The fact that this film comes from the same production team as Kill Me Please should tell you everything you need to know. It's another black and white documentary-style study into the darker recesses of the human mind- only more so. The story follows a film crew as they document a day in the life of Benoit (Benoît Poelvoorde). Although he begins as a witty and articulate host, his thoughts soon stray into more uncomfortable territory, revealing a misogynistic and xenophobic streak before the camera. What's more, Benoit is a serial killer. But he isn't necessarily the film's true heart of evil. No, what makes the film so unique, so perverse and yet so compelling is how the crew becomes increasingly implicit in Benoit's crimes. For example, after he breaks into a house and kills an entire family, they help him to smother a small boy. As a result, we too become accomplices. And it's a horribly unnerving experience; like a rabid version of Peeping Tom let off its lead. Remember how the antagonists in Funny Games claimed to be torturing an innocent family for our mere entertainment? Here it's a hundred times worse. Darkest Comedy Moment: Take your pick, but the scene in which Benoit and the filmmakers interview an old lady in her living room (above) certainly takes some time to be scrubbed from your mind. After asking the woman if she receives regular visitors, Benoit suddenly shoves his gun in her face and screams so loudly that she suffers an immediate heart attack. ''I just freaked her out,'' smiles Ben as the woman slumps in her sofa, ''Which saves me a bullet''. Like this article? Are there any other dark comedies that keep you awake at night? Let us know in the comments box below.
Yorkshireman (hence the surname). Often spotted sacrificing sleep and sanity for the annual Leeds International Film Festival. For a sample of (fairly) recent film reviews, please visit whatsnottoblog.wordpress.com.
