ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

redrobin62-321-207311 At first I was going to give this film a 6, then opted for a 7 because I was comparing too much to New French Extremism like 'Irreversible' or 'Inside.' This film does, however, belong in the 'Sick & Twisted' category even though it's not as over-the-top as some movies can be.It's a sad and very simple story, told with a few things you won't see in American films - hicks dancing without women in a bar, pig fornication, a man who everyone takes for a long lost woman even though he's clearly a man, and a horny grandma. What more can you ask for? All the actors were outstanding. Their faces were full of so much pain that you could feel it, especially since the place where they live is bleak as hell. I don't think in such a depressed area I would survive too long. Hell, maybe I, too, would resort to pig fornication just to stay alive because, well, it is something to do, albeit gross.The main character, Marc Jacobs, unfortunately, was emotionally weak. He cried so much I was hoping the villagers would kill him soon and put us out of our misery. In that regard he really was like one of those continually screaming, annoying cheerleaders being terrorized by a madman.I was eager to view this film because its name pops up in quite a lot of lists regarding brutal and uncompromising films. It did deliver, though not in spades. But leave it to the French to come up with a movie like this. It was good because it helped pave the way for extremely brutal movies like 'Dogtooth', 'Antichrist' and 'United Red Army'. Yeah, it's worth watching.

the-world-is It is simple, no story, no plot, bad photography, bad acting. To sum it up it is French cold and simple...It gives the genre a bad name, it is that bad. So bad it isn't even funny.Sex with animals, a bit of butt f*cking...do they really believe that that would make an impression of some kind? Man oh man, this one is done bad.The only good bit is the box office revenue. Go and look that up, you will laugh!I'm not a fan of the french movie industry, in general I think it lacks compassion and respect for the audience. The love for France is wasted on me.

Leofwine_draca CALVAIRE, aka THE ORDEAL, is a French film whose sole emphasis is on the brutal treatment suffered by the protagonist at the hands of various countryside-dwelling oddballs, the French equivalent of rednecks. It's a story of oppression and degradation that just so happens to be one of the most unpleasant films I've seen in a long time; not because it's particularly graphic, because it isn't, but because it just dwells on miserable, unpleasant characters doing even more miserable things.Be warned, this is a film that sets out to shock, and gets away with it by hiding under an 'arthouse' tag. Bestiality and male rape play a strong part, along with the exploitation of mental illness and the total subjugation of the human spirit. There are touches of mystery and intrigue in the first half, but the plot less second half piles on the misery and becomes gruelling for all the wrong reasons. There is no ending.The two most interesting things about CALVAIRE are a cameo role for French scream queen Brigitte Lahaie (starlet of many a Jean Rollin film, back in the day) and a surreal sequence in which bar patrons dance to a piece of appalling piano music. Other than that, it's a total dud.

suspiria56 Calvaire is one of the leading horror films of the last 15 years, which have exploded (much in the way J-horror did mid-90s) into the minds of horror buffs all over the world. Not only is Calvaire a strange, unnerving, and often amusing experience, it is also of great interest to those well versed in the horror genre.French acting talent doesn't come much better than Laurant Lucas at the moment, and he convincingly gets lost in his characters journey. Phillipe Nahon's presence is always felt, despite limited screen time. Throw in Brigitte Lahaie, references to Deliverance, The Wicker Man, Don;t Look Now, Polanski, outstanding cinematography (Benoit Debie), and of course The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (which this film closely resembles), and Calvaire can be seen as one of finest examples of modern horror available.Enjoy your descent into hell.