15 Best Movies Of 2019 (So Far)

12. Climax

At this point, if you see a new Gaspar Noe film you should know exactly what you’re getting. Namely, a lot of horrible violence, abhorrent characters, patriotic French messaging, and probably somebody jerking off directly down the lens of the camera (potentially in 3D).

Climax has all the button-pushing hallmarks the director is known for, but after a couple of sprawling, two-and-a-half hour epics, reigns them in with a far tighter focus and a simpler plot. That being, what would happen if a talented but abrasive dance group were locked in a building and someone spiked their punch with loads of LSD?

From the dance sequences to the claustrophobic confrontations between the drugged-up starlets, Gasper Noe’s camera always remains floaty and ethereal, itself threatening to become as unhinged as these characters. It’s unrepentantly nasty, but a great, inspired horror once it gets going.

[JB]