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It’s a gore soaked hell ride.

This is the bonus 9th film that they “weren’t allowed to show in Horrorfest” because it got an NC-17 rating.  Frontier(s) is hands down the best of the lot and a shame it got a quick dump in theatres before coming out on DVD.  Fans of High Tension will appreciate this film the most.  It’s bloody, extremely violent and freakishly intense.  Frontier(s) has everything you could need in an ultra-violent film: Nazis, inbreeding, cannibalism and torture. 

A gang of four young thieves flee Paris during the violent aftermath of a political election.  Yasmine’s brother is mortally injured during the conflict.  She and Alex go to a hospital to drop off her brother, while the other two guys skip out of town.  Karl and Tom find an inn in the middle of nowhere and plan to hold up there until their friends can meet them.  They quickly insult the owners of the hotel and are hunted down and slaughtered.  When Yasmine and Alex arrive to meet their friends, they are taken and chained up for later use.  The rest of the film is jaw droppingly brutal. 

Frontier(s) isn’t anything new.  It’s got bits of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Wrong Turn and The Hills Eyes Have Eyes.  Along with Inside, Frontier(s) is raising the bar for horror films.  Too many American horror movies play it safe.  Everything wraps up with a semi-happy ending and the script is usually by the book.  Then something like Frontier(s), Inside or the Spanish film [Rec] comes along and shows why horror films can be so effective and intense.  The film takes a little time to get started but once it does, it’s a gore soaked hell ride with an incredibly violent and bloody ending.  Not for the faint of heart but gore hounds will love it.

Sadly, outside of a few trailers, there are no extra features.  It would have been nice to have an audio commentary or a behind the scenes featurette. 

The unrated director’s cut of Frontier(s) is about as intense as it gets with horror films these days.  The French are raising the bar when it comes to horror films.  I doubt many American filmmakers will be able to accept the challenge being laid down.  If you can handle the extreme gore and violence, Frontier(s) is a must own.

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