Search - Inside (Unrated) on DVD

David B. (EyesMalloy)
Reviewed on 8/6/2014...

The first thing you must know is that I am a major fan of horror. I have seen thousands of horror films, including many foreign, indie, and obscure, and I own a large personal collection. My experience ranges from Tod Browning's Freaks to Hitchcock to Vincent Price's Hammer films to 80s slasher to the eclectic mix of today. I love Hitchcock, Romero, Cronenberg, Carpenter, Friedkin, Hooper, Craven, King, Barker, Dowdle, Wan, Bousman, and certain efforts by Bava and Argento. From classics like The Exorcist to modern indies like Absentia, I am a horror nut. Though there have been a couple (literally, two) of films too extreme for me, I can usually get past even gratuitous gore if the writing and direction are good.

I had heard about Inside for some years as it has turned up on several lists of great and/or scary horror films all over the internet. When the night finally came, it was past midnight and my living room was pitch black. About twenty minutes in, I was deeply intrigued and wondered how the story would play out once the woman (Beatrice Dalle) got into the house. What followed for the next hour was perhaps the most graphic, shockingly realistic violence I have ever seen on film in my life. I simply could not believe the paths taken nor the extreme lengths it went as the woman punctured, stabbed, shot, tortured, mutilated, eviscerated, and positively desolated every breathing mammal that dared enter that house.

The effect it had on me was more intense, more destructive, than I could have imagined. In the midst of the final scene, which the cover hints strongly to, I could handle no more and I shut the film off. I felt so violated, so traumatized, that I could not keep watching that absolutely horrific final sequence. I was breathing so fast I was nearly hyperventilating. I sped to my bathroom and grabbed two lorazepam, swallowed them, and then invaded my friend's bedroom (where there was light) so I could talk to her for a few minutes and calm down. It was that bad. Even now, several evening later and buried under more recent experience, so of which are cinematic, I can not fully shake the bad feeling. The disturbance has caused insomnia and fear of nightmares. But despite all of this, I feel the need to watch the final few minutes just to know how it ended. The film is not included on the list at RuinedEndings.com and besides, I feel slightly incomplete without knowing the truth. The movie, Inside, is very well made despite its violence. It has plot and genuinely good acting. Whether I force myself to watch the end or just find out how it ends online, I will find out.

Let this be a warning to you now. The DVD cover reads "Dimension Extreme" on the upper left corner for very good reason. It is extreme. More extreme than Saw III, American Mary, or even Three Extremes. Be warned. Even if you are a serious horror aficionado, this one may be too much for you. Proceed with extreme caution.

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