Livide (Livid) (2011)

100% of critics liked it
(6 reviews)
96% want to see it
(592 ratings)

Inside co-directors Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo follow up their bloody and intense feature debut with this brooding, phantasmagorical horror film concerning three youths whose greed leads them into an inescapable nightmare. Young caregiver Lucie (Chloé Colloud) is still recovering from her… More Inside co-directors Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo follow up their bloody and intense feature debut with this brooding, phantasmagorical horror film concerning three youths whose greed leads them into an inescapable nightmare. Young caregiver Lucie (Chloé Colloud) is still recovering from her mother's recent suicide when she joins her new boss Mrs. Wilson (Catherine Jacob) in making home visits to their elderly patients. Their last stop of the day is at a dark, labyrinthine mansion owned by Madame Jessel (Marie Claude-Pietragalla), a comatose, former ballet instructor with a stern reputation. After learning that Madame Jessel is rumored to have a priceless treasure hidden somewhere deep within the sprawling estate, Lucie is convinced by her boyfriend William (Félix Moati) and their waiter pal Ben (Jérémy Kapone) to stage a daring break-in on Halloween night, and steal the valuables under the shroud of darkness. But the deeper the trio journeys into the mansion the more they learn about Madame Jessel's malevolent past, including the bizarre death of her deaf daughter. By the time Lucy, William, and Ben have discovered Madame Jessel's darkest secret it's already too late, and they find themselves hopelessly caught in a twisted maze of unspeakable terror and supernatural torment. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 28 min.
Directed By: Julien Maury, Alexandre Bustillo
Written By: Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury
Genres: Drama, Horror, Art House & International, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Studio: La Fabrique 2

Critic Reviews

John Gholson, Movies.com
No one faults a spook house for lacking a strong narrative -- we want chills and thrills and an excess of horror imagery that borders on gaudy. In that way, Livid completely delivers.
Anton Bitel, Sight and Sound
combines a unique spin on the vampire myth with the fairytale surrealism of Lewis Carroll (via Svankmajer's Alice), the danse macabre of Coppélia (via Argento's Suspiria) and the imagistic poetry of Franju's Eyes Without a Face.
Scott Weinberg, FEARnet
The directors of 'Inside' go in a completely different direction, and the result is (again) a damn good horror film.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...it's ultimately impossible to walk away from the proceedings without feeling a slight sense of disappointment.
Scott Tobias, AV Club
Its internal logic eluded me on first viewing, but Maury and Bustillo compensate with the go-for-broke savagery and viscera that's come to define new French horror.
Brad Miska, Bloody Disgusting
'Livid's true gift is its creative madness, a film that's drenched in imagery that will resonate with viewers for decades.

Read all 6 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Francisco G

Coming from the folks who left me speechless with the brutal and unforgiving Inside, I was expecting a lot from the follow-up and for better and worse they delivered. Livid is a completly different horror direction from Inside, the only similiar thing is the dream-like structure that… More
Coming from the folks who left me speechless with the brutal and unforgiving Inside, I was expecting a lot from the follow-up and for better and worse they delivered. Livid is a completly different horror direction from Inside, the only similiar thing is the dream-like structure that both movies has. Whilst Inside was a nightmare for pregnant women (with a lot of little references here and there), Livid is fairy tale that is a dream right from the start. Characters seem lost on this world, interact with objects in a funny way and disregard others completly which are obvious to the situation and you have a very abstract and demanding third act to end it all. Yep, this is pretty much a love letter to Argento's masterpieces and it's loaded with references. Only problem is that modern horror fans won't get it and won't notice the little symbolic things and others left for interpretation in it's fairy tale like structure. But make no mistake, it has it's share of flaws. In all it's respect to the master, it probably lost all the originality it could've had. The first half is overly long and some secondary characters could've had a different outcome/connection with the viewer. It's stylisticly very good, boosting some great sequences, tense moments, imaginative visuals and awkward moments but it's lacking something that Inside had. Anyways, a lot of props should go to the directors that seem to want to surprise us at each turn with each movie and on each scene. Looking forward for the next one, hoping it can be a bit more balanced.