Julia Ducournau is a gift to the horror scene.
In 2016, Ducournau presented her theatric debut with Raw, and it was incredible. The acting, the atmosphere, the gore, and the writing were an excellent addition to the body-horror genre, making her the freshest face since David Cronenberg. In my opinion, she’s up there with Jordan Peele, Jennifer Kent, Robert Eggers, Mike Flanagan, and Ari Aster, among the great modern horror directors to follow right now. So, of course, I was heavily anticipating her next film, Titane. The film took my breath away from its sheer audacity, daring, and emotional complexity. I always found body horror to be a fascinating, visceral, and powerful way to tackle deeply rooted personal anxieties because it can bring to the surface the ugliness and stress within the human mind. It can visually reflect these feelings without needing to outright tell us. Julia Ducournau took body horror to the next level with her creativity, finding new ways to make audiences squirm while exploring human relationships and trauma.
Titane follows Alexia (Agathe Rousselle), a dancer and serial killer who gets pregnant after having sex with a car. On the run from the law, she hides out in the home of Vincent (Vincent Lindon), a firefighter, by impersonating his long-lost son. As you can see, the plot is kind of insane. There are moments, especially in the first half and murder scenes, where Ducournau is having fun indulging in her creative madness. The violence is visceral, aggressive, and at times completely out of nowhere. Agathe Rousselle brings real fire and brutality in these scenes, coming off legitimately frightening. Ducournau’s direction elevates these scenes with her pulse-pounding cinematography and squishing, snapping, and scraping sound design. The gore effects are excellent. Rather than go for a cartoonish scale of gore, Ducournau instead opts for more realistic bodily injuries. The pain becomes more relatable, so it hits harder.
Once Alexia confronts Vincent, the rapid pace slows down, but the tension doesn’t let up. It’s heightened. I had no idea what was going to happen or how far this dynamic was going to go. It was exhilarating. Then, something strange happened. The film got surprisingly touching. A big reason is Vincent Lindon’s performance as Vincent. You see how losing his son made him so lonely and broken. Despite how strange Alexia looks, you can buy that he’s so desperate for human connection that he’d talk himself to accepting her as his son. It’s heartwarming to see how they both grow through each other. Their relationship is unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and it’s fascinating to watch and explore in all its vulnerable detail. However, even when the film feels warm, that tension is always there in the back of your mind. Anything can happen; anyone could snap. It’s a marvelous experience.
Titane is a brilliantly demented warped beast of a film not for the faint of heart, but frankly, they should see it anyway. Julia Ducournau dives into the depths of loneliness and grief to deliver an emotionally raw masterpiece. The performances and the production are all masterly and shows how far the body horror genre can go exploring unique relationships and heartache. Just go watch the film; Julia Ducournau speaks for herself.
Titane is being released through NEON and is now playing theatrically.