Before everyone gets too wrapped up in Romero Mania tonight, some words on Midnight Madness Round Two last night with Xavier Gens' Frontiere(s).

Gens himself was there to introduce the film and answer questions afterwards and it's fresh to see a filmmaker so happy with what he's done and eager to get people seeing his film.  Last night was the first time an audience saw the film and the reaction was incredible.

I got a chance to talk with Gens beforehand as the audience was streaming in and he was borderline giddy to get things underway.  Introducing the film he was appreciative and hopeful for what the audience was about to see and only minutes into the film, everyone understood they were in for something unique.

The film starts off torrid and hardly relents for the almost two hours as a clan of Neo-Nazis systematically terrorize and pick off the four members of the principle cast before a showdown with the final victim.

There's some intense violence and severe discomfort throughout the film so everyone from claustrophobics to the blood-squeamish can consider themselves warned.  It also marked the second film in a row from this year's Madness to feature a severed Achilles tendon (or two... what is this Colin?  A fetish?).

What we can say from this film and the buzz building around A L'Interieur is that French horror is taking off in a big way.  A lot of the people behind the scenes on these films know each other, work together and are friends and it shows in the high quality of the finished cut of each film.

Frontiere(s) especially marks a shift towards political commentary.  The whole scenario plays out as reaction to the election of an extremist right-wing government.  Early in the film there's actually a script line that tells it all, as a character quips: "Great, now we've got our George Bush".

When asked during the Q&A if the film was a direct reaction to Nicolas Sarkozy's recent ascent to the French Presidency, Gens commented that the film was actually a reaction to the re-election of Jacques Chirac in 2002 and the direction his country has taken since. 

While certainly not the easiest film to watch, Frontiere(s) has enough action and deep enough layers to make it more than a politically charged take on Hostel.  There's much more to this film, and anyone with an interest in revenge flicks, French politics, the new face of horror, or simply in well-crafted cinema would be a fool to give this stellar film a pass.

More pics and video to follow.