Amer

I caught this film at Grimm Up North over Halloween and found it quite strange. I described it at the time as "if Jean Luc Godard had made a horror film in the 50s".  Now Anchor Bay films have released the poster, some images, the trailer and the synopsis.

The spirit of the Italian ‘giallo’ movie genre is brought vividly to life in Amer, the dazzling debut feature from the co-writing and co-directing team of Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani. The winner of several international film awards, including the New Visions Award at Sitges International Film Festival and the Public’s Choice Award at Montreal Festival of New Cinema, Amer has been described as “arthouse horror at its most magnificent” (Billy Chainsaw, Bizarre), “a nightmare vision of desire and fear… gorgeous, heady, dazzling!” (The Los Angeles Times) and as a “flawless tribute to the ethereal mystique and Pop Art madness of the 70s gialli” (Alan Jones, Frightfest).

Recalling the captivating cinematic style, recurring themes and bold visual motifs seen in the works of directors such as Dario Argento, Mario Bava and Lucio Fulci, Cattet and Forzani’s highly original and visionary tribute to the Italian masters is a virtually dialogue-free, Freudian tale of sexual awakening, obsession and murder.

The story unfolds in three parts as Ana (played, respectively, by actresses Cassandra Forêt, Charlotte Eugène-Guibeaud and Marie Bos) progresses from childhood through adolescence to womanhood. For Ana, in all three stages of her life, fear, sensuality and the threat of violence are constant companions, each lurking in her mind’s eye and waiting to take physical form.

Scored (in ‘Tarantino style’) utilizing recycled Italian movie soundtrack music composed by Ennio Morricone, Bruno Nicolai, Adriano Celentano and Stelvio Cipriani and destined for cult status, Amer is “a succulently visual feast of horror, sex, chills and thrills” (Bizarre) and a must-see for fans of arthouse, horror and independent cinema.

Amer hits cinemas January 7, 2011.
© Anchor Bay Films