Synopsis
Three teenagers skip school in order to explore an abandoned film studio lot where they catch sight of a woman being dragged by a masked man.
2014 ‘Aux yeux des vivants’ Directed by Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury
Three teenagers skip school in order to explore an abandoned film studio lot where they catch sight of a woman being dragged by a masked man.
Among the Living - Das Böse ist hier, 恐怖ノ白魔人, Среди живущих, A los ojos de los vivos, De entre los vivos, Dehşet Kasabası, Among The Living, Серед живих, 恶魔有眼
NFE—Bustillo and Maury | 💎 Slightly Hidden Horror Gem #117 | 2014
"We will start a new family. We will find a new home. We will get used to the unknown. And disappear among the eyes of the living.
My god that opening sequence. Béatrice Dalle’s cameo role alone makes this film worth watching.
The best part is that there is zero chance it has been spoiled for you, because as far as I can tell, except for two or three Letterboxd friends, this film has been largely overlooked. I'm not sure why; my guess is that there was not a large market outside of France for a horror film that is on occasion this extreme that also requires reading…
I have been messed up my whole life and I am pretty messed up now for sure but never have I been as messed up as years 11-16. I was perverse, violent, capricious, uncommunicative, unable to function in any sort of society, let alone go to school properly and study, make friends, etc. Everyday life was a horror novel turned inside out and I was the horrible thing expelled from fiction, having to do things in the world, wrongly or badly or not at all. Mostly I stayed in my bedroom and read horror novels. I read a lot of Stephen King, like, a lot a lot. I wasn't enough of a person to even try being a person and…
For some odd reason I had this rated at 2.5 stars and that is just an egregious error on my part because this is a solid 3.5 level of enjoyment.
I love how it starts out with a scene featuring the legendary Béatrice Dalle before turning into a coming of age story like Stand by Me before descending into full slasher/monster madness. I know it’s not perfect, but Maury and Bustillo do a great job of elevating the material, even possibly more than it deserves. I mean, they managed to make Leatherface entertaining so they must be pretty talented, right?
This French horror movie from Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury, the co-directors of 2007's Inside, took me completely by surprise. I'd heard next to nothing about it until reading a review by fellow Letterboxd user Grimbo last week, I thought it sounded decent so ordered the DVD and from the bat-shit crazy opening prologue that nicely sets the disturbing tone, the film had me hooked.
The film follows young troublemaker Victor (Theo Fernandez), who along with his two best friends, decides to ditch detention on the last day of school before the summer holidays. They spend the rest of the afternoon messing about in a field before one of the group decides to set fire to an old barn, after…
Inside is my favorite horror movie of the 21st century. I just directed a home invasion film last month that was heavily influenced by it. When it came out, I was so sure that Maury/Bustillo we're going to be huge. They followed it up with Livid, which I cannot find anywhere, but hear it's great. Then they were long rumored to direct a Hellraiser reboot, which fell through. They were then given a Texas Chainsaw Massacre prequel, which is considered bad (though I defend it), and in the middle of it all, Among the Living came out and was off my radar completely.
I finally gave it a chance and my expectations both really helped and hurt the movie. Having…
Gory, chilling, and brutal. It's exactly what you'd expect from this duo. This French slasher/coming-of-age film may not have the most original story and feel too PG at times but the suspense and gore make it an entertaining watch. They don't go nearly as wild with the gore as in Inside or Livid, but there's enough brutal violence going on here to please horror fans. The antagonist is definitely the most interesting character in this film but because of how poorly fleshed out they are, the final act ends up feeling a bit lackluster. Still, I think it's decent enough and it's worth viewing for sure.
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Bustillo & Maury Ranked
The new one by the imaginative directors of Inside and Livid.
A shockingly violent opening lets us know what we'll be in for later on as we then join three young naughty schoolkids as they get up mischief in an abandoned amusement park. They witness naughtier things and get out of dodge but with a masked killer hot on their tale.
Couple of effective scare moments and unflinching violence make this an engaging if slight watch.
"Momma, there's something under my bed"
"I've told you..little things don't eat big things"
"...but this one's bigger than me"
This is the best horror movie i've seen in years. Original. Brutal. Suspenseful.
Watch it at night. Turn your phone off for 90 minutes. Shut out all the lights. Allow a movie to scare the hell out of you.
Easily one of the best slashers since the 80s heyday -- all surrealist French set pieces that move from a sunny abandoned movie set into shadowy countryside homes. Maury & Bustillo are savage aestheticians, able to dole out cartoonish brutality that's still totally unnerving. The fact that LIVIDE and LEATHERFACE remain under producer lock and key in the States is a crime against the country's horror fans.
It’s hard to shake expectations and “another slasher from the Inside directors” is a big one. It’s an unfair shadow that has loomed over every film since from Bustillo & Maury, each of which has been extremely different from their debut while also sharing its grisly strengths. Livid was their Hammer gothic fairytale, Kandisha their Candyman-ish urban folk horror, The Deep House their spookfest darkride. (Haven’t seen Leatherface yet!) In that vein, Among The Living is their twisted Amblin romp filtered through New Extremity scuzziness and violence. After a delirious and bloody opening, it’s also a quite restrained film as we follows a trio of friends who skip school to mess around the local abandoned backlot…only to stumble into the midst…
this movie is so so good!!!!
-throwback to classic horror
-unsettling af
-a genuinely scary movie
-the French love going places Americans won't which i always appreciate
-IT is shook (and so am I, tbh)
-very very very good, pls watch, tell ur friends, etc.
-ty shudder for acquiring this good good property
A brain fried, PTSD-afflicted father and his oddball, genetically mutated son hide out in an abandoned movie set,only to have their lair discovered by a trio of boys playing truant! The son follows the boys home, intending to murder them in their beds! Uneven but watchable slasher from the French duo Bustillo and Maury that gave us the incredible 'Inside' ,one of the best horrors of the 2000's, and the very creepy but little seen 'Livide'. 'Among the Living' isn't on par with those gems,but it is nevertheless a suspenseful, well-made shocker that builds to an unnerving 'home-invasion' sequence that cleverly plays on every parents worst nightmare! The fascinating Beatrice Dalle, who was so unforgettable as the crazed antagonist in 'Inside',has a small role here as the tormented mother of the feral, hairless and very often completely naked son! This late entry in the 'French Extreme' wave is far from classic,but worth a watch for Euro-horror fans.