The strange case of Jacky Caillou is currently playing in select theaters and will be available on 11th April 2023 in VOD.
SYNOPSIS:
Small village, high in the French Alps, today. Jacky Caillou lives with his loving grandmother Gisele, an magnetic healer respected by all. Elsa, a young woman comes from the city to consult: a strange hairy dark stain grows on her back… When the village starts to suffer herd killings, and his grandmother pass away, Jacky urgently needs to understand if he inherited the ancestral gift. Will he manages to save both Elsa and his village?
REVIEW:
This French production offers here, a so-called rereading of werewolf stories. A feature film that is struggling to start, but all the same we are committed to its final product until the end.
First, don’t expect a bloody, jumpscare-filled horror movie. We are here in front of an atmospheric film (as much with the image as with the sounds) which tells us the history of Jackie Caillou having to save a young woman taken with a “curse”.
The director has chosen to present his film with a slow pace, which may dread many, with stable and minimalist camera shots. But that’s what allowed this production to offer us good quality cinematography. A strong point for night scenes that offer a beautiful distressinge atmosphere and a mixture of beautiful colors.
The film nevertheless manages to keep us attached to our screen, by the fact that the main character tries to cure the young woman but also that he has to take up the torch from his grandmother as the village healer, and that we we want to know if he will succeed in these two things.
On the negative side; we find ourselves here with a film classified as a horror film, on the other hand all the horror present in the feature film is shown off-camera. So, this prevents us from really connecting with the feelings of the main character (who wants to cure the young girl at all costs) and the frightened inhabitants of the village.
The acting looks under-performed and features very few facial and vocal expressions. The actors only seem to recite the script by heart. Thus the lines of dialogue seem unrealistic and simple to us.
The film struggles to start, before the major stake of the film begins. Just like the end, lacks a bit of explanation and ends quickly leaving us on our hunger
In the end, we end up with a film that does not make a strong reaction, and which could displease the big fan of bloody horror films. The film is sure to appeal to fans of atmospheric films (such as Midsommar and The Lighthouse) and lovers of beautiful cinematic images.
Overall grade: 3/5 stars
