Intense and effecting, it needs to be experienced to be believed, a truly visceral film

Rating: 7/10 (18 June 2020)

CLIMAX is written and directed by Gaspar NoÃ© (Irreversible, Enter The Void) and tells the story of a French dance group who's sangria is spiked with LSD during a party after rehearsals, what proceeds is a night of increasingly intense, disturbing and cringe inducing events as the friends slowly become effected by the drugs.
I had never heard of this film until it was recommended to me online, and as a lover of the horror genre as well as low budget independent films I was eager to see this film. It's been a few days since I watched it and it is still in my head, this film is above all else an experience, not just a piece of media that demands viewing but a film that is so unrelenting in its violence and disturbing content that it deserves recognition from fans of the genre. The slow burn nature of the film eases its audience into its intense subject matter and only becomes an outright Horror/Thriller around the 40-50 minute mark. What proceeded this was largely getting to know each individual character though conversations with each other or though interview format (how the film is opened), and long, unbroken takes of choreographed dance sequences. This really was not what I expected but it got us familiar with each person's role in the group as well as giving the film a character and personality that many films, especially one from this genre lacks. So that must be the biggest positive of this film, the production design from sound to lighting, chorography to camera work, this film excels. Great wide shots displaying a variety of characters and the repeat shots to show the juxtaposition before and after they have been spiked is truly something to marvel. The final act (the CLIMAX of the film) uses sound, lighting and unconventional camera angles to unnerve, unease and discombobulate the audience, although I was uncomfortable with what was on screen I found myself truly effected and when the film ended it had, and still is having, a lasting effect on me.
The slow burn nature of the film however is something that results in a negative for the overall quality of the film as the films plot doesn't really "get going" till around the 40-50 minute mark resulting in the film feeling inconsistent and struggling to decide on a tone. This is not always a negative, films like the Nicolas Winding Refn's DRIVE (2011) slowly puts our protagonist into the uncomfortable situation in a way that doesn't make the films tone feel confused, something that CLIMAX don't get so clearly. Although the end result is an exciting and visceral final act and a pay off that is truly spectacular this is proof of the director fully presenting his stylistic flare and unique ability to position his actors and the camera to create a film unlike anything I have seen. To me however, tones clash before the hour mark and I wasn't sure if I was watching a horror/Thriller or a French remake of STEP UP.
Every actor who appears in this film really shines in their respective roles; each actor has something exciting to do throughout each act. The actor who really stood out from the ensemble cast is Sofia Boutella (THE MUMMY), who though her scenes interacting with other actors or performing alone really brings her A-game, making me suspend my disbelief and act as if I was witnessing a night that is truly traumatic for each character involved, as a performer this is where she, and everyone, truly shone. The scene in which Boutella is alone in the red lit room, dancing to sitting in agonising fear to climbing the wall made me fear for the characters involved, I later learned that a lot of the film (bar the choreographed dance) was improvised by the actors and cementing Boutella as a born, natural performer.
Overall, CLIMAX is unnerving, brutal, and in the end devastating for everyone involved, including the audience, as a film that sets out for that outcome I cannot praise this film enough. Although it does have issues with pacing and tone towards the beginning of the film, the latter half is an explosive look at the effect of drugs on a unknowing group of people with expert camera work, performances and choreography elevating the content, that results in what can only be described in a unique experience and notable addition to the genre. Just be sure to take a walk when its finished.