174. The Five Devils (Les cinq diables)

 

THE FIVE DEVILS (LES CINQ DIABLES)

Cert 15

96 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong language, sex, racism, injury detail

From its title and publicity photo, I presumed that The Five Devils would be a bog-standard house-of-horrors movie.

I was very wrong. Sure, there is a supernatural element but this is much more subtle than I expected and all the better for it.

At its heart are the themes of a lost love rekindled and parenting of a child who stands out from the crowd.

It stars the excellent Adèle Exarchopoulos as Joanne, a swimming pool attendant who seems to be constantly lost in reverie.

Her sombre mood turns to extreme agitation when her husband (Moustapha Mbengue) invites his down-on-her-luck sister (Swala Emati) to stay.

This evokes some shattering memories for all of them as well as Joanne's facially scarred best friend (Daphne Patakia).

Meanwhile, Joanne's daughter (Sally Dramé) is being bullied at school and, in her solitude, refines her extraordinary sense of smell.

This special power helps her unravel a past which, much to her bewilderment, is clearly causing the adults huge turmoil.

To write any more would give the game away but, safe to say, this is an intriguing, smartly acted, unusual film.

The only frustration is the elements which go unexplained during its denouement.

Nevertheless, Léa Mysius's film is far better than the bland horror than I had anticipated.

Reasons to watch: Enthralling and weird

Reasons to avoid: Maybe a tad too offbeat

Laughs: None

Jumps: One

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: Yes

Overall rating: 7.5/10

Did you know? Writer/director Léa Mysius was also obsessed with smells when she was young.

The final word. Léa Mysius: “I had this image in my mind of a strange girl with a gift for smells, and a past that she doesn’t know is weighing on her. And the way in which she lifts this weight is by discovering what happened in this past." AnOther

Share this post