Harefooted Halloween: Inside (2007)

What I Liked: They get a lot of mileage out of the very simple idea of a mysterious lady trying to kill a pregnant woman in her own house on Christmas Eve night.  The decisions are smart even though it feels like they’re making it up as they go.  The filmmakers had a good sense of what would work and it flows like a wide open wound.

The camera is locked down and the shots are nicely reserved.  Back in the mid 2000’s shaking your shit all over the goddamn place was the rage but thankfully there’s none of that garbage here.  All the camera movements are focused with the operator and editor making good choices about what to show and what to hold back on.

(Spoiler on this last point) I dig the downer ending.  It’s one thing to have your protagonist (a nine month pregnant woman) go through all of this horrific shit, like being beaten, tortured, stabbed, sliced, self-perform a tracheotomy, and not to mention she kills her own mother by accident, but it takes some serious balls to then also have this character be murdered AND have her baby cut and stolen from her body.  That’s fucking crazy.  To top it all off the image of the intruder lady all fucked up from being burned and battered with the baby in her arms rocking in a chair bathed in red light is creepy as shit too.

What I Didn’t Like: The lighting is a bit too dark at times.  I know the filmmakers were going for a dark look but they probably could’ve taken a half step back and been ok.

Overall Impressions: Things go off the fucking rails pretty quickly and my favorite part might be when the cops show up because it doesn’t go down exactly how you think it will.  I was genuinely nervous for everyone during that.  The madness escalates sharply and can’t seem to contain itself.  Eventually we hit cartoon country which at first I wasn’t thrilled with but they kept me engaged and the more I think back on it the more I’m into just how far they take shit.

This film is notorious and beloved and I get it.  It’s a fucking gore-fest which isn’t always my cup of tea because that usually means either torture porn or the filmmakers are desperately trying to get your attention.  This is neither.  They certainly are pushing buttons with a maniac not only going after a pregnant woman but also with having her pierce scissors into the protruding belly several times.  They start there but the building of tension and how insane the situation gets is really cleverly done.  Sure a helluva lot of blood gets spilled along the way and some parts are more than likely going to make you feel incredibly uncomfortable but goddamn, what a ride.