The Horror Show
Le Manoir aka The Mansion
by Tony T. Datis
I love finding horror from other countries. It's fascinating to see how different and how alike our fears are. I've seen movies from the UK to Indonesia, from Japan to Italy, and everywhere in between! Tonight, I took a little trip to France with Le Manoir or The Mansion.
Le Manoir is the story of nine friends and a dog that are living it large on New Year's Eve in this beautiful manor house in Belgium. We have all the horror tropes. The loving couple, the “slut”, her obsessed ex-boyfriend, the virgin, the overly masculine girl, the shy nerd girl, the comic relief with an enormous penis, and the super chill drug dude. They all pile into the house. They're told not to go to the second floor because there's no power. The party starts and in no time the drug guy gives the nerd girl a cupcake full of shrooms. That's when things start to pop off.
The nerd girl wanders off in the woods. They were warned that walking in the woods is dangerous because of wild boars and hunters. When they discover her missing, they go to look for her and find the dog has been beheaded. From there they try to escape the manor house. No cell service. The only vehicle has been destroyed. Even when a friend who showed up late arrives, it's just a mess. Death comes for the rest of the guests and one by one they fall. The end is just something else. It is a bit of a surprise. I'm not going to say too much, it's just too enjoyable to spoil. It's also very gross. Ew.
Like I said at the beginning, I love foreign horror. The only French films I'm familiar with are the works of Jean-Pierre Junet or Gaspar Noe. Some of their stuff can be horrific, but it's not really horror. This was an amazing horror comedy. There was goofy slapstick and serious gore. It was so impressive! It makes me want to search out some pure horror from France!
Le Manoir is super fun! It has the feel of an American slasher film with some silly jokes, all wrapped up in a delicious French crepe! It's on Netflix now so don't let the language be a barrier. Check into The Mansion!
Robin Thompson, HMS
The Horror Show Menu.