One of the most fascinating cinematic movements over the course of the last two decades has been the emergence of the New French Extremity. Indeed, it’s one of the most inventive and creative areas of modern genre cinema. It’s an area where Gaspar Noé seems completely at home, but it’s films like Martyrs and Frontière(s) which embody its ethos most completely. In All the Gods in the Sky, Quarxx returns to one of its most pervasive themes; body horror.
After a childhood game goes horribly wrong leaving his sister Estelle (Melanie Gaydos) severely disabled, Simon (Jean-Luc Couchard) dedicates his spare time to looking after her. When not scraping a living from working in a factory, that is. Whilst Simon battles his inner demons he’s found a way out. However, his shot at redemption is not down on Earth.
All the Gods in the Sky is a mysterious and surprising mixture of paranoid psychological thriller and obscure body horror. Quarxx expands on his award-winning short A Perfect Blue Sky to produce a fascinating and intriguing slice of innovative and challenging genre cinema. It feels like it should exist as a feature-length film. All the Gods in the Sky excels through its inventiveness, pushing the boundaries of the mind whilst investigating the horrors contained within.
All the Gods in the Sky screens at London Film Festival on 15 & 16 October.
