New French Extremity (1990-2010)
by KILLMANKIND | created - 9 months ago | updated - 9 months ago | PublicNew French Extremity is a label coined by James Quandt to describe French cinema from the turn of the 21st century. Borrowing heavily from a tradition of Exploitation, with explicit violence and sex, critics like Quandt saw the label as pejorative, while others have hailed the free spirit of the movement, and its ability to touch on taboo subjects.
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Carne (1991)
40 min | Short, Crime, Drama
After a dreadful incident coupled with an ungovernable paroxysm of violence, a butcher will fall into a downward spiral that will burn to the ground whatever dignity still remained in him.
Director: Gaspar Noé | Stars: Philippe Nahon, Blandine Lenoir, Frankie Pain, Marie Berto
Votes: 7,843
2. Hard (1998)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
When a series of brutal killings of young male hustlers awakens the police to the threat of a serial killer, rookie detective Raymond Fates (Noel Palomaria) and his seasoned partner ... See full summary »
Director: John Huckert | Stars: Noel Palomaria, Malcolm Moorman, Charles Lanyer, Michael Waite
Votes: 535 | Gross: $0.26M
3. I Stand Alone (1998)
Not Rated | 93 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A horse butcher's life and mind begin to break down as he lashes out against various factions of society while attempting to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
Director: Gaspar Noé | Stars: Philippe Nahon, Blandine Lenoir, Frankie Pain, Martine Audrain
Votes: 25,810 | Gross: $0.05M
4. Sombre (1998)
Not Rated | 112 min | Drama, Horror
A sexually frustrated serial killer takes a liking to a woman he comes across.
Director: Philippe Grandrieux | Stars: Marc Barbé, Elina Löwensohn, Géraldine Voillat, Coralie Trinh Thi
Votes: 1,887
5. Quand on est amoureux, c'est merveilleux (1999)
23 min | Short, Horror
Mlle Lara has trouble with men so for her birthday she plans something special in pursuit of a wonderful love.
Director: Fabrice du Welz | Stars: Édith Le Merdy, Philippe Résimont, Jean-Luc Couchard, Jackie Berroyer
Votes: 260
6. Don't Let Me Die on a Sunday (1998)
Not Rated | 86 min | Drama
Ben works in a morgue. Ben's wife left him and he is into various kinds of alternative sexuality. Teresa dies of an ecstasy overdose on the dance floor. When she is brought to the morgue, ... See full summary »
Director: Didier Le Pêcheur | Stars: Élodie Bouchez, Jean-Marc Barr, Martin Petit-Guyot, Patrick Catalifo
Votes: 552 | Gross: $0.00M
7. Romance (1999)
R | 84 min | Drama, Romance
Frustrated by the lack of intimacy in her relationship, a young schoolteacher goes through a series of intimidating and often violent sexual partners.
Director: Catherine Breillat | Stars: Caroline Ducey, Sagamore Stévenin, François Berléand, Rocco Siffredi
Votes: 12,022 | Gross: $1.28M
8. Pola X (1999)
Not Rated | 134 min | Drama, Romance
A young writer becomes intrigued with a mysterious dark-haired woman who claims to be his long-lost sister, starting an unusual relationship with her and prompting a downward spiral involving his domineering mother and lovely fiancée.
Director: Leos Carax | Stars: Guillaume Depardieu, Yekaterina Golubeva, Catherine Deneuve, Delphine Chuillot
Votes: 5,280 | Gross: $0.17M
9. Criminal Lovers (1999)
TV-MA | 96 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
Modern retelling of Hansel and Gretel. After committing a murder, a young couple on the run find refuge in a remote cottage in the woods, where they become trapped by the perverse hermit who lives there.
Director: François Ozon | Stars: Natacha Régnier, Jérémie Renier, Predrag 'Miki' Manojlovic, Salim Kechiouche
Votes: 4,488 | Gross: $0.05M
10. Trouble Every Day (2001)
Not Rated | 101 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Two American newlyweds in Paris experience a love so strong, it almost devours them.
Director: Claire Denis | Stars: Vincent Gallo, Tricia Vessey, Béatrice Dalle, Alex Descas
Votes: 9,308 | Gross: $0.01M
11. The Pornographer (2001)
Unrated | 108 min | Drama
Jacques Laurent made pornographic films in the 1970s and '80s, but had put that aside for 20 years. His artistic ideas, born of the '60s counter-culture, had elevated the entire genre.
Director: Bertrand Bonello | Stars: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Jérémie Renier, Dominique Blanc, Catherine Mouchet
Votes: 2,636
12. Demonlover (2002)
R | 129 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A French corporation goes head-to-head with an American web media company for the rights to a 3-D manga pornography studio, resulting in a power struggle that culminates in violence and espionage.
Director: Olivier Assayas | Stars: Connie Nielsen, Gina Gershon, Chloë Sevigny, Charles Berling
Votes: 6,415 | Gross: $0.23M
13. Irreversible (2002)
Not Rated | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Events over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in an underpass tunnel.
Director: Gaspar Noé | Stars: Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel, Philippe Nahon
Votes: 147,707 | Gross: $0.75M
14. A New Life (2002)
102 min | Drama, Horror
The story involves a young American who falls obsessively in love with a mysterious courtesan named Melania against the backdrop of a dilapidated Eastern European landscape.
Director: Philippe Grandrieux | Stars: Zachary Knighton, Anna Mouglalis, Marc Barbé, Zsolt Nagy
Votes: 1,139
15. Glowing Eyes (2002)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama
In a Parisian porn theater, a cashier, a 50-year-old man and a young projectionist are drawn into a complex love affair.
Director: Jacques Nolot | Stars: Vittoria Scognamiglio, Jacques Nolot, Sébastien Viala, Olivier Torres
Votes: 903 | Gross: $0.00M
16. In My Skin (2002)
Unrated | 93 min | Drama, Horror
A woman grows increasingly fascinated with her body after suffering a disfiguring accident.
Director: Marina de Van | Stars: Marina de Van, Laurent Lucas, Léa Drucker, Thibault de Montalembert
Votes: 5,729 | Gross: $0.03M
17. High Tension (2003)
R | 91 min | Horror
Best friends Marie and Alexia decide to spend a quiet weekend at Alexia's parents' secluded farmhouse. But on the night of their arrival, the girls' idyllic getaway turns into an endless night of horror.
Director: Alexandre Aja | Stars: Cécile de France, Maïwenn, Philippe Nahon, Franck Khalfoun
Votes: 77,877 | Gross: $3.68M
18. Anatomy of Hell (2004)
Unrated | 77 min | Drama
A woman employs a gay man to spend four nights at her house to watch her when she's "unwatchable".
Director: Catherine Breillat | Stars: Amira Casar, Rocco Siffredi, Alexandre Belin, Manuel Taglang
Votes: 6,149
19. Calvaire (2004)
Not Rated | 88 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Marc, a traveling entertainer, is on his way home for Christmas when his van breaks down in the middle of a jerkwater town with some strange inhabitants.
Director: Fabrice du Welz | Stars: Laurent Lucas, Brigitte Lahaie, Gigi Coursigny, Jean-Luc Couchard
Votes: 13,794 | Gross: $0.00M
20. Ma mère (2004)
NC-17 | 110 min | Drama, Romance
When his father dies, a young man is introduced by his attractive, amoral mother to a world of hedonism and depravity.
Director: Christophe Honoré | Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Louis Garrel, Emma de Caunes, Joana Preiss
Votes: 7,607 | Gross: $0.07M
21. Process (I) (2004)
93 min | Drama
An actress makes several suicide attempts. Through flashbacks the trials and hardships that drove her to this point are revealed.
Director: C.S. Leigh | Stars: Béatrice Dalle, Guillaume Depardieu, Julia Faure, Daniel Duval
Votes: 154
22. We Fuck Alone (2006)
23 min | Short
Riffing off the title of his first feature ('I Stand Alone') - an eloquent cinematic narrative about despair, loneliness and one man's abandonment to pathologies of societal decay - 'We ... See full summary »
Stars: Shirin Barthel, Richard Blondel, Manuel Ferrara, Celine Tran
Votes: 94
23. Satan (2006)
Not Rated | 95 min | Comedy, Horror, Thriller
A group of youngsters go out to a disco on Christmas Eve and accidentally run into a shepherd who has prepared himself for a night of pure insanity.
Director: Kim Chapiron | Stars: Vincent Cassel, Olivier Barthélémy, Roxane Mesquida, Nicolas Le Phat Tan
Votes: 9,536
24. Inside (2007)
R | 82 min | Horror
Four months after the death of her husband, a woman on the brink of motherhood is tormented in her home by a strange woman who wants her unborn baby.
Directors: Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury | Stars: Alysson Paradis, Jean-Baptiste Tabourin, Claude Lulé, Dominique Frot
Votes: 44,714
25. Frontier(s) (2007)
Unrated | 108 min | Horror
A gang of young thieves flee Paris during the violent aftermath of a political election, only to hole up at an Inn run by neo-Nazis.
Director: Xavier Gens | Stars: Karina Testa, Aurélien Wiik, Patrick Ligardes, Samuel Le Bihan
Votes: 28,805
26. Martyrs (2008)
R | 99 min | Horror
A young woman's quest for revenge against the people who kidnapped and tormented her as a child leads her and a friend, who is also a victim of child abuse, on a terrifying journey into a living hell of depravity.
Director: Pascal Laugier | Stars: Morjana Alaoui, Mylène Jampanoï, Catherine Bégin, Robert Toupin
Votes: 106,482
27. The Horde (2009)
Not Rated | 90 min | Action, Horror
An end of the world battle between gangsters, cops and zombies.
Directors: Yannick Dahan, Benjamin Rocher | Stars: Claude Perron, Jean-Pierre Martins, Eriq Ebouaney, Aurélien Recoing
Votes: 16,393
28. 7 Days (2010)
Not Rated | 105 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A doctor seeks revenge by kidnapping, torturing and killing the man who raped and murdered his young daughter.
Director: Daniel Grou | Stars: Claude Legault, Rémy Girard, Martin Dubreuil, Fanny Mallette
Votes: 8,646
29. Captifs (2010)
Not Rated | 84 min | Horror, Thriller
A group of medical aid workers in Kosovo are kidnapped by a Serbian gang of organ traffickers.
Director: Yann Gozlan | Stars: Zoé Félix, Eric Savin, Arié Elmaleh, Ivan Franek
Votes: 2,369
Tell Your Friends