Frontier(s) Reviews

• A bloody revenge horror/thriller film.

  
  By APCHVFMSQZVY4 on 2008-04-27
  It seems like France right now have come up with some of the best horror films of the past couple of years, I think it started off with High Tension and the controversial revenge thriller Irreversible. Frontier(s) has come out during a period where horror films right now are going through a decline in quality and it seems like Hollywood are only interested in re-making old horror films, while Frontiers wasn't as brutal as other reviewers have said it still was a great film although I'm not sure why it got an NC-17 rating, there are some gory parts and some extreme violence but I have the feeling that I've already seen this before and there was some cliches in it and the villains are neo-nazi cannibals thats probably the only difference. The film was written and directed by Xavier Gens and his script was outstanding but there were a few problems, it does take a few elements from modern horror films and mixes it up with some older 70's and 80's slasher films. The story follows a group of young bank robbers who are on the run from the law while violent protests and riots are taking place against a current election which is being held. Some of them make it out while others aren't so lucky, the surviving members of the group take refuge in an inn located on the outskirts of town to escape from the cops, this is the point in the film which becomes very familiar if you've seen TCM or House Of 1000 Corpses they meet a group of weirdos two guys and two women and these weirdos like killing, torturing and messing around with their victims. Sure there is some bloody mayhem that happens during the course of the film but I wasn't shocked its as if it was trying to hard however it was still great, one particular scene involves a band saw which was very gory and a guy who has his tendons sliced off with large metal clippers (this was ripped off from Hostel) as well as some other creative torture and death scenes like a large oven there is some slightly disturbing stuff. The victims in the film were quite sympathetic and weren't like the typical characters you would see in this type of film, they were likable except for one guy. There were some great chase scenes and one very memorable scene that takes place in a dark tunnel that raises the level of suspense and tension, the film also kicks into high gear during the second half and the villains were truly despicable nazis which makes it great when the final victim gets his/her revenge I'm not going to spoil it was a surprise. I've seen so many awful horror movies these last couple of days and its nice to finally see something great, its all about the action and gore which was all done with such class that it doesn't feel like a cheap exploitation it has a good atmosphere that draws you in, while not the most original horror film I've seen it was still very tight and fast paced I give this film a rating of 4.5/5 stars. If you enjoyed Haute Tension and Inside then you might like this, it seems like France is the new country for horror flicks. Now I haven't seen Inside but if its as great as the reviews have said then it must be awesome and worthwhile. Check out the excellent reviews done by Dave K., D.Wilson, Clint and Woopak, they've all done a great job of reviewing Inside so I'm convinced. I highly recommend this film to hardcore horror fans but if your the type of person thats squeamish and hates over the top blood and gore then forget it.
  
  

• bam bam, bloody nazi.

  
  By A38R09L1ND57BV on 2008-04-06
  yes yes yes yes yes yessssssssssss. very entertaining. it had me on the edge of my seat from the first to final frame. very bloody, but doesn't only rely on that. there are many fun chase scenes on feet and a couple on the road. even though this dvd says After Dark Horrorfest on the side, it isn't stupid. we've all been through this. i've even been tempted to rent a couple before and they all suck. trust me, this one is ACTUALLY amazing. they say the reason they took it out of the festival was because it's rated NC-17. i bet the real reason is because it's actually good.
  
  

• Well, having this one certainly would have upgraded Horrorfest 2007 big time

  
  By A2NJO6YE954DBH on 2008-05-12
  By the time "Frontier(s)" was over my teeth really hurt. That was because I kept clenching them during the moments in this French horror film (the correct spelling of which would be "Frontière(s)"). This 2007 film is being promoted as the ninth of the 8 films 2 die 4 for last year's After Dark Horrorfest, because when it earned an NC-17 rating in the States it had to be pulled from the lineup. So it has the whole vibe of being too much horror for Horrorfest, which means the expectations are pretty high when you sit down to watch this one. On the other hand, the second crop of Horrorfest films were rather disappointing so you figure this one has to be an improvement, and the good news is that it certainly delivers. I am not the sort to close my eyes while watching the gory parts of movies (although I did close one of them in sympathetic reaction to the opening game of "Saw II"), which is why I went the clenched teeth part. A bad case of the measles as a child took out some of the calcium in my permanent teeth, so I am surprised some of them did not crack.
  
  France is in the throes of some political upheaval having to do with the election of a hard line government, and while a century ago this might have sent young people to the barricades, in these trouble times they turn to crime. With the cops on their trail they decide to hole up in this filthy little bed and breakfast. This, of course, turns out to be a really bad mistake, and while the victims are not deserving of our sympathy on the basis of their characters, they are the hope of the future compared to their tormentors. There is really nothing more to say in laying out the plot, because you should just enjoy the ride, if you sense of the word "enjoy" encompasses what happens in this film. The film breaks down into three acts and how much you like the movie will probably come down to whether you think the final act tops the second.
  
  Writer-director Xavier Gens ("Hitman") gets the credit for coming up with all this sick stuff, but credit also goes to cinematographer Laurent Barès, who gives the film is visual style, and especially film editor Carlo Rizzo, who crafts some moments of bizarre beauty through his creative use of montage. A few horror films of recent vintage have attempted to be "arty," and "Frontier(s)" certainly has some moments where you can argue it is cinema rather than just a horror movie.
  
  The obvious cinematic touchstone here is supposed to be "Hostel," but I was reminded more of the original version of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." You will pick up echoes from a lot of other films, but it speaks to the film that I never got the feeling this was a pastiche. I still think "Wolf Creek" is at the top of the list for the torture-porn genre, although I am sure I have not seen everything that is out there. But "Frontier(s)" is closer to that than it is to the "Hostel" movies or "The Saw Trilogy," where there are mystery element in play that divert your from the blood, guts, and whatnot. This is just one of those bloody movies where you wait to see if anybody is going to get out alive.
  
  All I can say now is: What a difference a movie makes. "Frontier(s)" was replaced in the Horrorfest 2007 lineup by "Unearthed," which means that what would have been my highest rated one of the 8 films 2 die 4 was replaced by the one I rated the lowest (although you have to grant that they were right not to have included "Unearthed" in the first place). The original Horrorfest lineup earned an average rating of 3.7 from me and this year's were a step lower at 3.0; but replace "Unearthed" with "Frontier(s)") and the average jumps to 3.4. I had sworn that next year I would rent the Horrorfest movies rather than go ahead and buy them when they came out on DVD (we did not get the festival the second time around), but I am glad I saw enough of the buzz about "Frontier(s)" to go ahead and pick it up. The only real complaint is that there are no DVD extras. Final Note: I wonder if the people behind the After Dark Horrorfest have noticed that their best flicks are being made in foreign lands, because that's certainly what has happened so far.
  
  
  

• Absolutely Worthwhile

  
  By A3IWTQQU5FXM51 on 2008-04-13
  When this made the top ten of 2007 on BloodyDisgusting.com I was fervently trying to find some way to find it. I looked for months. I kept hearing how brilliant it was. Usually when I put a lot of time into finding something that I know so relatively little about, it ends up in a huge letdown. This absolutely broke that rule. Some nice viscera gets sprayed around, but the compelling acting and character nuances are what really sink the hooks in deep when the blood starts flying. There's a shaky camera technique that gets irritating only a little bit during some driving sequences, but overall the production and the director's sensibility are sharp. I'd describe it as having some classic 70s and 80s horror trappings (cannibals, nazis, freaks, backwoods family) that are wrapped up in a nice art-house package.
  
  Go out of your way to watch this movie. You'll be glad you did.
  
  

• Definitely Earns its NC-17 rating: French Horror film is a classic Gore Show...

  
  By A2UUP58XPQW3GF on 2008-05-16
  I've watched a fair share of more recent French horror films; "Them" (not the one with ants), "High Tension" and "Inside". Amazon friends Dave K and Puzzlebox have rated this film highly (I recommend reading their reviews) and of course, I have to see it or myself. I`ve read that "Frontier(s)" was left out at the recent "After Dark Horror Fest" because of its very violent nature and its NC-17 rating; thankfully, LIONSGATE have released the unrated version to sit side by side with its other "Horrorfest" counterparts. Director Xavier Gens is at the helm of this film; while I'm not particularly very familiar with his work, save for the video-game inspired movie "Hitman". If this film is once again ANY indication, the French movie scene may be really into "stunt gore shows".
  
  Rioting and civil unrest breaks out all over Paris after a right-wing government is elected. Amidst all the turmoil, a bank robbery goes awry for a group of a young gang of thieves including reluctant thief Yasmine (pretty Karina Testa), who is also 3 months pregnant (?). Her brother has been fatally wounded and the gang separated, so they agree to meet in an isolated hostel by the frontier. Once in the hostel, the group would fall victim one by one to its psychopathic owners. With this plot, horror lovers should figure out what would come next in the film.
  
  First off, "Frontiers" is lacking a lot of originality. An obese butcher with a mother who seems moments away from death, an imbalanced young lady, a muscled psycho (played by Brotherhood of the Wolf's Samuel Le Bihan), a psychopathic father who is also an ex-Nazi, an even psychopathic son/heir to a psycho family and loose women who seduce and flirt; oddball characters that have always been the cliché for a lot of films that have the seal of "torture porn". The film offers nothing--absolutely nothing in terms of plot and originality; it borrows formulas from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", "Hostel", "The Descent", "The Hills have Eyes" and "Wrong Turn". So just what does this film offer horror fans? A lot of blood, violence and GORE.
  
  "Gore for the sake of gore" is actually scary when done right. This film is not a lost cause, since it does have a lot of visceral impact. "Frontiers" is a well-made film on a visual standpoint. While I do think there was one scene done in bad taste; the atmosphere, shaky camera work, quick edits and eerie close-ups do add a lot to exhibit the film's violent nature. The film is genre film and the villains are too cardboard for my taste. If this was a video game, this film would be classified under "survival horror" and it does do it very well. It exhibits the fierce and unrelenting brutality with a lot of visual impact. The gore effects look rather realistic but still retains that somewhat "campy" look.
  
  Most of the characters are "wooden", ex-boyfriend Alex (Aurelien Wilk), Tom (David Saracino) and shy Farid (Chems Dahmani) are the embodiment of true cliché, their fate would come as no surprise. However, Karina Testa was quite impressive with her performance as Yasmine, she portrays her character with convincing fervor that would make the viewer say: "OMG, she`s in shock, on the verge of collapse". Although, her survival skills may require a suspension of disbelief, aided by the usual movie fakery, all the villains have such bad aim when it comes to shooting the heroine. Yasmine dodges automatic gunfire, a shotgun and a pistol from a very close distance. This oversight greatly stretches the film's credibility and realism. I am also somewhat disappointed that the "dwellers of the old mine" weren't thoroughly explored. Seemed like they were just there to exhibit some creepiness.
  
  Overall, "Frontier" is a blood-soaked affair that is solid in execution, decently acted (man, you'll be disturbed by the creepy father) and saved by the performance of its heroine. Of course, she had to resort to animal ferocity which is both shocking and sympathetic at the same time. There is a lot of sequences of sheer cruelty and the film definitely knew where it wanted to go, at least the reasons behind it all is NOT without viability, but the reason themselves are VERY FAMILIAR. It may not be the goriest film you'll ever see, but it is grisly, gruesome, atmospheric and visceral that excels in the "torture for the sake of torture" style but unfortunately it just didn't explore all its potential. This film is not for the faint of heart.
  
  Recommended to hardcore horror fans and a good rental to everyone else. [3 Stars]
  
  For a contrasting opinions please check out Dave K and Puzzle Box's excellent reviews.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Brutal, beautiful, bloody, brilliant! Hooray for France!
  By A1TV2DKQ60B34Y on 2008-05-07
  Saw this tonight on DVD and thought it was damn good. Sadly, though, this is the only AfterDark flick that I would ever suggest renting as all the others that I have seen […] to infinity! This didn't even really seem to fit the ADHF line-up as it was very well-made and actually enjoyable and scary and gross as all hell! I watched the Unrated DVD and it certainly lived up to that! LOADS of gore and guts and awesome F/X! I have never seen a better, more beautiful blood-soaked actress than the French girl in this movie. She was amazing! There was just 'something' about the way she looked, hair cut short, wearing that strange 'wedding' dress, wielding a large axe and an even larger pick-axe DRENCHED in blood that made me feel giddy. I really got into her character and believed in her and wanted her to get sweet revenge on those sick, sick Neo-Nazi-cannibal freaks. The movie didn't seem at all contrived as one would expect. The evil, demented characters were frighteningly 'real' and these types of monsters could very well be living among us and probably are! Anyway, I cannot rave enough about the girl who played the lead role of Yasmine. She should get a horror Oscar! The way all of the characters, evil and innocent, were killed was, for lack of a better word, great! The deaths seemed to 'fit' the story well, without seeming too phony-baloney. I found myself anxious and excited and saying 'Get up! Run! GO! Fight! Kick his […]! Kick her […]!' when Yasmine would get smacked and punched and knocked to the ground and shot at but she always fought back, even though she was exhausted and screaming and weak, and I was totally rooting for her all the way! There was only one very small moment in the film that left me scratching my head: When the 2 male friends get run off the side of the road and end up entering the old mine they end up crawling into a hole in the wall and one of them can see light at the other end. The first guy to enter the hole was the blond guy and the bald friend followed behind him. At one point the bald guy (using his small digital camcorder for light) turns back to look down the passge that they are crawling through and see what looked to me like some evil, scary demon faced creature head with glowing eyes coming up behind them. He starts screaming for his friend to GO! GO! GO! but I was never really sure what it was he saw. I kept rewinding that scene and could not figure out what the hell that thing was. And the story never touched on it again. Was it one of the weird mutant 'children' kept in the mines? Was it a giant rat monster? Does anyone have any idea? Anyway, SEE THIS MOVIE! Hooray, Frenchies! Keep making great, gory goodness!
  
  
• Very cliched, but still packs a punch
  By A37OOQQLMMKYR8 on 2008-05-13
  Since 2003 movies dealing with some form of torture have made a pretty big comeback; back in the 60s through the early part of the 80s these kinds of movies were rather popular before some what fading away. But since 2003 these movies are coming back and the major difference is these flicks are now mainstream rather than cult. Frontiers is the latest torture flick, this one out of France.
  
  While as a whole I enjoyed I can't help, but think if this was an American movie it would probably get more heat. Frontiers takes a little bit of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (original or remake) and takes a whole lot of Hostel as well as other exploitation inspired movies. The fact this movie is French and not American it won't be seen by as big of an audience in the States; I think Frontiers is an excellent movie, but I can't help, but think some of the praise is due to it not being American. Frontiers, while it is enjoyable really has nothing original to be found.
  
  Frontiers is quite twisted, but hardly as shocking as it's made out to be for those who know their exploitation cinema whether it be the old school or the newer ones I doubt this one will shock you much unless you are easily shocked. With that said though of all the recent hash of 70s inspired exploitation flicks, Frontiers would probably rate as one of the better ones. Making a movie like this isn't as easy as most people think it is. The common belief is torture people in the most brutal of ways and that's it.
  
  I personally think there is more to it than that. The biggest problems movies like this often suffer from are characters who really aren't all that sympathetic and villains who are way too likeable. When the villains start spitting out one-liners they become too likeable. Thankfully Frontiers avoids that, but there is still a problem with the characters not being sympathetic.
  
  Writer Xavier Gens does a pretty good job with the script, while the characters lacked depth and untimely weren't all that sympathetic I suppose what they go through makes up for their lack of depth and sympathy. The basic idea behind the script is your run of the mill backwoods killer movie. Like I said it takes a little bit of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and a lot of Hostel just without the comedy. The script is dark, which is good and the villains are just that.
  
  Xavier Gens also directs and is able to put together some fairly good suspense scenes and is able to keep the pace moving forward for the most part. Frontiers received an NC-17 rating from the MPAA and people talk about how gory it is. Actually, Frontiers really wasn't that gory with the exception of the power saw scene and the amazingly awesome shotgun blast to the head. Besides that the gore isn't very extreme it's just the movie has constant violence. Sometimes a movie can be so dark and mean spirited people tend to think it was gorier than it actually was. Frontiers has gore, but only 2 scenes of extreme gore.
  
  Xavier Gens does a solid job though; he takes a very clichéd movie and makes it much better than maybe it should have been. Frontiers isn't as shocking as one might lead you to believe, but it does have some very dark and twisted scenes and Gens delivers one of the better torture flicks of the decade.
  
  The only problem is the movie does tend to run a bit longer than it needed to be. Without closing credits Frontiers runs at about 104-minutes and it easily could have been wrapped up in 90-95-minutes. Despite running longer than it needed to the pacing never really lags too much. While the excitement level might drop a little it never gets boring.
  
  Overall Frontiers is a well-made and enjoyable movie; despite the clichés, which are many the movie works well and again is one of the better recent hash of torture flicks.
  
  
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets Hostel
  By A1MECEHZHFE5PT on 2008-05-20
  Frontier(s) Is a fabulous horror movie..
  it was definatly the best movie of all the horrorfest flicks this year and last"this year wasn't hard to beat..
  it's like the Texas Chainsaw Massace for the new millineum..with some Hostel thrown in..
  great gore effects, great characters,.It has everything I want in a horror/Slasher movie,a good story as well.
  It is a must buy,I dont want to give too much away but if you like cannibalistic natzi's that butcher their prey ,hang them on hooks by their feet,make prisoners eat their friends,Oh and mama has a tube in her throat and when they feed her it can be rather messy and unpleasant to watch worse than Grandpa in TCM ..The gore was off the chain..
  BUY IT
  
  
  
• You've Seen It All Before
  By A5UIG1K02WTJH on 2008-06-16
  To say that this French thriller is derivative would be a compliment. FRONTIERES follows a road map of other previous films. It travels from RESERVOIR DOGS Place down PSYCHO Lane as five (soon to be four) friends escape Paris with a duffel bag full of cash. There's a signpost up ahead. It reads "FRONTIERES" with an arrow pointing right to HOSTEL and one pointing to the left to TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (in little letters below that it says "the remake"). A little on up the road there's a detour marked THE DESCENT. All of these places are in the idyllic French countryside in the county of HAUTE TENSION.
  
  Throw in a Nazi war criminal as a patriarch, some terrifically hot girls, and a few thuggish brutes and you've got all the makings of the next Rob Zombie film. I was casting the American remake in my head as the events of FRONTIERES predictably unfolded. The joke, of course, is that the film is named FRONTIERES but it doesn't boldly go into any territory that horror fans (especially those enthralled with torture porn horror) haven't been to before.
  
  
• Interesting French horror
  By AJKWF4W7QD4NS on 2008-05-12
  Despite all the good things I had heard about Frontier(s), I approached with caution pretty much based on the fact that it carries the After Dark Horrorfest banner, which a majority of those films were, to say it lightly, not very good. However, Frontier(s) still seemed promising, and while it is a very interesting and bloody French horror film, there really isn't much here to make it memorable. Directed by Hitman helmer Xavier Gens, Frontier(s) follows four friends fresh off robbing a bank, and running afoul of a family of cannibalstic Neo-Nazi's (yes, you read that right). You can guess where things go from here, as Frontier(s) proves to be nearly every bit as predictable as any horror fan can guess it to be, and the lack of characterizations don't help matters here either. However, despite what would be some otherwise fatal flaws, Frontier(s) delivers the goods in terms of gore effects and tension; of which are worth checking this film out for alone. Compared to other French splatter fests, most notably Alexandre Aja's High Tension and more recently Inside, Frontier(s) doesn't offer up anything new or original, but it manages to provide the goods that films of this type promise, and in that respect alone, the film is worth a look for horror buffs and gore hounds alike.
  
  
• Better Than Your Average Gorno
  By A34D4KCP94ACJZ on 2008-05-30
  Frontier(s) or Frontière(s) is an Xavier Gens (Hitman) film that was so violent that After Dark Films declined to include it among its "8 films to die for" for HorrorFest 2007. The MPAA, rightfully I might add, stamped Frontier(s) with an NC-17 rating, prompting the distributor to shoot for a limited American unrated theatrical release coinciding with this release on DVD. This is a French film and given that I felt the French horror film Inside was among the best horror films to come out in quite some time, my hands were wet with anticipation to see this little movie. The comparisons to Inside are undeniable as it is not only French and violent to the extreme, but its protagonist is pregnant and the film is set among the chaos of French riots and civil unrest. There was a message hinted at in spurts during Frontier(s) but the film was just too vile to place emphasis on Gens's political leanings.
  
  Frontier(s) follows a gang of thieves who exploit law enforcement during riots to commit a pretty hefty heist. The robbery is botched and the gang of four splits up. The gang ends up in some rural hostel that turns out to be a hive of Neo-Nazi cannibal kidnappers and torturers. Let the fun begin.
  
  One thing is for sure, the story is not original at all. In fact, it is very formulaic and I didn't like the fact that I felt urged to side with this gang of thieves, so I rooted for Goetz, a character who is an absolute monster of a villain and made for some entertaining and intense moments. Considering that we are seeing nothing new here and we may wonder why we're being shown these kinds of events in the first place, this was done pretty well. I liked the atmosphere in most scenes and the feeling of suspense was pretty strong when it needed to be. The acting was not good but it was definitely better than most films of this ilk. The thing I liked about this movie most is that it didn't pull punches and definitely should not have. That is kind of the point of horror films and it is probably the reason the other HorrorFest films don't work as well as this does. Frontier(s) is to After Dark Films' "8 films to die for" as Takashi Miike's Imprint was to Showtime's Masters of Horror, meaning that it was initially rejected but is probably more true to the horror genre than the accepted works were to begin with.
  
  There were some legitimately grueling scenes that pushed my boundaries in terms of comfort. So, as a modern horror film it worked pretty effectively and I give it a mixed review leaning toward a slight recommendation. However, if you know you're into this sort of thing, then this movie is top notch.
  
  
• Pushing the Frontier(s) of film plagiarism... and doing it well!
  By A1EGZYG8PC51U5 on 2008-05-18
  Viva La France indeed! Especially if you're a longtime horror fan who's been beaten down(but not defeated!) by the lack of worthwhile genre titles released since the new millenium... and surprisingly, unlike any other moment in the history of the world up until now, France of all places, has decided to swoop in and save the day! Frontier(s) is the newest French import to arrive in America, and oddly enough featuring the After Dark Horrorfest slogan plastered all over it(I say "odd" because normally the label is saved for some of the most awful films currently being dropped on the horror masses... not usually something this promising). It tells the tale of a group of city "folk"(n'er do well teens) who end up getting mixed up with the wrong batch of country "folk"(inbred Nazi scum)... hijinx ensue! And yes, it's as derivative as that sentence makes it sound, but hey, I own all 11 Friday The 13th movies(I count Freddy Vs. Jason my friend!) so it's not like I can't dig on some rehashed idea's right? But honestly Xavier Gens(my narrative just switched from talking to YOU the reader to the director... try to keep up LOL!), it's like you wrote down some of the things you liked best from your favorite horror flicks for inspiration; then a quarter into filming the movie you decided, "well if I don't use this stuff then sombody else will anyways... so in it goes!" It's a good point(depressingly enough), and although I would have preffered more creativity, at least in Gens hands the material is respectfully well done(like the rest of the recent "French invasion" of fear flicks, acting, sound, direction, and effects are all top notch). Ultimately, Frontier(s) lacks originality and many real scares... but it's gritty, depraved, and trashy(not to mention gory!) enough to keep you entertained to the grisley end(even if you are fighting a nagging sense of Deja Vu throughout most of it).
  
  
• "Frances ansewer to Saw"? Really?
  By A2AT9Z6B6NC1DQ on 2008-05-23
  I really can't believe how people keep raving about how great this moving is. Don't get me wrong, I am a big horror fan. I enjoy Horror films because I'm kind of a sick-o and I like movies that don't take themselves too seriously. That being said, however, I wasn't too big on Frontier(s). It is NOT 5 star material, even for a horror film. I mean, I'd steal it from a friend to watch on a rainy day with nothing better to do, but the $15 I paid for this supposed masterpiece was not worth it.
  
  Firstly, let me start off by addressing the gore in this movie, which seems to be one of its main selling points. I was pissing myself with excitement when I found out Frontier(s) had made NC-17 for violence and gore. That is, until I watched it. I cannot see how this movie did not make it under an R rating. The violence and gore in this movie PAILS in comparison to SAW and Hostel, both much better franchises. This movie came off as a French version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (which sucked by the way).
  
  Secondly, the direction and editing bothered me the whole time. The way the movie was edited had a very choppy, self aware, look-at-me-I'm-be-so-artsy vibe to it that it totally took you out of the mood of the film.
  
  Lastly, I just want to say that I am really, really sick of watch horror movies where the whole plot of the movie is kidnapped strangers put in easily escapable situations only to be chased around for half an hour with no suspense to be almost shot and then miraculously escape again because of sheer luck. There was twice in this movie where a gun was pointed strait at somebody point blank and the only reason the person holding the gun doesn't take the shot because that would prevent the movie from be dragged out for another 30 minutes.
  
  Frontier(s) just doesn't live up to the hype, it doesn't live up to its NC-17 gore rating, it doesn't bring anything new to the horror genre, and to top it off is annoyingly self aware and self gratifying. Only see this only if you can get it for free or for cheep. Go buy "High Tension" instead, which is a much better, much gorier, and much more exciting French horror film.
  
  
• basically mindless
  By AVF60NZ99H9D5 on 2008-06-08
  Their cup runeth over with mayhem. The action is fairly well done, so that's not the problem. What hurts this flick (other than all the obvious ripping off of other flicks that came before it and have been done and re-done to death by now) is the fact that I, as a viewer, did not give a damn about anyone in this gorefest. I mean it did not bother me one bit what the McVictims were put through.
  
  Most of these horror flicks coming out of France just don't seem to work. What's going on? Looks like they had a budget and a decent crew. What happened? Why is this genre effort such a dud?
  
  I guess there is always Joe Spinell's Maniac, John McNaughton's Henry, the 1974 TCM, the original When A Strang Calls...
  
  And, oh yeah, not only are the actors in Frontiers ugly to look at physically, but their behavior is ugly (to the bone.) Look, even that wouldn't turn someone off to a horror film, after all, these films are SUPPOSED TO HORRIFY, are they not? Trouble is we never get to know anyone here. The camera (read writer/director) never spends enough time with any of the people (good or bad) in his film & the result is we just aren't moved in any way whatsoever.
  
  Where is Gunnar Hansen when you need him?
  
  
• Horror the way it oughtta be
  By A2KP1SXTMHK8ZO on 2008-10-10
  I've loved horror films since I was 5 (that's going on 50 years now), and this film has the cold-fingers-grabbing-your-gut effect that is sadly missing from so many contemporary horror films. And I'm not talking about torture or sadism; though our villains are not very nice people, this film does not engage in the pleasure-in-cruelty that makes certain films (like Audition) unwatchable to me. It's certainly gory, but it's authentic, thoughtful and believable horror, with characters who aren't cyphers. If this is typical of French work, I'm definitely going to be seeing more French horror films.
  
  Ms. Testa out-Jolies Angelina Jolie in her beautiful-yet-grittily-real depiction of Yasmin, the fugitive who is the film's protagonist. With her beautiful and vulnerable face and Gallic passion of her character, Testa is amazing in what may well be the most physically demanding role I've ever seen an actress play. You have to see the film. It's not that she does a lot of stunt work, though there is enough of that. But you can feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins during this film and that's what makes her so effective.
  
  There is also legitimate creepiness in the pregnant daughter of the house, who is mad past all help and who tries to "help" Yasmin understand the family's plans for her.
  
  If you like horror films, this is quite an effective one.
  
  
  
• stupid movie
  By A185VIDW5R5HAB on 2008-05-18
  well this is a stupid movie ok there are a lot of gore but
  
  1) THE ACTING IS VERY BAD THE DIALOGUE SO STUPID
  
  2) EVERYTIME THE BAD GUY HOLD A GUN BUT THEY NEVER KILL THEY SAID TO THE PELPE THEY WANT TO KILL COME ON COME ON AND OF COURSE THE GIRL OR ELSE KILL THE BAD GUY
  
  IT SEEMED THAT THE SCENARIO IS WELL DEFINITE AND STUPID
  
  
  SO I GET BORED A LITTLE BIT AND I SAW THE SAME KIND OF MOVIE MANY TIMES BEFORE
  
  SO OK IT IS A FRENCH MOVIE BUT INSIDE IS A FRENCH MOVIE TOO BUT IS MUCH MUCH MUCH BETTER THAN THIS ONE
  
  
• Good, if not terribly original
  By A2D1F0HWHN4T1U on 2008-06-05
  After reading Woopak's review, I'd defer to a number of his descriptions of the movie, and agree with his assessment of the film. There is relatively little here that is new, and calls to mind a number of torture/revenge/exploitation films of the 70's, and the more recent Haute Tension and Hostel franchise. It is notable that all these flicks had an element of social commentary hidden beneath the violence, and Frontiers is no different.
  
  The film's backdrop of the election of a neo-conservative president and the surrounding riots it creates gives context to the characters we get to know as they flee the police after a bank robbery and head for the border. There is even a reference to America (not unusual in French films) that they have elected "our own George Bush." It is not surprising then that when our band of anti-heroes find an isolated hostel as a meeting point that the proprietors are indeed Nazis intent on preserving the purity of their race.
  
  The violence in the film is cruel, repetitive, and palpable, and there is some originality to the gory scenes, though I'll admit growing a bit jaded about how creative movie makers can make deaths more gruesome. For me, perhaps the most captivating scene involved little blood, but had two characters trapped in a long, narrow tunnel, attempting to find a way out. It was tense, claustrophobic, and expressed a sense of urgency other than the cringe you experience when a character is horribly mutilated or murdered (again, not terrbly new, considering the Descent captured that mood throughout the film).
  
  There is certainly some pleasure in the vengeful aspect of the film as our heroin exacts her own revenge upon her tormentors, and there is plenty of reason to despise the captors. The cavernous structures beneath the hostel provide ample room for a few impressive chase scenes and unique settings for some to experience their demise.
  
  Overall, this does not add anything new to the genre, but it does take much of what has been done in other films, gives them a twist, and recreates it in a different setting. That is not necessarily a bad thing, and if you are a fan of the torture/revenge flicks, this will certainly not disappoint.
  
  
• Been There, Done That.
  By A2X59HZHUVSZU1 on 2008-06-06
  Think of all your favorite scenes from horror movies, and imagine them put together with MTV style editing and a hip soundtrack. This is as unoriginal as horror films get! I swear i thought i was watching Sheitan for the first 30 minuets. Over rated gore and zero tension. Will keep most irregular horror viewers entertained.
  
  
• At last, a French film worth watching.
  By A17H6XFIPCXZ4F on 2008-06-13
  This is an outstanding film for those of you who enjoy your blood and gore supersized. This is a dark story that is a cross between Hostel and House of a Thousand Corpses. It's about an evil inbred family led by a grandfather who is a veteran of the WWII Nazi regime who seek people to add to their stockpile of human flesh that they eat. This story line gets even better when the family decides that the female that they have captured is just what they have been looking for to expand their inbred gene pool. The only downfall of the movie is that it is in French with Enlish sub-titles, however, the action in this movie kept me glued to the screen. Good story line.Great cinematography!
  
  
• nc-17 eh. I've seen worse but amazing non the less...
  By A3ILYE1ZM1UBGD on 2008-06-13
  This was a breath of fresh air from the past, oh I don't know 50 horror movies I have seen.
  But it kept my attention the whole time, it was fairly gory and had an interesting story.
  Pretty awesome, if only the US would come up with some stuff as good as this I would be stoked!!!
  
  
• Frontier(s)
  By A35VK1UN6XUA0M on 2008-06-16
  now the last week i have been watching a lot of french movies, mostly horrors. some thrillers as well, like gaspar noe's revenge drama irreversible, plus his movies where we follow a french horse meat butchers life in paris "i stand alone" and "carné". what struck me though is how much i enjoy french horror. movies like "ils", "l'interieur", "haute tension" and to some degree "calvaire". and now "frontier(s)" which was next to l'interieur and haute tension as my favorite one. in an age where most american horrors fail to intrigue me (with exceptions like aja's the hills have eyes remake and perhaps frailty), and a lot of asian horrors include the same white dressed black haired ghouls. france is breathing life into horror. frontier(s) sets off with 5 young thieves fleeing paris during the riots, one of them has been shot and is begging the others to take him to the hospital. so the group split up, 2 is taking him to the hospital while the other 2 is fleeing with the money. to later meet up outside of paris. the latter come across an inn in a rural part of france , where they are told that they can stay the night for free. soon what started as fleeing from the police in paris and jail sentences, ends up as fleeing from cannibalistic neo nazis for their lives. some have said that it borrows heavily from other movies, well it's not the most creative movie i have seen. yet it got a lot going for it with sympathic characters. some cool visuals and leaving you with the feeling that you really want the victims to escape this. (i'm usually rooting for the killers). some stand out details and a great atmosphere through out. i thoroughly enjoyed this movie and will most likely re-watch it over and over again. (the movie suggest a lot instead of showing wounds and carvings, but it does it in such way that it doesn't leave me feeling like i'm watching a "disney horror" and you do get to see tendons cut!=goodie) i recommend it for horror fans, not for the rest
  
  
• FRENCH HORROR CONTINUES
  By A2DAHERP7HYJGO on 2008-06-27
  In the sixties a group of young directors from France led what was called the new wave of motion pictures. Names like Godard and Truffautt led the way using new techniques and making cinema something different. A current new wave of French directors are out to make a name for themselves as well, but this time around they are adding something different to an already familiar genre. The new French wave revolves around horror films. Their takes have been seen recently in films like HIGH TENSION and INSIDE. Now we have FRONTIER(S).
  
  The one thing that may make this movie more of a challenge than most is that it definitely loses something in the translation. While many of us are aware of what goes on politically in other countries, we don't know the details, much as other countries don't know the same about us. This film begins with the political riots in France and a group that loots and then hits the road.
  
  One of them has been shot and his sister, Yasimine, insists they stop at a hospital. Dropped off along with Alex, Yasmine waits and watches as her brother dies. The other pair, Tom and Farid, keep going with the intent of meeting up with them later.
  
  When their car begins to run low on fuel and they tire, Tom and Farid stop at a country inn with hopes of a food and a place to stay. What they get in return is much more than they bargained for. At first approached by two young women who work there, they are later attacked and discover that this inn is nothing more than a home for a group of cannibalistic killers. Too late, they're caught and tortured.
  
  Yasmine and Alex find their way to the inn after leaving the hospital. They are greeted much like their friends were. When Tom and Farid are nowhere to be found, the pair is captured as well. Imprisoned, Yasmine is given an exemption from being tortured as the group has other plans for her. Having scraped the bottom of the gene pool among this limited group, she has been chosen to bring fresh blood in.
  
  As the film progresses, we learn that the leader of this tribe is an ex-Nazi who escaped here after the war. Still strutting around in his best brown shirt outfit, he rules the roost like the dictator he worshipped. Yasmine, who is already pregnant, does her best to escape. But does she? You'll have to watch and see.
  
  The biggest thing to be said about this new wave of French horror is that it takes the most brutal of what has been seen in the genre and turns it up a notch. Torture seemed to take on its own fan base with the film HOSTEL. Those same fans will love what they see here. Gougings and slices are found throughout. The blood flows freely and the bad guys and good guys alike fall like bowling ball pins at different points in the film.
  
  I'd heard so much about this movie before seeing it. RUE MORGUE magazine hailed it as one of the best horror films in years. But to me it was nothing more than a continuation of the torture films that seem to proliferate these days, imposing bloodletting for real horror or chills. The creepiest part of the film was the malformed children of one of the crazies that hide in the tunnels on their land. These are truly scary looking creatures shown only in night vision. Sadly, they are used very little and yet were the one thing that caught my attention. I would have liked to see more or learned more about them.
  
  On the whole, this movie should be considered a ground breaker as the French are not a group to embrace horror films according to the directors of INSIDE. Perhaps that is why they have chosen to pay more of homage to the retro days of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and THE HILLS HAVE EYES with films like this one. But the fresh takes offered show that there is new blood being pumped into the genre, and either the French will take it over or inspire others to do the same and bypass the Hollywood remake syndrome that seems to have taken over.
  
  
  
• No Clever Title
  By A2KYQAKDQJSFIR on 2008-07-07
  Weird, crazy movie. Started out slow. You've got Nazi's, zombie kid, cannibals, one brave herroine, a bunch of gore and not a whole lot of it makes any sense.
  
  
  
• Frontiering apparently is the best way of Pioneering...
  By A1IMGPK239OA7D on 2008-07-14
  I ordered this movie along with Inside. Inside was insane, and completely lived up to it's hype. I loved it. I was definatley looking even more forward to viewing Frontier(s), as it wasn't even released for rental in the U.S. This I took as either a bad sign (wouldn't make any money in theatres, which is typical of horror films anyway) or it was an excellent sign (too graphic for open public consumption.) When it came and I saw it, I admitt, I did feel a little disappointed, but it's definately not a bad movie either. Production quality is top notch, and acting is very decent, excluding a bit of which could be considered overacting by our heroine, Yasmine (Spasmic convulsions overcome her within the last 10 minutes of the movie that are a little unbelievable.) But with all of the hype that came from this boy, I expected something a little more manly. Not damn bad, but nothing I havn't seen before. I will give the movie four stars for the most climactic, and original killing I have seen in awhile, including an axe, a shoulder, a table saw, and a solarplex. Enjoy, plenty-o-blood, but a TON! of borrowing, watch some well produced and interesting twists, while calling out over a dozen movies this was inspired by. One thing is for sure, this string of new French extreme gore films has got me captivated, watch out for the renound film by Pascal Laugier "Martyrs" coming to the U.S. sometime soon... hopefully!
  
  
• Gory, ultra-violent and nasty - a new favorite of mine !
  By A24MVVGNFVG68S on 2008-07-29
  Paris. The presidential election of a far-right politician leads to large scale riots. Amidst demonstrations and exploding molotov cocktails five young robbers flee after a heist. There is three months pregnant Yasmine, her brother Tom, who has been shot, Farid, Sami and Alex. They decide to split, and while dying Tom is brought to hospital, two guys are sent in advance to find a quiet hotel near the border. To make a long story short and in order to avoid giving too much away, let's suffice to say that all four end up in a miserable hotel in a remote area (and later in an abandoned mine) in the hands of cannibalistic nazis.
  And blood will flow in rivers...
  
  I am a big fan of FRONTIER(S). I have already watched it numerous times and of course there will be repeat viewings in weeks, months and years to come!
  The movie is incredibly intense, with lots of atmosphere (like the creepy dinner scene, where the nazis toast to "pure blood"). It makes excellent use of the run down locations and the nazi theme. Admittedly FRONTIER(S) is not the first backwoods splatter movie, but it is the combination of various plot elements that make the story so original (the political subtext, pregnant heroine, gore galore, nazis). The film manages to be absolutely convincing and believeable due to Xavier Gens' assured direction. It never ever is campy or trashy. The excessive bloodletting will appeal to all splatter fans, trust me on that!
  And of course more intellectually minded viewers will have a heyday discussing the political subtext afterwards.
  Actors deliver powerhouse performances and most have outstanding screen presence (especially Samuel Le Bihan as Goetz). I was particularly impressed with the gorgeous looking Estelle Lefébure as blonde nazi bitch Gilberte (given her looks I would not mind running the risk of landing on the dinner table) and Jean Pierre Jorris as head nazi Von Geisler. I also give kudos to Karina Testa as Yasmine in what must have been an exceptionally challenging role, both physically as well as emotionally. (Wait until you see her character's escape from the pigsty!)
  It has been said that the gunplay in FRONTIER(S) is unfitting for a horror movie. Quite aside that firstly this is not the first horror film with gunplay (e.g. THE DEVIL'S REJECTS features lots of it) and secondly many other ways of inflicting mayhem and violent death (from steam chamber to axe and also including a hearty bite in the neck usually seen in zombie movies to mention just a few!) are graphically shown, I think that the shootouts are not only excellently choreographed and filmed, but also quite appropriate for the characters and the nazi theme. Von Geisler has a Luger handgun, Gilberte sprays bullets with a Schmeisser submachine gun, Junior nazi boss Karl shoots a German carabine and big Goetz even a light machine gun!
  FRONTIER(S) is in my view however not without faults. I have two complaints: The nazi father's few sentences in German (mostly well-known Third Reich slogans like "Arbeit macht frei") are oddly accented and once or twice there are mispronounciations. Of course, this will likely go unnoticed by international audiences, but as a native speaker of German I could not help notice it (okay, okay, I admit I am really nitpicking here). More grave is the occasional ultra-fast paced editing. I am no fan of MTV-style editing. However it would be very unfair to emphasize these rather minor shortcomings, as these do in no way
  diminish the impact of this exceptional horror fest.
  Unfortunately there are no extra features on the DVD to speak of, just a couple of admittedly very well made and interesting trailers - THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN, the new RAMBO movie, the excellent THE BACKWOODS and rather fittingly, HIGH TENSION, the gory slasher film which started the new French horror wave a couple of years ago (by the way, check out the last two movies, I have seen both of them and can assure you that you won't be disappointed with them).
  
  FRONTIER(S) comes with this reviewer's highest possible recommendations. Every self-respecting gorehound and splatter fan needs this DVD in his collection. Do yourself a favour and buy it. NOW !
  
  
  
  
• Torture porn at its best made in France. Gory, fast, well made but with nothing new.
  By A1PL8JA0TEHBVN on 2008-08-05
  Well... some people just loved this film. In a certain way, it's understandable. Today, European horror films are outdoing anything done in Hollywood. This film is no exception.
  
  Synopsis: a group of French young criminals are on the run after a heist while Paris burns during the 2005 riots that turned the French capital upside down for weeks. Traveling in separate cars, they decide to meet at a shabby hostel in the coutry... but the place is run by a family of sadistic killers led by an old Nazi.
  
  Yes, it is gore galore.
  
  The problem with these torture-porn films is that there isn't much story. They just turn into a cat and mouse 90-minute journey where every three minutes there's an excuse to someone to lose limbs, the head, get cut, sawed to pieces, etc, etc, etc.
  
  The good thing is that the journey here is made with great actors as the film shows a great cast of young French actors along with some familiar faces.
  
  The bad thing is that the screenplay here copies from 100 other great (and not so great) films we've already seen. No, there isn't one single minute here that you can call original.
  
  So here's the deal: great actors, great makeup, lots of gore... but there's nothing here we haven't seen before.
  
  I was expecting a lot more. But even at that, this film is much better than the usual American horror. This one is REALLY made to shock. It is really made with taste.
  
  It is worth a look IF you're into the genre.
  
  
• Just worth watching
  By A3RMA98SQUBRZ8 on 2008-08-15
  I enjoyed this to the end. There was enough gore, brutality, crazy inbred villains, and gushing blood to keep me interested to the end. This is not the French answer to Hostel, it is different in many respects. It was blood soaked. If that's your thing, you will like it. If not, then don't watch it.
  
  
• It's a gas!!
  By A2MN5OS7FC81YK on 2008-08-26
  I saw a lot of hype on this before it came out, so I was expecting a lot from it. It wasn't the best I've seen, but if you like "Hostel" then this is definitely worth the money.
  
  
• Gore Galore
  By AGMIIXPJ4597P on 2008-08-27
  Plot in a nutshell- Criminals on the run from the cops make a stop at a hostel on the outskirts of the city. Its a normal hostel, if all hostels are ran by cannibals. Hope they brought running shoes...
  
  Sick but Entertaining. Its like if "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" had a love child with "Hostel." If you liked both of those flicks you'll love this one. Frontier(s) is only availible with English subtitles (no dubbing) for all of you folks who don't like "reading" movies. Well worth a watch even if you don't as there is plenty of very well done gore.
  
  
  
• A French shocker with guts!
  By A1COW0UIB5HA9J on 2008-09-05
  
  In Paris there have been riots going on during an election campaign, a group of troubled punks escape from the city after commiting a vicious crime and away from the cops. They hide out in the countryside at a secluded Inn owned by strange people but instead of finding a nice dream of a place to stay, it becomes a living nightmare when the owners reveal themselves to be terrible neo-nazis who want new world order and uses the crooks as subjects for their torturous experiments of fascism.
  
  Interesting and gripping French/Swiss horror thriller is one of the better horror imports of recent memory! The film does offer a little political subtext as one of the major subjects of the film including the idea of fascism and terrorism. There is graphic scenes of torture and gore like a man boiling in a very high steam room and a few cringe inducing moments, the film does have decent acting and decent direction as the film is France's answer to "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" as it leaves you shocked and feeling sorry for the characters. Luc Besson ("Leon", "The Fifth Element") serves as one of the producers, this is definitely a worth while shocker that has guts literally and some good ideas.
  
  This DVD is pratically bareboned with only trailers to other movies, no interviews or featurettes nor a commentary but offers the film in it's uncut unrated version with English Subtitles.
  
  Also recommended: "Ichi The Killer", "Texas Chainsaw Massacre Series including 2003 remake and The Beginning", "Friday The 13th Series", "Halloween Series including 2007 Rob Zombie version", "The Devil's Rejects", "Re-Animator", "Men Behind The Sun", "Deep Red", "Suspiria", "Inferno", "The Hills Have Eyes (1977 and 2006)", "High Tension", "Hostel 1 & 2", "Cannibal Ferox", "Saw Series", "The New York Ripper", "From Dusk Till Dawn", "Grindhouse", "The Hitcher (1986)", "Last House on The Left", "Maniac (1980)", "Borderland", "Inside (2007)", "The Untold Story", "Bloodsucking Freaks", "A Nightmare on Elm Street", "Cannibal Apocalypse", "The Toxic Avenger", "Blood Diner", "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer", "Ilsa Series", "Wolf Creek", "Mother's Day", "The Burning" and "Otis".
  
  

• Inside (Unrated)
• Teeth
• Them (a.k.a. Ils)
• The Orphanage
• Doomsday (Unrated Widescreen Edition)