Stany Coppet
- Andrea Tivadar
- David Chevers
- Ben Temple
- Steve Howard
- Richard Felix
- Craig Stevenson
- Maarten Swaan
Release:
Inside was shown at the 49th Sitges Film Festival on 7 October 2016. It received a North American release in movie theatres and VOD on January 12, 2018.
