We’ve been treated to some excellent horror so far this year but here are five more upcoming horror releases for May that I’m excited to see. Are any of these also on your radar?
A young couple witnesses an accident on the highway and is subsequently followed by a demon named the Passenger. This demonic presence won’t stop hounding them until he claims both their lives.
Road trips, especially in remote places, are exciting but can take a turn for the terrifying. This film seems to capitalise on that fear of the unknown and the rational fear of road accidents.
The trailer promises stomach-churning make-up, horrifying road scenes and jump scares galore.
Icebreakers are the worst part of any job but corporate retreats? They’re the icing on the cake.
This film is a dark horror-comedy that follows a group of young employees on a luxury corporate retreat. What begins as a team-building experience quickly descends into chaos as the retreat leader has other, bloody, ideas.
Out of this selection, I would say this is the one I’m least excited for but I’m still intrigued by the trailers.
Most of us have tried a weird diet fad or two but medical student Hana takes it a step further. When she eats human ashes as part of a weight-loss craze, the ghost of the person she’s eaten begins to haunt her.
Recently, I’ve been enjoying media that considers the wellness industry and its various issues. From the trailer, Saccharine looks like it’s going to contain commentary about weight loss initiatives, fads and the rhetoric surrounding them.
From this selection, I’m definitely most excited about this one just because I’ve loved books like Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang and Rouge by Mona Awad that discuss similar topics.
Backrooms is about what happens when a strange doorway opens up in the basement of a furniture showroom. This is an intriguing premise exploring liminality in a space that, to me, is already liminal. I have strong memories of being in furniture showrooms and carpet shops and feeling like I’d been lost to time.
Liminal spaces have become a popular theme in horror media, including Backrooms and Exit 8, a recent release that explores a similar premise.
In Speed Demon, a nun who has lost her faith must perform an exorcism on a possessed passenger before disaster strikes the train. This intersection between horror and religion is one of my favourite themes in film.
Many of my favourites, including The Devils (1971) are older so it’s exciting to see a new release tackle similar themes and issues.
As someone who writes about film, I try to watch examples from as many countries, movements and directors as possible to diversify my viewing. From new releases to the origins of film, I love dabbling in various eras to see what resonates with me and what has influenced the medium. When I was studying film, the French New Wave was one of the most popular units because of films like the ones featured below.
This is a list of five French New Wave films you can watch as a beginner to begin to understand the movement. Of course, you don’t have to start here but I found these films accessible and I still enjoy revisiting them today.
One of my French New Wave favourites. Image Source: The Indiependent
Cléo de 5 à 7 (1962) directed by Agnès Varda was the first film from the French New Wave I watched. It was when I was studying Film and I remember thinking it was the best film I’d ever seen at the time. During the film, we follow Cléo who is awaiting important hospital test results. We see her becoming increasingly tense as she conducts her daily rituals but eventually she escapes to the park for some time on her own.
At the park she meets a man who is leaving for the Algerian Revolution that same evening. Together, they share their anxieties and get to know one another. The Algerian Revolution and the emotions surrounding it is a common theme for many films emanating from the French New Wave. This film especially correlates the precarity of time relating to health and war. It’s ideal for a beginner because it’s ripe with symbolism that can be endlessly analysed by the budding film enthusiast.
Many of the representations of women you can see in French New Wave cinema are through the male gaze. Particularly in films from ‘right bank’ directors, women are not afforded quite as much autonomy as their male counterparts. Agnès Varda, on the other hand, portrays women and their endless complexities wonderfully. This is why I have to say she is probably my favourite of the French New Wave directors.
2. À bout de souffle (1960)
I’d be breathless too if I smoked that many cigarettes. Image Source: Movie Musings
À bout de souffle (1960) or Breathless is probably on every Film Studies curriculum and ‘best ever’ list. It is the film many people think of first when the topic of French New Wave comes up. Although it’s not my favourite on this list, I think it’s an ideal place for beginners to start to situate themselves in the movement.
In the film, we get an intimate look into the relationship between an American woman, Patricia, and French criminal, Michel. Michel is on the run from the law after he impulsively committed a serious crime. However, this doesn’t stop him from taking his time to catch up on Philosophy and love.
The ending to this film is iconic and one I come back to again and again. Jean-Luc Godard was one of the editors of the Cahiers du cinema and he believed directors are the ‘authors’ of film (where the term auteur originates from). As such, his films became, and have remained, highly influential across the globe.
Jules et Jim (1962) is another entry from the French Film Wave catalogue that I watched early in my film journey. As such, I know it’s a tried and true option for beginners. Jules et Jim walked so films like Guadagnino’s Challengers (2024) could run, although in my opinion, the former will always be the better option for weird love triangles.
The film follows two friends, Jules and Jim in their respective relationships with Catherine. Not quite a throuple, there are nonetheless complicated feelings that exist within the trio which ultimately ends in a tragedy.
Complicated relationships are also often featured in French New Wave films and I feel it would be difficult to get much more complicated than the relationships that exist between the three characters in Jules et Jim. If complex character studies are your preference, I would strongly suggest starting here.
4. Les parapluies de Cherbourg (1964)
Inspiration for films like La La Land (2016). Image Source: 150 Word Reviews
Recently, I watched both In the Mood for Love (2000) and Past Lives (2023) and I can only imagine Wong Kar-wai and Celine Song were inspired by Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964).
The film follows Geneviève and Guy as they fall in love and talk about marriage. Before they can tie the knot, Guy is drafted to fight in the Algerian Revolution and while he’s away, Geneviève receives an offer that leads to their separation.
The saturated colours seep across scenes as a feast for the eyes. Simultaneously, we have intense themes of war, love and loss being explored through song. At the beginning, one of Guy’s colleagues says they prefer movies over the opera but with this film, you’re essentially receiving the best of both.
Unlike the four other films on this list, La jetée (1962) is a short film at only twenty-nine minutes. It also strays from the typical slice-of-life tendencies of other French New Wave films.
The film follows a man in a post-apocalyptic Paris that is reeling following World War II. Scientists are trying to find someone who can bear the mental toll of time travel and it seems this man is the candidate they’re looking for.
During his time in the past, he meets a woman. Later, when he realises he is to be executed, he asks the future scientists to return him to this past in hopes he can find her again. It is a complex short that questions temporality, permanence and science.
It’s not necessarily the easiest of this bunch to understand but I would still consider it a film for beginners.
Those are five French New Wave films for beginners. If you’d like to request anymore articles or reviews from this movement, please let me know in the comments.
