DVD: Resonnances Echoes Popular Horror Films
What is cheap, French, and can’t be imbibed on New Year’s Eve? Resonnances, a horror film imported from France, was reportedly made on a “microbudget.” Having seen a good, English zombie flick, Colin, that came in at about $70, I was curious to see what Philippe Robert could do with his tiny budget (in an attempt to discover how much was spent on the making of Resonnances, I spent a morning of research. Nearly everything found is in French, a language I do not speak. However, I was entertained by quirky translations at the official website despite not finding a reference I could decipher about funding).
Until Resonnances, I was never particularly interested in learning French for fear that I would become a linguistic snob, littering everything I wrote with Française pépites linguistiques. Having seen the film and read an English translation of the synopsis, I now wish I was fluent in French. At the beginning of Resonnances, it is obvious that the English subtitles are not telling us the whole story (the synopsis does fill in a few blanks).
As the film opens, something falls from space and lands in sixteenth century France, much to the horror of a peasant girl. Switch to present day France, and a half dozen twenty-somethings are enjoying a barbecue and planning to go to a club (in the “French mountains”). They take two cars, and on the way to the club, they hear a radio announcement about a maniac that has escaped from prison; then the car carrying the male characters runs out of gas. Instead of walking to the station-service and carrying a gallon of l’essence back to their vehicle, two of the men push the car while the third, who does not have a license, steers.
The gas station is deserted, except for the carless stranger needing a ride who appears out of the darkness. Of course they give him a ride. Can you guess who he is?
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