MadS
Director: David Moreau
Release year: 2024
Romain tries a new drug from his dealer before going to a house party in the suburbs of a French city. On the way he picks up an injured woman covered in bandages who can’t speak and is in distress. From there things get progressively darker as he tries to work out if the drug is playing tricks on his mind or if there is an infectious plague sweeping across the city.
As an older guy, watching young people freak out and lose control of their minds and bodies is upsetting. The performances are naturalistic and the camera follows them closely, over their shoulders, in their faces, constantly moving and making it feel like a found footage film. It looks as if it was shot in one take, moving from house to house by foot, on bikes and in cars. Once you get used to the kinetic style it sweeps you along on its nightmarish current.
The four lead actors are all excellent. Romain’s girlfriend Julie has an extended breakdown in the toilet at a bar that shows how it might feel to see your body become something alien and how the voices of the infection might close in to make you do violent things. It’s disturbing, but also a creative and fun new take on a zombie-style apocalypse.