Maléfique (2002) - Goof-fest - 3/10 (30/11/11)

I really don't have any clue why this feature got so many positive reviews and is even considered as a cult movie by some. There are many great fantasy and horror movies coming from such as "Vertige", "Proie", "Vidocq" and many more but this movie simply can't catch up with these movies.

The movie kicks off quite slow and introduces some more or less interesting characters that share a cell in an ugly French prison. First of all, it is quite exaggerated to show this kind of prison as the French prisons are surely not used to be this disgusting. That's where we have the first little goof.

Four prisoners share this cell. The businessman Carrère that got in prison because of a fraud. He is played by Gérald Larouche who simply gives a bad interpretation of the character that seems quite faceless and stupid. He wants to break free from prison to pick up his son from his wife that is asking for a divorce. This idea is just stupid as everybody knows that he would never be able to see his son again if he breaks out from prison and break into the house of his wife. The emotions of the man that suffers from the divorce and the separation from his son are not at all played in a realistic manner and slows down the movie and makes me lose interest from the beginning on.

The second prisoner is the intellectual Lassalle who worked in a library. One morning, he decided to randomly kill his wife. This character is just strange. First, he doesn't want to read the strange book that they find and then suddenly he wants to. He seems to dominate the angry Marcus in the beginning but later gets abused by the same without saying a word. At least, this character portrayed by Philippe Laudenbach is intriguing but he doesn't act in any normal manner.

Prisoner number three is the drag Marcus portrayed by the famous Clovis Cornillac who does a fairly good job here. We don't get to know much about him and his character isn't so well developed. We don't know why he is so attached to the retarded cell inmate Pâquerette or what crime he committed. The character seems interesting but isn't developed as profound as it should have been.

The last prisoner is the retarded Pâquerette portrayed by Dimitri Rataud. This character is well played. He is a retard that ate his own sister. But it's not logical at all that this guy is in a normal prison with three inmates. That doesn't make any sense, especially as Marcus cuts off the fingers of Pâquerette. The reason why he does it isn't quite clear to me, too. Anyway, a fragile character that gets butchered like this can't stay in a prison cell with three other inmates. He would be a danger for himself and the others and would need permanent surveillance. Once again, this is a point where the movie doesn't make much sense.

After so many strange characters that act in very senseless and unusual ways, the thin plot consists of finding an old book behind a brick inside the cell. Once again, this doesn't make any sense. First of all, modern prisons don't have this kind of bricks. Second, these prisons are inspected in detail by guards and other staff and they would have found the book without a doubt. Third, the book was caught in the walls probably eighty years ago and it's quite impossible that the prison didn't get renovated as time went by and the book stayed at the same place all the time. Once again, this doesn't make any sense.

The four characters find out that the book deals with black magic and the instantly believe in this and even if the first tries go horribly wrong, they are sure to be able to escape from prison with some of the formulae written in the book. It's really difficult to believe that the characters are that dumb and superficial.

I don't want to tell a punch but one of the guys dies during one of the first experiments with black magic. Instead of investigating, the prison guards believe the thin story that the guy fell from his bed and died and don't harm the other three prisoners. Seriously, once again, this is a horrible goof and doesn't make any sense at all.

In the end, each prisoner gets butchered and dies a horrible death instead of getting out of prison. There is some senseless violence and gratuitous gore for nothing and the movie ends with a surprising twist but with a rather stupid ending.

In the end, as you can see, there is not much positive or special to be told about this movie. The characters are mostly bad, the story is not credible and quite stupid and the movie has many goofs. I give a few points for Cornillac and Rataud, a few good special effects and the interesting apparition of the mysterious character Hippolyte Picus in the last third of the movie.

On the other side, don't believe the positive hype around this movie. It's true that there are many amazing French horror and fantasy movies but this one is one of the worst I have seen in my life. Don't buy this flick and don't even rent it even if the description of the story seems intriguing. Go for "Le Pacte Des Loups", "Eden Log", "Proie" or any other French horror or fantasy movie of your choice instead.