User reviews

"Simon Killer" may the toughest film I've ever tried to categorize. It's not a horror film, it's not a thriller, it's not a romance, and it's not a drama. And yet, in another way, it *is* all of those. From the very title of the movie to the closing scene, this film defies all common conventions.

"Simon Killer" is the story of Simon, played brilliantly by Brady Corbet, who has just graduated from college and comes to Paris to get over a bad breakup. We never meet Michelle, his ex, but based on Simon's e-mails to her and her reply, it was not a happy breakup, and maybe even worse than that. While there, he meets a drop-dead gorgeous hooker (Mati Diop) and they start a relationship.

I could discuss more of the plot -- and there is definitely more, involving blackmail attempts and other events -- but really, it's irrelevant. The film basically invites us to watch Simon and what he does. And it's engrossing. And the question is, what IS Simon, really. He's not really a pleasant guy. Why is he doing what he's doing? Is he a pathological liar? Or just a confused kid telling small lies in a foreign land. Does he hate women and think they are only for sex? Or is it the opposite, and he gets deeply emotionally involved. "Simon Killer" is fascinating and potentially frustrating as it invites you to watch and yet refuses to give pat answers and instead, seems to raise more questions.

Film, like all art, is subjective, and I found "Simon Killer" absolutely riveting. You may find it disturbing and uncomfortable, but I think it's worth the ride.

"Simon Killer" is an odd, bleak and deeply unsettling film that I simply could not get to grips with. It tells the story of a young American neuroscience graduate, Simon (Brady Corbet). Simon leaves the United States and goes to Paris in an attempt to get over the somewhat traumatic break-up of a five-year relationship with his girlfriend Michelle (a character who does not appear in the film). There is something not quite right about Simon. He is a bit like Patricia Highsmith's well-known anti-hero Tom Ripley: cold, unfeeling, amoral and emotionally unintelligent. He is also a compulsive liar.

Soon after his arrival in the French capital (where he initially stays with a cousin of his - who is, in fact, not really a relation but a friend of the family), Simon goes into a sex club where he pays for sex with one of the resident prostitutes, Victoria (Mati Diop). As a result of that encounter, he develops a relationship with her and later moves into her small flat. Victoria opens up to Simon and tells him intimate details of her past, including the fact that she miscarried some time ago. Simon is less willing to disclose information about himself to Victoria. Indeed, one of the many problems with the film is that the viewer is given little or no hint as to what actually motivates Simon and why he frequently behaves so oddly. Part of that oddness is his attitude to women, whom he seems to view as nothing more than objects of sexual desire. At the same time, he attempts to blackmail some of Victoria's "customers" in order to finance his stay in Paris. He later meets another attractive young woman, whom he had bumped into earlier in his stay, and begins a brief relationship with her. This understandably upsets Victoria. Things move on from there.

"Simon Killer" is a very unpleasant film. It is full of graphic sex scenes, many of which are quite unnecessary in that they add little or nothing to plot or character development. In addition, Simon is a deeply unsympathetic character. It is left to the viewer to decide why he is like he is. There are hints that he has some sort of Oedipus complex or perhaps a personality disorder (or both). What is clear is that he is an extremely selfish and shallow person who lacks any sort of empathy for other people. Much of the plot has the feel of improvisation about it. And it's really not at all clear what the message of the film is. In addition to all that, I was simply not convinced by the relationship between Simon and Victoria, in particular why, of all her many "customers", she would choose him as someone with whom to have a serious relationship. Although the conclusion of the film is well done, much of what precedes it is ponderous and lethargic and, as a result, extremely boring. The soundtrack, however, is one of the best of any film that I have seen. But when all is said and done, "Simon Killer" is an unsatisfactory film that is difficult to recommend. 5/10

Simon Killer is the new Psychological thriller by Antonio Campos, the film follows Simon (played by Bradley Corbet) as he travels in Paris trying to forget about his girlfriend, whom he had just broken up wit, after staying together. One night as he wonders about he comes to a strip club, where he meets the stripper/prostitute Noura. (Played by Mati Diop.) Simon quickly falls in love with Noura and finds it difficult to spend time away from her and becomes jealous of the fact that she has to sleep with other men for her job. So to try and fix the situation he proposes that she should black mail one of the married men that come for her services. She reluctantly accepts, and they start their working on their trap, needless to say things do not go according to plan.

Simon Killer is a very slow film, and sometimes it's pace works and other times it doesn't. Antonio Campos tries to lull you in with a slow hypnotic pace, working mainly through repetition and dream-like passage of time. The film does a good job of bringing you in with its pace, but unfortunately starts to lose its audience around the half way point. The film becomes very tedious with its repetition and we're not quite sure who we're supposed to be rooting for. The characters motivations become muddled and you're not sure what's going on or why. This works for some films, like Caché or The Virgin Suicides, but films like the ones previously mentioned always give the audience enough to peak there interest and make them want to figure out the rest of the film. Simon Killer doesn't ever do this, so most of the film ends up being pretty forgettable.

But I should give credit where credit is due. First of all Bradley Corbet does a great job as the introverted Simon. He is able to create this character that just doesn't feel right, from the second we see him we can tell that something is just wrong. Antonio Campos also has some excellent camera work, for most of the scenes the camera is set almost completely still, and if there is movement it's typically a slow zoom in/out, or a slow pan to the left or right. The effect is something unnerving, and the cinematography in general is very similar to the cinematography in Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation. i.e. creates a sense of paranoia. Overall I'd say Simon Killer had some good ideas, they just need to be more developed. If you're into slow dark psychological films I'd say it's worth checking out.

5.5/10

After leaving his girlfriend behind in America, recent graduated student Simon (Brady Corbet) travels to France in order to chill out and do nothing, and try to meet other people avoiding being alone the best way he can, usually enjoying female companies. First he meets a prostitute (Mati Diop), of whom they get to know a little better and he starts to help her with some problems; later on he gets the attention of another girl and her friend. With all those connections we get the final image that he's always up to make schemes, taking advantage of everyone he meets and trying to make everything favorable to himself. The problem with this Tom Ripley kind of character is that he is unsympathetic to the audience to the point where you really want to punch him instead of understanding his "pain".

The movie? Self indulgence at its best. And worst: part of the audience buys it very easily. There's no greater message, no big and interesting portrayal of how sociopaths act and it's not even a good movie. It threats to be but it never quite reaches the limited potential it has. This time director Antonio Campos imitates "Last Tango in Paris" by using minimal dialog, going from nowhere to nowhere, filled of empty and boring sequences in between with characters we can't find anything worth relating or understanding. And just like Bertolucci's classic there's the sex. The way it was portrayed and filmed, well, those were remarkable, I give you that. Really playful and exciting.

The only thing that impressed me about "Simon Killer" was Brady Corbet, once again involved in a project that proves some provoking challenges for an actor to play with and he's bold enough when the movie is not stranded in its catatonic state. Corbet is in "Mysterious Skin", "Melancholia" and the remake of "Funny Games", so with that list in mind you already know he's up to something really dark or controversial, great materials. Even though writing the story here, and probably creating the best moments for himself (oh yeah those sex scenes and that includes one truly daring moment - best scene, very original but I warn you beforehand that it can be problematic to close minded folks), he's up to no good. This doesn't generate enough interest as a cinematic experience.

And once again, Mr. Campos employed poor technique methods of cinematography and editing to convey its story the way it must be seen - the voyeuristic look of someone who spies someone at a distance and behind a person's back. It should help the movie but it's artistically dull and empty. The photography was better used in here than it was in "Afterschool", this time providing good looking shots of a Paris a little emptier than usual which reflects the main character's unbearable loneliness. He captured a good atmosphere of the place combined with the character souls - dark and cold but always trying to be colorful, close and animated, danger closer than everyone thinks, and in every corner. But he still doesn't know how to edit a movie, doesn't know how to take advantage of cuts instead of just using static images. Inaudible or whispered dialogs tortures us from time to time. And has this guy never heard of captions? To leave Simon lost without understanding what people are saying to him in this foreign country is acceptable but Mr. Campos leaves us as well in the dark and for long periods every time there's a conversation in French. There's talent in there, the problem is that he doesn't know how to use it rightly. He desperately needs to know how to write a story without creating too much artificial things, make it more human instead of transparent experiences.

Spare me from saying that it was an enigmatic or philosophical experience. Rubbish. Campos almost fooled me with "Afterschool" (a good film, not great), but he's not fooling me with this. Tedious and shallow but with two or three good things. 5/10

Within its first 5 minutes I could already sense that I was about to watch a masterful movie. For this is a most brilliant study of, and glimpse into, the life of a sociopath. At times, it is so 'fly on the wall', and so brilliantly acted, that I almost had to remind myself that this was fiction I was witnessing.

It's written and directed by Antonio Campos, who is admittedly not so well known as a screenwriter, having written only one other feature length movie back in 2008; A fact which is moreover, and to my belief, a tragedy for Campos - because he has most certainly proved himself with this movie, to be an exceptional screenwriter. Simon Killer is, in other words, extremely underrated. Nonetheless, as for its direction, production, acting, screenplay and musical score - all come together in an all too rare, & near perfect, unison.

But why is it underrated? Basically, people cannot and just won't 'like' this movie, precisely because sociopaths are nasty people who callously make the lives of everyone they contact, worse for knowing them. Accordingly, watching a movie about such a person, even one that is as interesting and accurate as Simon Killer, is not therefore a fun or enjoyable experience for any typical audience - at least in the sense that 'enjoyable' should bring a smile onto one's face. For this movie won't endear smiles at any point.

Whereas DeNero's studied psychopath, in Taxi Driver, occasionally brought a wry smile to one's face, and was popularly received as a bit of a misunderstood 'anti-hero', Brady Corbet's Simon is not only always engaging as a character study, but he's always, also, all too steely manipulating, and disgustingly self absorbed. Frankly, of the many movies I've seen, I can think of no other movie, before this, which so realistically portrays how a sociopath engages with other people who pass through his life. And, as such, I cannot recommend this movie highly enough, particularly for those of you, who are analytically minded enough, so as to appreciate its utter brilliance. Again, I'm not promising that anyone will, or could possibly 'like' this movie. Rather, I believe a minority of others will deeply appreciate its very excellence.

A recent college graduate (Brady Corbet) flees to Paris after a break-up, where his involvement with a prostitute (Mati Diop) begins to reveal a potentially dark recent past.

Since watching this film last night, it has been gnawing at me, and it keeps growing in my mind as something of a masterpiece. Though, to see it in that way, one must first realize this is not a film concerned with a plot, but rather with the study of one particular character. (Just do not go in thinking you can ever understand him.)

Corbet was evil and gritty in "Funny Games" and may have stepped that up a notch here. The character is more subtle, more of an enigma, but this in many ways makes him creepier: is he a sociopath, a killer? We know he is a liar, and we are left doubting almost any claim he makes about his past. (Corbet's career is already legendary, also having worked with Gregg Araki and Lars von Trier, among others.)

While not directly inspired by Joran van der Sloot (the Aruba man best known to Americans as the likely killer of Natalee Holloway), the creators used him as a "point of reference", and it shows. For a visual look they emulated 1970s cinema, and particularly John Cassavetes' "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" (1976). I think they nailed it.

To fully "get" this movie I would need to watch it again. As I said, it grows. I like it more today than yesterday and feel like a re-exploration of the themes and characters would only add to that. Who is Simon? We may never know.

Simon is a recent college graduate who has recently broken up with a long term girlfriend. He wanders the streets of Paris, brooding over his former partner, Michelle. Along the way, he meets a prostitute, first as a client, and later as a roommate. He comes up with an idea for her to make easy money through blackmail. The problem is that the movie meanders with bad direction and no real conclusion. Simon is a man with no emotion, and, in the end I did not care about him at all, or any other character he encounters on his meaningless travels. I could not wait for film to end, and there is no reason at all to sit through Simon Killer.

Brady Corbet is Simon. Simon has just arrived in Paris, heart-broken over a recent break-up and uncertain about his future. After having sex with a prostitute he manipulates his way into a serious relationship with her. A relationship that involves drugs, blackmail, betrayal and weird sex.

The less you know the better this memorizing masterpiece will be to experience for the first time. This is one sick and brilliant portrait of a sociopath made up of beautiful moving pictures set to an epic soundtrack. Antonio Campos has nailed it.

Perfectly paced to place us in Simon's shoes, Simon Killer is horrifying eye and ear candy. It's slow and somewhat minimalistic but it's because of this that is seems all that more real. Therefore all that more frightening.

The attempt at a slow haunting buildup didn't work out. It is a deeply disturbing, effective, creepy and entertaining journey into the life of a brooding sociopath. Perhaps too graphic and dark for all tastes, but this is a good film.

The problem with this movie is that the lead character is so flawed yet manages to dominate this movie in such a was as to make the movie flatline into what is ultimately suicide for the movie as a whole.

The fault is that Simon is so utterly fallacious as to be unbelievable! He is weak, dull, pathetic, immature, soulless, sexually inadequate, aggressive, violent, cowardly, fragile, disinterested in the world around him and without any kind of direction whatsoever. There is nothing redeeming at all in this character. As the movie progresses we begin to dislike him more and more, yet we are supposed to believe that a woman is capable of falling in love with this man. Unfortunately this leads to what ultimately is a very boring and lack lustre film. The problem also is that the movie paints Paris as city of sad, lonely, desperate people used and abused as the make their way through city streets, backlit by prostitutes, and violence, and when, we superimpose this fragile character on this mis-en-scene we are left with nothing more than a dull voyage into senility.

Many low budget movies achieve so very much more and with a decent script, characters and direction this movie could have been something really special. Somehow as a USA / French production it just doesn't work, and this is reflected in the lack of any kind of meaningful communication between the lead roles in the movie.

This said, I recommend you watch it because it is a good example of how a movie will never work if the camera hates what it sees. When an idea such as this is done brilliantly we end up with a film like "Alfie", (original version) in which yes, we see a deeply flawed character, dominating the movie, yet the camera loves him and so do we.

I very much enjoyed this movie. It was a bit slow to get off the ground but totally worth the wait. Simon is just a cute young american ...MONSTER? You decide.

This is a very slowly delivered film. It is not much a of a thriller. The main character is very unlikeable. The plot does not keep you guessing. I don't comprehend how this movie has such a high rating. Please save your time if you're looking for a thriller.

"Superficial charm and average intelligence. Untruthfulness and insincerity. Poor judgment and failure to learn from experience." All the attributes of a psychopath are handled brilliantly by Antonio Campos and executed flawlessly by Brady Corbet. This film has been on my mind for a few days as I remember the edgy scenes with actors half off the screen and my wishing I could just nudge the camera a little bit to see what's going on... although it would not have mattered. The story here is powerful and tells a tale of a manipulative and mentally unbalanced character, but that's not really why I liked the film so much. What blew my mind is the visual treatment, the blasts of audio, the unforgiving sex and the feeling I was looking at an accident I could not turn away from. Lots of similarity to the films of Haneke and Dumont but taken to the next level with an uncompromising cellphone video sensitivity.

An extremely strenuous watch made all the more difficult in our current world.

Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy. Thankfully, was able to catch this in the Institute of Contemporary Arts here in London. I was expecting to be disappointed because I had such high hopes after AFTERSCHOOL and was ready to agree with my friends that this would be wanky, but they actually really dug it. Even with all the nudity and visually arresting red-and-blue strobe transitions. Maybe I just have more open-minded friends who just trust my taste in movies, but they really took something out of it and we discussed quite a lot on the way back which was mostly about Simon's psyche.

Simon is a fascinating character. Brady Corbet really commits to an incredibly personal and unsettling persona.

Disturbing, confusing, creepy, trippy holiday from hell. Yes, it's about an American who's just broken up and goes to France to hook up with a prostitute but it's done in the most arty, otherworldly style. It's just so primal from the cinematography (lots of behind person camera tracking shots) down to the score of drones and drums getting you right into the head of Simon. GOOD LORD THE SOUNDTRACK! "It Takes A Muscle To Fall In Love", LCD Soundsystem. I think this one has SPRING BREAKERS beat for this year in terms of foreboding score and licensed synth-pop tracks. But just as you're about to get comfortable, the music is abruptly stopped which fits Simon's character.

The way the camera operates in this very voyeuristic, CCTV robot-like manner (just like in AFTERSCHOOL). It'll have the camera focus on a table with a girl laying down the groceries (bananas and bags of cocaine), then to her movements, characters talking, and eventually resulting in a long shot where you're just been immersed into everything rather than just the dialogue.

It just makes for a very claustrophobic experience, and you can't wait to breath for the next day to come.

Remarkably well constructed film, subtle yet powerful.

Interesting character study of a nauseating sociopath, immersed in his delusional narcissistic fantasies. A well made film, but disturbingly realistic in this portrait of a thoroughly unpleasant character. People like this do exist, of that one can be certain, which is what makes this production more than a bit disturbing.

This is a psychological thriller of sorts . . . no action scenes, just a bit of violence and sex (which is integral to the story). If you're looking for a simplistic, by the numbers action film, this isn't it, it will be too "slow" for you.

On the other hand, if a detailed character study with an unusual set of circumstances from which an engaging story emerges, you might find this well worth the time to watch it.