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Frontier(s)

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Frontier(s) (2008)

65%
67%
84%
N/A
N/A
N/A
65 %
Reviews Counted: 20 Fresh: 13  Rotten:7 Average Rating: 5.7/10
 
Consensus: Perhaps slapdash with its aspirations toward message-making, this ultra-gory horror flick nonetheless delivers the bloody goods.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Rated: 18

Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins

Theatrical Release: 14-03-2008

Synopsis: Part of the onslaught of grim, new millennium French horror films including HIGH TENSION (2003), THEM (2006) and INSIDE (2007), FRONTIER(S) is a punishing TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE-inspired tale intended for viewers who like an extra side of gore with their scares. Initially intended to be... Part of the onslaught of grim, new millennium French horror films including HIGH TENSION (2003), THEM (2006) and INSIDE (2007), FRONTIER(S) is a punishing TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE-inspired tale intended for viewers who like an extra side of gore with their scares. Initially intended to be released as part of the 2007 Afterdark Horrorfest, FRONTIERE(S) was dropped after being refused an R-rating by the MPAA due to extreme violence. Xavier Gens's uncompromising vision of backwoods brutality is definitely painted with several shades of crimson. Amidst 2002 elections that see a conservative regime taking control of France, riots rage in Paris. A gang of young thieves sees the tumult as a good chance to pull off a heist, but one of their own is fatally wounded in a scuffle with a police officer. The four remaining members of the group pair off and retreat to a remote country hotel, run by a family of cannibal neo-Nazis led by uniformed patriarch Le Von Geisler (Jean-Pierre Jorris). Separated from her fellow thieves, lone female gang member Yasmine (Karina Testa) finds herself alone in the fight against the sinister family--who want her unborn baby to help reverse the effects of years of inbreeding. More than just a collection of grisly set pieces, FRONTIER(S) is enriched by a left-wing political subtext that attempts to give some meaning to the film's displays of man's inhumanity to man. Regardless of reason, the gore sequences are elaborate and well executed. Characters are dispatched by shotgun to the head, steam chamber, and table saw, and one particularly excruciating scene will inspire many viewers to keep a close watch on their Achilles tendons. The cruel vision of Gens (HITMAN) is yet another strong argument for France as a dominating power in the world of horror. [More]

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Starring: Karina Testa, Aurelien Wiik, Patrick Ligardes, David Saracino, Maud Forget

Director: Xavier Gens
Screenwriter: Xavier Gens
Producer: Laurent Tolleron
Composer: Jean-Pierre Taieb

DVD Info

Release:

Jan 5, 2009

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - French
  • Subtitles - English

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Ratings Image
N/A

a bludgeoning, bloody trawl through the cliches of survival horror, with a strong contemporary political subtext - and as with any good barbecue, there is plenty of red sauce, and absolutely nothing has been left underdone.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/10/08
Anton Bitel
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
3.5/4

Despite all its primal brutality, Frontier(s) is a deep, intelligent and very political movie.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/17/08
Lucius Gore
ESplatter
Ratings Image
3/5

Frontier(s) is just an average horror film with some above average gore.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/02/08
Mike Bracken
Mike Bracken's Horror Films
Ratings Image
N/A

As a political allegory, it has no substance. As a genre piece, it is derivative, but it takes from the best and brings it together reasonably well.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/22/08
Felix Gonzalez Jr.
DVD Review
Ratings Image
3.5/5

Frontier(s) still finds a way to mine the past while staying rooted in the present. It may seem recognizable, but it's a well made and effective awareness

Full Review | comment Comment
05/16/08
Bill Gibron
PopMatters
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F

Nasty, brutish but--pace Thomas Hobbes--insufficiently short gorefest...nothing more than an exercise in sadism.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/12/08
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion
Ratings Image
N/A

Hardly a trailblazer.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/11/08
Staci Layne Wilson
Horror.com
Ratings Image
2.5/4

Though neither subtle nor particularly original, Gens' spin on the meat-movie classic has both nightmarish energy to spare.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/09/08
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Ratings Image
3.5/5

The real surprise of Frontier(s) is that this creepy, bloody contemporary gross-out also has some ideas, visual and otherwise, wedged among its sanguineous drips.

comment Comment
05/09/08
Manohla Dargis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
C

A relentlessly ugly and derivative reworking of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/08/08
Scott Tobias
Onion AV Club
Ratings Image
N/A

It’s as relentless as it is hateful, hammily directed and derivative of the dreariest slop in contemporary American horror cinema.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/08/08
Jim Ridley
Village Voice
Ratings Image
2.5/5

has neither the weight nor the ingenuity to make a solid impression past its unorthodox dispatching techniques.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/07/08
Chris Cabin
Filmcritic.com
Ratings Image
N/A

Perhaps it's because I see so many by-the-numbers horror movies but when a director is willing to go as far off the rails as Gens tries to go in Frontier(s), it goes a long way with me.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/07/08
Brian Tallerico
The Deadbolt
Ratings Image
1.5/4

Explicit in Frontier(s) is its maker's belief that nothing should be left to the imagination.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/05/08
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine
Ratings Image
5/5

This film will not be easily forgotten or shaken off, I guarantee this is one for the ages%u2026 you are about to enter a new frontier of horror.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/17/08
Brad Miska
Bloody Disgusting
Ratings Image
2.5/4

...an entertaining horror flick that benefits from the inclusion of several gleefully over-the-top kill sequences.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/03/07
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Ratings Image
2.5/4

An entertaining horror flick that benefits from the inclusion of several gleefully over-the-top kill sequences.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/29/07
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Ratings Image
2.5/4

An entertaining horror flick that benefits from the inclusion of several gleefully over-the-top kill sequences.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/24/07
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Ratings Image
N/A

Can a movie be an adrenalin-fueled, blood-gushing thrill ride and still be as boring as dirt? Apparently.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/19/07
John Anderson
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
4/5

A patently over-the-top piece of gore-drenched survival horror. Very familiar but very fun.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/13/07
Scott Weinberg
Cinematical
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