Ser Supremo (o no Ser, esa es la cuestión): New French Extremity: A New Wave of Flesh and Blood

Irréversible (2002)

In the February 2004 issue of ArtForum Magazine, James Quandt wrote an article detailing this growing trend in French cinema featuring films crafted with the apparent primary intention of shocking or provoking the audience. He labeled it derisively as the New French Extremity, and went on to describe the genre as:

"A cinema suddenly determined to break every taboo, to wade in rivers of viscera and spumes of sperm, to fill each frame with flesh, nubile or gnarled, and subject it to all manner of penetration, mutilation, and defilement. Images and subjects once the provenance of splatter films, exploitation flicks, and porn ... proliferate in the high-art environs of a national cinema whose provocations have historically been formal, political, or philosophical."

Some call it art, some call it trash, others might call it torture-porn. Myself being a huge horror fan, welcome this New Wave of French Horror with open arms. A refreshing change of pace in a monotonous world full of countless rehashes, remakes, and sequels of sequels.

I will be keeping track of and showcasing these so-called New French Extremism films here. Some good, some bad, some downright awful, but all push the boundaries of cinema with disturbing, vivid, and graphic depictions of sexual and violent imagery.

The Films of the New French Extremity