I experienced this film at the Belgian Festival of Fantasy & Horror Films where Robin Aubert came to introduce his project in person, and let me tell you this guy approaches the art of film-making with the exact right attitude! Despite his debut film being an ambitious, unusually complex and rather dared piece of work, Aubert puts his whole achievement into perspective when he talks about it and he even uses humor and cynicism to enlighten the audience about his motivations and background. I really appreciate those qualities in a director. There's nothing more embarrassing than a young and over-enthusiast director who compares his own work with the repertoires of genius other directors and than fails to live up to the expectations. Robin Aubert is actually entitled to a little more vanity, as his script for "Saints-Martyrs-des-Damnés" is an impressive combination of spooky subject matter, creative plotting and powerful surrealism! Although slightly flawed and occasionally showing gaps in continuity, this is fascinating story with bright new ideas and some genuine suspense. Aubert takes us on a trip to rural Canada where supernatural events occur in the little titular village. People are regularly reported missing there and two journalists of an insignificant newspaper are sent to investigate. One of them immediately vanishes too, whereas the other Flavien Juste quickly discovers there's a strange connection between the town and his own childhood. Every inhabitant of this town hides his/her share of secrets and the only persons willing to help Flavien appear to ghostly reincarnations of dead people.
"Saints-Martyrs-des-Damnés" indisputably reminds you of the work of David Lynch, more particularly "Twin Peaks", but the comparisons don't simply stop there, as I frequently had flashbacks and recollections of the work of Alejandro Jodorowsky and Samuel Fuller! There are worse names in the field of cinema to get compared with; especially bearing in mind this only is Robin Aubert's FIRST film! Our director patiently takes the time to introduce us to every twisted soul who's dwelling around the village; like we're on some sort of guided tour, and it's up to you to determine which sub plots are essential to the basic story and which ones are red herrings. The film does get a little too confusing at times, yet you never really have the impression that Aubert himself has lost his grip on the material. Most of all, this is a stunningly beautiful film to look at and to listen to! The camera swiftly moves over the ominous Canadian countryside and bizarrely compelling music only emphasizes the supernatural ambiance. The actual amount of explicit shocks or jumpy moments is limited, but they're definitely there, most notably during the nightly sequence at the old junkyard where Flavien experiences one of his first supernatural encounters. The acting performances are more than adequate, mostly because all the supportive cast members were allowed to drivel in their own incomprehensible Canadian dialect, and even the young child puts down a convincing role. This isn't exactly the kind of film you want to see after an exhausting day at work or with a bunch of friends on a Saturday evening, but it certainly is a strong statement claiming that cult-cinema is not dead & buried yet.
