One night, a mysterious black substance completely envelops a building, preventing anyone from getting out. After the first moments of panic, the inhabitants organize themselves. And, as often in a crisis situation, bad habits, prejudices and fear take over…
A gifted and versatile director, Guillaume Nicloux (“Le Poulpe” in 1998, “Thalasso” in 2019) is interested here in a genre that has been little explored in France, horror. If his film, in competition at the Gérardmer Festival, takes a starting point worn down to the plot — a group trapped in a closed place with no way out — here he attempts a treatment that is both radical and totally focused on the evolution of its characters.
Like an entomologist who scrutinizes his insects confined in a vivarium, he observes their behavior, their interactions, the inevitable deterioration of the social contract, and does so with a meticulous, almost documentary detachment.
Some inconsistencies, but enough twists
The rest doesn’t matter to him. We will never have an explanation for the mysterious phenomenon that overwhelms the residents of its microcosm. On the contrary, we will have to show a good dose of disbelief in order to swallow the fact that, if the characters cannot leave their camera, the air, the water and the electricity, them, continue to happen and that, several months after the beginning of the tragedy, there is still food to eat…
Another concern, the director refusing to appoint a hero, and no character being there to catch up with the other — like the mysterious material that imprisons the tower, the atmosphere is black from black — we gradually lose interest in the fate of all. The story, however, has enough twists and turns so that we do not feel bored in front of this feature film, collected over an hour and a half and which makes the best use of its limited sets. We still come out of the room with a hell of a taste of ashes in our mouths…
« Tower », French fantasy film by Guillaume Nicloux, with Angèle Mac, Hatik, Ahmed Abdel-Laoui… (1h30).