Criminal Lovers
Les amants criminels
After a perverted impulse drives them to kill, Alice and her boyfriend, Luc, drag the body into the woods, only to find themselves hopelessly lost – much like the fairy-tale plight of Hansel and Gretel. Starving and with no hope of being found, they chance upon a dilapidated cottage where a hulking man takes them prisoner and proceeds to feed Luc's sexual appetite.
Why it matters
A darkly twisted blend of fairy-tale dread and brutal eroticism that lingers like a poisoned kiss.
- Alain Robbe-Grillet’s script injects surreal, unsettling undercurrents into a grim cat-and-mouse game.
- A visceral plunge into taboo desires and power dynamics, echoing folk horror’s warped morality tales.
- Gritty, claustrophobic atmosphere soaked in cold, naturalistic visuals that trap you in the characters’ desperation.
- Not for the faint of heart—or those seeking clear-cut horror—but a transgressive late-90s French shocker with lingering psychological bite.
Director
Cast
Horror DNA
Gore
43
Slow Burn
83
Psychological
57
Supernatural
0
Creature
0
Disturbing
100
Fun Factor
0
Cerebral
85
Survival
83
