Criminal Lovers1999
“Their idea of foreplay was murder.”
Directed by François Ozon
🏆 3 wins & 3 nominations
The premise
After a perverted impulse drives them to kill, Alice and her boyfriend, Luc, drag the body into the woods, only to find themselves hopelessly lost – much like the fairy-tale plight of Hansel and Gretel. Starving and with no hope of being found, they chance upon a dilapidated cottage where a hulking man takes them prisoner and proceeds to feed Luc's sexual appetite.
Horror Vault's take
A reckless act of violence sends a young French couple fleeing into a forest where escape proves impossible and danger takes an entirely unexpected form. Director François Ozon weaves a dark fairy-tale atmosphere reminiscent of Hansel and Gretel as the two fugitives stumble into something far more sinister than the crime they left behind. The film blurs the line between predator and prey, desire and dread, as the power dynamic between the two leads slowly corrodes. Ozon's unflinching arthouse sensibility makes this a deeply unsettling study in complicity and consequence.
Content: Sexual Violence, Male Rape, Graphic Sexual Content, Murder, Captivity And Coercion, Disturbing Power Dynamics
Where to stream
Cast
Natacha Régnier
Alice
Jérémie Renier
Luc
Predrag 'Miki' Manojlović
Man of the Forest
Salim Kéchiouche
Saïd
Yasmine Belmadi
Karim
Bernard Maume
The Professor
Jean-Louis Debard
The Night Guard
Catherine Vierne
The Jewel Saleswoman
Marielle Coubaillon
The Market's Hostess
Olivier Papot
The Police Officer
Gil Demurger
The GIGN
Agnès Accaria
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