French Zombie Movie
Vangele Ioannidis
The Night Eats the World (French: La nuit a dvor le monde) is a 2018 French zombie film directed by Dominique Rocher and written by Jrmie Guez, Guillaume Lemans, and Rocher, based on the novel of the same name by Pit Agarman. The film stars Anders Danielsen Lie, Golshifteh Farahani, and Denis Lavant, and follows Sam (Danielsen Lie) in the midst of a zombie apocalypse that suddenly overtakes Paris. The film premiered at the Angers Film Festival [fr] on 13 January 2018, and was theatrically released in France on 7 March 2018.
Sam, a musician living in Paris, visits his ex-girlfriend Fanny to recover music tapes left in her possession. Fanny is holding a party and brushes Sam off multiple times before telling him the tapes are in the office. Sam is accidentally bumped by a partygoer on his way to the tapes. Once there, his nose starts to bleed and he passes out. Sounds of chaos erupt outside the door of the office, but Sam sleeps through it.
The next morning, Sam wakes to find the apartment trashed, with blood stains on the walls and no one inside. He ventures into the stairway and discovers a zombified Fanny and others, who charge at him when he calls her name. Locking himself in her apartment, he witnesses a family escaping from an apartment across the street only to be swarmed and killed by zombies as they attempt to escape in their car. The apartment, which is several stories up, is the only safe location that Sam can find. The zombies have seemingly spread over all of Paris, are very fast moving, and respond in hordes to any sight or sound. They are also completely silent, making almost no noise and never vocalizing.
Unable to leave the apartment, Sam begins cleaning up until a shotgun blast erupts through the floor. Using a pipe to widen the hole, he discovers that one of the residents below has committed suicide, after killing his wife, who he had bound to a chair after she became infected. He retrieves their shotgun and ventures outside, finding the zombies in the stairway gone. He quickly closes the doors to the building to seal himself inside. Sam explores the building's units one by one, finding most of them empty; he cordons off one floor after narrowly avoiding being killed by a group of zombies waiting inside. He finds a zombified elderly man in the building's lift, binds the gate up, and begins conversing one-sidedly with the zombie whose name he learns is Alfred.
Sam successfully raids the building for a large quantity of supplies. He rations these and discovers musical equipment in one room, which he uses to entertain himself. As time passes, Sam becomes increasingly lonely and unhinged. Desperate for company, he attempts to capture a stray cat wandering aimlessly among the undead, but is nearly killed by several zombies. He makes it back to the apartment and sees the cat beside one of the undead, apparently unconcerned; enraged, Sam shoots at the cat. Fearing he was bitten, Sam nearly kills himself a second time when he falls asleep with the shotgun placed beneath his head while waiting to see if he would turn.
As winter approaches, he is forced to contend with a lack of heat, and the water supply to the apartment building stops working. Surviving by collecting rain water and creating a fireplace, Sam's mental state continues to decline. He notices one day that the streets are largely empty. Frustrated, Sam tests how far away the zombies are by loudly playing a drum set and screaming in rhythm. The undead return in hordes and nearly climb onto the apartment's balcony by piling atop one another. An enraged Sam continues to play despite the danger.
That night, Sam hears movement outside his bedroom door and fires the shotgun through it. He hears cries of pain and realizes he shot another person. He attempts emergency medical aid and finds the woman's bag, which has a large amount of rope and a grapnel hook she uses to go from rooftop to rooftop. The next morning, Sam speaks with the woman, Sarah, who explains how she has survived. He retrieves supplies from the lowest apartment and methodically eliminates the remaining zombified occupants. She goes to the roof and tells Sam he will either die or go insane if he does not leave the apartment building. Sam at first brushes her off, but relents. He returns to his room and finds Sarah dead from the gunshot, apparently indicating that his conversations with her after he shot her were just a hallucination. He mourns her loss, eulogizes her, and covers her body. Among her possessions he finds a camera with photos of her family, then later of himself, stood at the rooftop.
Sam decides to leave the apartment, burning the tapes and releasing Alfred, who wanders into his nearby apartment where Sam locks him away. The burning tapes set off a fire alarm; zombies attack the building. They break down the doors and rush inside. Killing several, and hiding in the smoke Sam manages to get to the roof and swings across the street to the next building, where he climbs to the rooftop and stares out into the seemingly endless skyline of Paris. He briefly hears a sound that might indicate the existence of other survivors.
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 87% based on 46 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Night Eats the World finds a few unexplored corners in the crowded zombie genre, with a refreshing emphasis on atmosphere and character development."[2] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average rating of 50 out of 100 based on ten critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[3]
In a world seemingly saturated with zombie-themed entertainment, it takes something truly exceptional to stand out from the horde. Enter The Night Eats The World (La nuit a dvor le monde), a gripping French film that offers a fresh take on the age-old genre. Directed by Dominique Rocher and released in 2018, this hauntingly atmospheric movie takes viewers on a journey through one man's solitary struggle for survival in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse.
While many zombie movies tend to revel in gore and action, The Night Eats The World bucks the trend by placing the spotlight firmly on the internal battles of its protagonist, Sam (Anders Danielsen Lie). As the world crumbles around him, the film invites us to explore the desolation not only of a city overrun by the undead but also of the desolation within the human soul. It's a zombie film that's not about the zombies themselves but rather the impact of their presence on the human psyche. With a unique approach to storytelling and a focus on the psychological toll of isolation, this French horror flick is a hidden gem that deserves a closer look.
At its core, The Night Eats The World is a character-driven story that explores the emotional and psychological impact of isolation in a world overrun by the undead. The film centers around Sam, a musician who finds himself trapped in his ex-girlfriend's apartment in Paris after a night of partying. When he awakens the next morning, he discovers that the city has descended into chaos, with hordes of zombies roaming the streets.
Sam's initial shock and disbelief give way to a grim reality as he realizes the severity of the situation. Alone and with limited resources, he must navigate the eerie, desolate landscape of the city while fending off the occasional zombie threat. The film unfolds almost entirely within the confines of the apartment building, creating a sense of claustrophobia that mirrors Sam's emotional state.
As days turn into weeks and months, Sam's isolation takes a toll on his mental well-being. He documents his experiences through music and art, using these creative outlets as a means of maintaining his sanity. His interactions with the few survivors he encounters are fraught with tension and uncertainty, as the line between friend and foe blurs in a world where trust is a rare commodity.
The Night Eats The World received critical acclaim for its unique approach to the zombie genre and its haunting atmosphere. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film boasts an impressive score of 87% from critics, indicating a positive reception. Critics praised the film's slow-burn storytelling, Anders Danielsen Lie's compelling performance as Sam, and Dominique Rocher's direction, which expertly balances tension and introspection.
Audience reactions were also generally positive, with the film earning a respectable 54% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. While some viewers may have found the deliberate pacing and focus on isolation challenging, many appreciated the film's thoughtful exploration of the human psyche in a post-apocalyptic setting.
As Sam's story unfolds in The Night Eats The World, it heads towards a chilling and deep conclusion. During the most intense moments in the film, Sam's loneliness reaches its peak. With his supplies running low and the constant danger of zombies outside, a feeling of dread and hopelessness settles in.
But here's where the movie's true strength becomes evident. Sam's artistic talents become a symbol of human resilience when faced with tough times. His music and art become his lifeline, a way to hold onto his humanity in a world that's gone haywire.
One fateful night, Sam hears something moving outside his bedroom door. Fearing the worst, he fires his shotgun through the door, only to discover he's shot another person. He rushes to give her first aid and finds a bag with ropes and a grappling hook. This mysterious woman, Sarah (Golshifteh Farahani), shares her survival story with Sam. As the days go by, Sam meticulously clears out the remaining zombies from the lower apartments. But as he interacts with Sarah, something seems off. He discovers her lifeless body, suggesting that the conversations they had after the accidental shooting were mere hallucinations.
In a pivotal moment, Sam decides to leave the safety of his apartment, triggering a horde of zombies to invade the building. Amidst the chaos and smoke, he manages to reach the rooftop, swinging across to another building. From there, he climbs higher, overlooking the vast Parisian skyline. In this eerie silence, he briefly hears a noise that hints at the possibility of other survivors.
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