The Ordeal

Calvaire

Inspired by Psycho and Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Fabrice Du Welz crafts a creepy fairy tale of performance and obsession.

  • Director

    Fabrice du Welz

  • With

    Laurent Lucas, Brigitte Lahaie, Gigi Coursigny

  • Belgium-France-Luxembourg 2004. 92min

  • 35mm

  • Certificate

    18

  • English subtitles

An exceptionally creepy Belgian horror, The Ordeal traffics in eeriness over gore. A traveling entertainer (Lucas) becomes stranded in a remote mountain town and is taken in by an affable local, who nurtures a dangerous obsession. Without any women or music, Fabrice du Welz deliberately avoids horror clichés to make something truly strange.