White Skin (2004) User Reviews (15)

Solid effort

[rstef1 · 7/10 · 13 May 2006]

I caught this movie on Encore one night when I was bored and had nothing better to watch. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this unassuming little flick. At first I was put off by the dubbing job. The film is in French and the voices that they picked to dub the actors do not match well. It took me a while, but when the plot kicked in, I was able to overlook this small fault. And, boy, did it kick in when the two protagonists, Henri and Thierry, college students and roommates, go to a seedy hotel with two hookers. Henri's hooker, Marquise, turns out to be more than he bargained for when she tries to slit his throat. It's a startling development, for the viewer as well as the boys, and drags you right into the film.

***Major Spoilers Ahead***

The other student, Thierry, falls in love with a redheaded woman, Claire, he sees in the metro. He becomes so obsessed with her that he is unable to concentrate on his schoolwork and ignores his friend. In a bizarre twist, it turns out that Claire is the sister of the homicidal hooker who attacked Henri. Worse still, she has what appears to be cancer. Henri catches Claire in some odd (and fairly disgusting) behavior while staying at their apartment and becomes suspicious of her. Turns out he was right to be suspicious when she and her whole family turn out to be soul sucking Succubi. And you thought you had some bad girlfriends.

I really enjoyed the script's take on the Succubes (the French spelling for Succubus). Unlike the typical presentation of these creatures as sucking the life out of men in a genteel and erotic fashion, these women literally eat their prey to assume the life force. This leads to a grisly and effective scene when Marquise devours Henri in front of a stunned Thierry. All the ladies do a good acting job (despite being hampered by the aforementioned poor dubbing) especially Jessica Malka who plays Marquise. She is by turns sensual and scary. Marc Paquet underplays his role which is realistic and okay, until the very end, when it becomes annoying. And therein lies the weakness of the movie. I found the end to be abrupt and it felt rushed after the pace and stylishness of the rest of the movie. Though it does add some welcome gore, I was hoping for a better denouement. I was disappointed in Thierry's ineffectiveness and general uselessness in the final scenes and questioned his behavior, given what had gone before.

That being said, I still give this a seven out of ten for a fresh, intelligent and literate take on a story that we have seen before in various incarnations, but never quite like this.

Sank my teeth into it

[johno-21 · 7/10 · 2 February 2006]

I saw this back at the 2005 Palm Springs International Film Festival. It was one of the few late night screenings that they show on the weekend so I like going to late night movies and choose to attend this but I really didn't know much beforehand on what it was about. Had I a better idea of it's storyline and plot I probably would have skipped it but I'm glad that I didn't because it was actually a pretty good movie and I got into and went along for the ride. The film's Director/Producer/Writer Daniel Roby was on hand to introduce the film. This is not a big film but it has a good look to it and a modern take on an old storyline that works. Good casting in this movie. I would rate it a 7.5 out of a possible 10 and recommend it but not for everyone.

off the beaten path

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 20 July 2017]

Thierry Richard and his roommate Henri Dieudonné pick up a couple of hookers at a bar. Thierry hears a disturbance from Henri's room and finds him fighting with the girl. She has cut Henri's neck with a knife and jumps out of the window naked into the streets. Thierry falls in love with redhead Claire Lefrançois despite his genetic prejudice. He becomes obsessed which disturbs Henri. It's revealed that she has cancer, her sister Marquise is the one who attacked Henri, and her family consumes the life from their victims.

It's a French-Canadian indie. The anti-redhead rant is interesting. It's a fascinating start with the action in the hotel room. Then it turns into a long tease. It's a bit slow in the middle. This is all slightly different from the normal Hollywood horror genre. It's very much appreciated but it isn't all compelling.

aka White Skin

[JayJay2003 · 20 August 2004]

I've seen this mystery-thriller-drama-horror flick at the FantasyFilmFest. We meet Thierry, who doesn't like red hairy women until Claire comes into his life. He falls in love with her, but (of course) something is wrong. Something is wrong with her family. Thierry's room-mate Henri is watching how Thierry is changing. He tries to warn him, but Thierry doesn't care... LA PEAU BLANCHE is located in Montreal and has some nice shots. This is no "lets take the knife and kill someone"-thing, LPB is more silent and spooky. If you liked GINGER SNAPS 1, this movie could be right at home in front of your TV with chips and beer.

Red scare, white chill

[Quebec_Dragon · 6/10 · 12 October 2009]

La peau blanche, "The White Skin" is adapted from a dark fantastical (not fantasy) novel by Joel Champetier, a Quebecois writer. Two roommates pick up prostitutes in a bar, one of them being a pale skinned redhead and once in their respective rooms, one of the friends gets savagely attacked by the redhead. Months afterwards, the other friend starts becoming strangely fascinated with a red-haired female musician even though he suffers from a long-time phobia of redheads.

This is a low-budget fantastical horror thriller (less than a million dollars) that relies more on story and characters than on special effects to get the viewer involved. I found the story engrossing and well told as the mystery progressively unfolds. The friendship of the roommates was credible and made them likable. I watched it in the original french so cannot comment on the English dubbing but the french dialogues sounded very true and good for modern Quebecois people. If you have stereotypes about Quebec and want to see an accurate and well-shot representation of urban Montreal in winter, rent this film. If there's one thing I found lacking, it was the chemistry between the roommate and the redhead musician. Their relationship is supposed to be not quite right, kinda weird, so it succeeds there but the fascination and "romantic" elements didn't come off strong enough. I would tend to put the blame on the actress playing the redhead musician. Emotionally-wise, especially the expression in her eyes, she was unfortunately lacking even when she wasn't supposed to be cold and distant.

It's a slow build-up after the initial attack but I didn't find it boring in the least. This is a quality dramatic thriller that's more intimate and mysterious than flashy and horrific (although there are a few shocking moments). It shows you don't need a huge budget to make a good genre film provided you have good writing and a talented director. Having read the book previously, I would even say that the adaptation doesn't pale compared to the book and even that the ending of the film is better.

Rating: 6 out of 10

La Peau Blanche aka White Skin

[FiendishDramaturgy · 7/10 · 28 June 2007]

This was somewhat of a surprise. I read the synopsis, so I had an idea, but I didn't expect any quality whatsoever. That was a huge element of the surprise; the performance and story quality. The execution was a bit choppy, and the racial theme was a bit off putting, but all in all, this was very well done.

A grad student discovers his distant, overly-white girlfriend has a few secrets. Secrets her mother will do anything to destroy.

This features some decent performances, a relatively unique story line, and a half-decent score. The dubbing is horrid, but I suppose it's difficult to sync French with English. This is a drama rather than an actioner, and is more suspense with horror elements than outright horror, so remember that if you decide to give this one a viewing.

All in all? This was very well done, considering lack of budget, and carries an innovative story I found entertaining. Perhaps you will, too.

It rates a 6.7/10 from...

the Fiend :.

Kids, say NO to Redheads!

[Coventry · 7/10 · 18 January 2009]

Oh my God, Eric Cartman was right! I remember seeing an episode of "South Park" in which Cartman single-handedly wanted to perform some sort of genocide against red-haired kids because he proclaims them to be pure evil. With just a slight bit of lunatic imagination this low-budgeted but nonetheless artistic Canadian thriller more or less confirm the 'wicked redhead'-concept, as the red hair and titular pale skin are outward characteristics for the so-called "Succubus". These are female demons that use their sexy appearances and steaming libidos to seduce men and then subsequently feed on their flesh during the act of intercourse. For some strange reason, Succubi are regretfully underused in horror films nowadays (back in the rancid 60's and 70's they formed often recurring characters in sleazy European B-flicks) but "White Skin" is a very admirable and innovative new film with a few clever twists. Literature student Thierry has a congenital aversion – almost like a phobia – towards girls with red hair and pale skins. His sentiments even increase when his roommate and best friend Henri gets bitten in the throat by a redhead prostitute during a nightly escapade that nearly causes a racial conflict. Completely unexpected, Thierry then falls head over heels in love with the introvert and extremely pale skinned Claire. She's a strange and mysterious girl but Thierry gladly neglects his school work and social life in favor of her, much to the discontent of Henri. Thierry even guards Claire's hospital bed when she falls victim to a vicious case of skin cancer, but then he gradually discovers she and particularly her family have a much more terrifying condition than cancer. Director/Co-writer Daniel Roby is extremely sparing with clues during the first hour of the film and literally surrounds Claire's character with an aura of mystery and oddly enticing morbidity. The protagonists' vivid encounter with a blood-sucking redhead during the opening sequences somewhat gave an idea of what to expect, but still you keep having the impression they could go anywhere with the story. The pace is rather slow, but admittedly that is better to illustrate the growing bond between the two unusual lovers as well as in order to build up towards an offbeat and relatively shocking climax. "White Skin" isn't a gory movie and probably moves far too slow to impress the fans of recent horror stuff like "Saw IV" and "30 Days of Night", but it's definitely recommended to people with an interest in story –and atmosphere driven thrillers. The fairly unknown Canadian cast does a good job. Lead guy Marc Paquet looks a bit like the older sibling of Daniel Radcliffe and the younger one of Tobey Maguire, but apparently this nerdish type of appearance works splendidly. Marianne Farley, as Claire, and particularly Jessica Malka as her insatiable younger sister Marquise are bewitching in the female leads.

unusual twist

[cdnbatman · 6/10 · 4 December 2006]

I missed the opening 15 minutes so I am not sure if that led to the surprising unusual twist, however it was a quiet plot that was easy to follow.

Although the movie had English subtitles, it was very easy to follow.

Acting was average at best, but the slow moving story had something that seemed to keep my interest long enough for it to get a little interesting.

The storyline itself is nothing new, but the angle in which it was told was quietly different.

Overall, not a masterpiece but a simple movie that is fairly rated between a 6 and 7.

Art-house Cannibalism

[JoeHorror · 5/10 · 15 May 2006]

Though some may present this as a "chips & beer" type film, La Peau Blanche (USA DVD RETITLE: Cannibal) is certainly not the kind of film one might bring to a friend's home.

The film touches on race, heredity, evolution and love. This was an interesting film though it did tend to jump up on a soapbox on occasion which ended up giving the film a 1st draft, film school student feel.

The acting was decent but the dialogue was stiff at times.

This is art-house horror at its best and worst. If you're in the U.S., don't let the retitling and silly DVD cover fool you. Lionsgate loves to play with titles and covers (i.e. Romasanta).

Fans of films like Nekromantik & The Addiction may find this film to their liking.

Enjoyable

[Franchescanado · 8/10 · 26 August 2006]

I don't know why, but I found this movie extremely enjoyable.

I had heard of this movie before, and I saw it on Encore Love on a Saturday night, and I got interested. I started watching, and I found myself being drawn in.

The basic story is about Thierry, a college student, meeting a red-head named Claire, whom he finds he has an odd infatuation with her, despite his dislike of pale women.

Soon, they begin dating, and conflicts arise between Claire and Thierry's roommate, Henri, who was recently attacked by a prostitute (sounds weird, I know). Henri becomes suspicious when Thierry starts acting differently due to his relationship, and Henri starts investigating. Soon, Henri and Thierry discover the truth about the new girlfriend and her family.

The plot is well thought out, and the characters express what the filmmaker wants them to express, whether it's to be likable or the most hated character in the movie. Claire starts out questionably shy, but I then found her to be a nice person, despite her withdrawals at first. Thierry and Henri are both portrayed excellently, as well as Henri's Aunt, who accurately acts as a knowledgeable person in all fields. Marquee, Claire's sister, is also portrayed perfectly, despite her being my least favorite character. She MAKES you hate her, while enticing you at the same time.

The colors are beautiful. The camera catches a wide palette of bright colors in the background, making you look all around. Bright blues are a prominent color, but there are beautiful yellows and reds, too.

Overall, the movie was flat out great. The ending was quaint and nice, the suspense scenes were just that: suspenseful, and the characters were portrayed perfectly. It isn't a movie I plan to go out and buy now, but if I were to see it on the TV again, I'd drop everything and try to watch it.

Highly Recommended.

Extremely Original – A Must-See

[claudio_carvalho · 9/10 · 5 August 2006]

While celebrating his anniversary with his black roommate and friend Henri Dieudonné (Frédéric Pierre) in a bar, Thierry Richard (Marc Paquet) is invited by Henri to a program with two hookers. They go to a motel, and Henri is attacked by his girl, being saved by Thierry. Later, Thierry meets the red-haired musician Claire Lefrançois (Marianne Farley), they have wild sex and he falls in love for her. But she tells him that she has a disease and she breaks with him. When Thierry meets Claire again, he finds how she may be cured.

I loved this Canadian movie. I started watching the DVD without any clue about the genre, and based on the beginning of the story, I thought it was a dramatic romance. However, when the secret of Claire and her family is disclosed, I realized that it is a very well developed low paced horror movie. This genre is my favorite, and I confess that the excellent screenplay of this movie is really an extremely original story. The acting is great, but there is confusion in the concept of succubus, which is basically a female demon that drains energy from men through sexual intercourse with minor variations in the definition. I have never read or heard anything about cannibalism associated to succubus. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Carne Branca" ("White Flesh")

A Nutshell Review: La Peau Blanche aka White Skin

[DICK STEEL · 19 March 2005]

The title of this film doesn't give you a clue as to what it wants to tell. "White Skin" opens with a conversation between two friends, Thierry and Henri (yeah, those of you who know me will know that I am grinning at this - Arsenal's star player is called Thierry Henry, but no, it doesn't make any inference here), they're talking about being coloured (Henri is black, Theirry is white), and touch on racism.

This film doesn't pretend that it's not preaching about this topic, but at times when they talk about it, you can't seem to help but think the filmmakers are trying, though without success, to deliver some kind of message across. Peppered throughout the show are conversations that touch upon skin colour, race, "The Original Man", etc.

But looking at the theatrical poster, one might be fooled into thinking it's an out and out horror film about new vampires. It isn't.

For those who dove head-on into this film, it'll be kinda confusing at first, as the narrative at times doesn't seem to lead anywhere. The first 5 minutes shows the chums engaging with hookers, and all hell breaks loose when Henri is stabbed with a knife by one of the prostitutes. It is also within this 5 minutes that we learn of Thierry's dislike for brunettes (again, not that it is a major plot point or adds to the narrative). However, he finds himself being drawn towards a brunette called Claire in his University, whom he fist laid eyes on when she was busking at the underground metro.

They become bed buddies, and although Thierry wants more than sex in a relationship, Claire seemed to be satisfied with the state of things - kind of a role reversal here. She's hiding something from him, and it's not until the last third of the film that we realize what it is, and it's not cancer as originally thought. Sticking to my concept of reviewing, I shall not dwell into the plot from this point on, as it'll lead to major spoilers.

This show positions itself more as a thriller and not your outright horror show with ugly monsters, musical crescendos, loud bangs at right moments and blood splattering all over. We are left with wondering what the big secret is, but the slow pace of the film makes it quite a stretch in a theatre seat. Many subplots go undeveloped, or gets lagged as a red herring. Things go full circle when the chums get figuratively haunted by the prostitute who stabbed Henri.

This is recommended for one of those lazy weekends when you really got nothing else better to do. So set your expectations right, and don't expect too many memorable scenes from this movie, though it is compensated by a relatively good looking cast.

Enjoyed

[shivajisanyal · 8/10 · 24 December 2019]

Enjoyed to see Jessica Malka being a hot and aggressive and as a cannibal role play.

An interesting and original contemporary horror sleeper on a familiar premise

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 21 April 2009]

Nice guy college student Thierry Richard (a solid and engaging performance by Marc Paquet) meets and immediately falls in love with mysterious, yet bewitching redhead Claire (superbly played by the lovely Marianne Farley). Despite his aversion to redheads, Thierry just can't resist Claire. However, Thierry finds himself in considerable jeopardy when he encounters Claire's oddball mother and sisters, who share a very dark and disturbing family secret. Thierry's loyal, happy-go-lucky best friend and apartment roommate Henri Dieudonne (a marvelously hearty and likable portrayal by Frederic Pierre) tries to save Thiery before it's too late. Director Daniel Roby, who also co-wrote the smart and inspired script with Joel Champetier, grounds the compelling story in a thoroughly believable everyday world which in turn makes the more horrific elements of the plot that much more chilling and upsetting. Moreover, Roby brings an intriguing air of mystery to the picture and nicely maintains a spooky tone throughout (the bleak wintry Canadian locations go a long way to enhance the overall eerie and unsettling mood). Kudos are also in order for the uniformly fine acting by the capable cast: Richard, Farley and Pierre all do sterling work in their roles while Jessica Malka likewise excels as Claire's crazed and vicious bitchy whore sister Marquise. Eric Cayla's bright, crisp cinematography and the funky, rattling score by Rene Dupere and Martin Lord are both up to speed. Best of all, there's even a potent and poignant central message about how far one is willing to go for love and a refreshing absence of any dumb obtrusive humor to diminish the severity of the horror. This movie offers proof positive that you don't need a lot of fancy special effects, excessive gore, or flashy film-making to create a strong and effective fright feature. Well worth checking out.

Friend vs girlfriend

[spectreqc · 8/10 · 30 September 2020]

A good movie for the great directing of Daniel Roby. The main character is sort of useless if just to introduce the secondary ones . From the start one feels there is something strange going on. Reminded me of Cat people with Nastasja Kinski a while back . Too bad no one paid attention, this movie is a sleeper .