Do you think you have a strong stomach? In other words, can you see things that are frightening, that are a bit disgusting without too much trouble? Or are you more of a sensitive soul, someone who's a bit more delicate?
That's what we're going to see very soon with this video and my special horror film selection. Don't forget to download the free PDF of this video, which contains a list of 30 film and series recommendations to improve your French. Simply click on the link in the description, enter your e-mail address and you will receive the PDF directly in your mailbox.
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. Welcome to another episode of French Mornings. If you're learning French, you've come to the right place.
I'm Elisa and on this channel I help you to improve your French and to speak more naturally. Today, we're back together for a special Halloween video with a selection of French horror films, from the softest to the most hardcore. So get comfortable, turn on the subtitles if you need them and let's start.
Before I start this video, I'd like to make it clear that we're going to be talking about horror films, some of which are forbidden for viewers under 16, which can sometimes include disturbing or even gory scenes. So, sensitive souls, beware. I'm not promoting crime or violence in this video, I just want to show you that Hollywood isn't the only place making horror films, the French are also making their mark, in other words, they know how to stand out in the field.
We'll start straight away with the film which, in my opinion, is the lowest on the horror scale. It's the film "Sous la Seine". <i>(Under the Seine)</i> It's a very recent film that was talked about a lot at the time of the Olympic Games.
It's a Franco-Belgian film directed by Xavier Gens, released in June 2024. It's a Netflix production. What's the story?
Of course, I'm not going to spoil the story of these films, but I'll give you a quick summary. "Sous la Seine" is a thriller set in Paris. Yes, in French we say 'thriller' too.
And so, in this thriller, there's a giant shark that's heading towards the Seine while a sporting competition, a triathlon, is being prepared. The story follows a team of police officers who are accompanied by a shark expert and young ecologists, people involved in conservation of the environment. And they realise that the shark threatens not only the participants of the competition, but also the town's residents, the Parisians, and the shark itself.
There's a lot of suspense in this film. And while the mayor of Paris doesn't take the problem seriously, the characters have to find a way of stopping the shark before there's a catastrophe. We're going to give it a score on the horror gauge, and I think we can give it a two out of five.
Frankly, I think that even the most sensitive people can watch this film, because there aren't many violent scenes, and it's safe to say that it isn't a particularly realistic film either, so it's not that scary. And a month after its release, it was the number four most-watched non-English language film on Netflix. It has sometimes been criticised for its over-the-top acting, actors who were trying a bit too hard.
A slight lack of scientific credibility, but for most viewers, it's still a good shark film, and quite entertaining. But despite everything, remember, sharks are our friends! Continuing now with a film that has had a huge impact, in other words, it made a big splash in the film world.
It's the film "Grave". You may have heard it referred to as "Raw" in English. Another Franco-Belgian film, it was directed by Julia Ducournau and was released in 2016.
If you're looking for it, I think you can find it on PrimeVideo. What's the story? "Grave" is the story of 16-year-old Justine.
She's a vegetarian and she gets into a top veterinary school to care for animals. During her initiation ritual, i. e.
the integration activities for new students at the school, where they're often made to do things to ridicule and humiliate them, she is made to, or she is forced to eat meat for the first time in her life. And from that point on, everything starts to go wrong, everything goes from bad to worse. Justine begins to feel an ever-stronger attraction for meat, and she even has impulses where she wants to consume human flesh.
In terms of horror, I'm going to give it a score of 3 out of 5. It's not really a horror film in the true sense of the word, in the more traditional sense. Even if there is blood and there are a few spectators who fainted or passed out during the first screening at the Cannes Film Festival.
The film has been banned for under-16s because of the cannibalism scenes, but it's a film that is more disturbing, more uncomfortable than a really scary film. We let's move on to a film that has also "Fait couler beaucoup d'encre". (Spilled a lot of ink).
"Faire couler beaucoup d'encre" is another way of saying that there's been a lot of talk about something. It's the film "Climax" by Gaspar Noé, which was released in 2018. And you can also find it on PrimeVideo, I believe.
This is not a sponsored video, I assure you! "Climax" is the story of a group of dancers who come together for a rehearsal in a rather isolated school, before a tour of the United States. During a party, after the rehearsal, they realise that someone has put drugs in the sangria that everyone is drinking.
And from then on, it becomes a real nightmare. The characters gradually descend into paranoia, violence and madness. It's a film that's very intense, with direction that plunges the viewer into a hallucinatory spiral.
On the horror gauge, it's a 3/5, in the sense that it's more of a psychological thriller than a traditional horror film. But there are still some very powerful and somewhat violent scenes. We continue now with a more typical, more traditional horror film, a good old-fashioned zombie film, "The Horde".
This film by Yannick Daran and Benjamin Rocher was released in 2009. Once again available on PrimeVideo. The story begins with the death of a policeman killed by a gang.
A group of his colleagues organises a raid on the building, in other words they're all going there to avenge him. But things go wrong and part of this team of policemen is killed while the others are taken prisoner. Just as they are about to be killed too, strange cries echo through the building.
It's the deceased rising from the dead to attack. And so, in this film, the police and the criminals will have to come together to face the zombie horde. In terms of horror, it's a good four out of five.
There are lots of scenes of fighting, brutality and violence and an atmosphere of constant panic. We'll end with a film for those of you with a strong stomach, It's "Martyrs", a Franco-Canadian horror film directed by by Pascal Laugier in 2008. And once again, you can find it on PrimeVideo.
The story begins with Lucie, who is a young girl who was traumatised after being kidnapped and tortured as a child. And years later, she finds who she thinks are her torturers. A torturer is someone who has tortured someone else.
And she decides to take her revenge. His friend Anna accompanies her and discovers that the story of Lucie's capture is very complex. Behind it all lies a secret organisation that is trying to understand what happens after death, and that drives its victims to extreme suffering.
Anna is in turn trapped and becomes one of their martyrs. On the horror gauge, it deserves 5/5. In my opinion, it really has all the elements that make you want to hide under the blanket and just not watch the film.
It can be very graphic, gory, with torture, violence and stress. The ending is also a little disturbing, which is surely the aim of the film. In any case, it's a film I'd only recommend to real horror film fans who are used to watching this kind of thing.
So, are you going to watch these films, or have you already seem them? Tell me all about it in the comments section! Thank you all for watching this video.
Don't forget to download the list of 30 films to watch to improve your French, and I'll see you soon.
