The debut by director Thibault Emin is going to fascinate many viewers for sure. The viewers who watch it will feel that the film grows on you. It is so thoughtful that it will feel like the film has been buried in one’s skin. A film that is shot in an apartment only, with the outside world collapsing into one from a virus, Else is a film that takes its viewers on a journey of both awe and horror. As people see later in the picture what this awful virus is doing, it is confusingly something hauntingly beautiful. The virus consumes everything and everyone into one collective entity. The more the film progresses, the more stunning visuals appraise the audience.
Being one with the other sounds like both- a romantic endeavour and a frightening nightmare, too. Romantic in the sense that it is, for a short time, a Nightmare if it is a permanent transition. In this debut film by director Thibault Emin, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, director Emin teases its viewers about the possibilities of a rom-com. Still, soon, the film takes over the horrifying details of the latter option.
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Plot of Else
The film deals with two individuals. Anx, the first protagonist of the film, is an anxious man. His room is decorated like a child’s, and as the film progresses, we see that he struggles to bond with other adults on an intimate level. He is an introvert who doesn’t know his neighbour’s name too. That is why, later in the film, Anx is surprised when he is drawn to his one-night-stand Cass, the other protagonist. She is quite the opposite of him in everything. She is stupid, and he is careful. She is bold, and he is afraid.
The story revolves around these two individuals with a spreading virus outside in the surroundings that touches anything or anyone, making it into one collective thing. This film- Else, takes viewers on a journey of horror and beauty with its stunningly weird visuals later in the movie.
Review of the horror-beauty mix- Else
Else introduces the two individuals, Anx and Cass, in an intimate scene. In the initial scene, both the actors are lying on top of each other naked, struggling while having sex. With this scene, the film seems to take us on a romantic-comedy element with the staging set in Anx’s congested apartment. When the audiences think that the film is in a romantic setting, director Emin highlights with a scene that something is wrong. The screen shifts to a series of images showing cute photos of Anx and Cass meeting at a party the night before, but soon a picture catches Anx’s concern. The picture is neither of them but of a man holding popcorn in one hand and having some allergic reaction in his other hand. It can also be called Welts.
The arrival of the Epidemic
Anx is also worried after seeing that photo, which is quite right because soon, the news spread that an odd skin illness is running out of control in the region. People are melding with everything around them; their phones, bags, the pavements, and even the rocks are all fusing into one. Now, the only option left for Anx is to lock up his apartment, avoid everyone and avoid going out. Cass is already in his apartment and seems somewhat excited to spend this lockdown situation with her new beau.
Soon, Else progresses to show us how they deal together in an apartment within such close proximity, but they cannot do much about it because they are worried about the outside virus force. That is when this romantic comedy turns into a horrific turn when Alx and Cass need to defend themselves against whatever it is outside their apartment. A virus or a being telling them, most probably, that it is worthless to fight with it.
The Stunningly ridiculous visuals in Else
The film jumps from a romantic comedy to horrifying visuals(which can also be termed lo-fi-science-fiction); the main credit here goes to the cinematographer Léo Lefèvre, who shines through the film visuals. The latter half of the film revolves around Anx and Cass avoiding looking outside whatever that giant virus or whatever was doing outside. But when the screen shows us the weird horror scenes of that virus engulfing everything into one, Lefèvre’s camera finds ways to make it less scary and ridiculous for the audience. The cinematographer’s classic black-and-white imagery, even in those ridiculous horror scenes, depicts an odd beauty.
Looking at each other differently?
Director Emin’s Debut project has a deeper perspective. Anx and Cass, throughout the film, fear melding into whatever is around them because of that virus. The film’s visuals also keep reminding viewers of the surrounding’s plasticity. Objects, landscapes, and anything else that can be merged into that virus are shown in an alienating gaze. Else is a film about looking at each other differently than we all do daily. It teaches us to do the same, too.
Final Words
The story of Else feels like a fresh perspective to the horror genre. The film is made by cinematographer Léo Lefèvre’s labour of horrifying pictures made into stunning visuals that are a treat to the eyes. The film was co-written by director Emin, Alice Butaud, and Emma Sandona. Else has a solid and fresh story, but its ending is a little thin around the edges. However, with strong performances from the cast, a unique and fresh perspective and some moments that terrify and mesmerise its audiences, the film stands out as a recommended watch for everyone.
