MadS review
Shudder’s latest release is a French nightmare presented in one take. Frantic energy and a fresh twist on some classic concepts fuel a fun watch.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers
MadS
Directed by David Moreau
Starring Lewkowski Yovel, Lucille Guillame, Laurie Pavy, Milton Richie and Xiomara Melissa Ahumada Quito
MadS Review
Shudder heads to France for its latest spooky season release. MadS is a properly titled little piece of high energy madness. While it’s not heading towards the most original story…how it gets there is well worth the price of admission. In this case…a subscription to the Shudder streaming service…which was already worth its price. On top of another solid year of original horror releases…The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs was renewed for another season! Ok…I’m not here to sell you Shudder subscriptions. Let’s talk MadS.
Romain (Milton Riche) tries out a new drug before heading out to party. Before he can get there…he comes across an injured woman by the side of the road. She tries to tell him something but is unable to speak. Then things get really weird. The woman kills herself leaving Romain shaken, terrified…and possibly infected with a zombie virus.
The main point of interest in MadS is that its story unfolds in one take. It’s not just a gimmick…the decision adds a ton of energy to the storytelling. It’s a technical marvel at times. The relentlessness provided by a lack of cuts is the point. MadS has the perfect vehicle to match the technique. The story is as non-stop as the filming purports to be.
There are two possible inciting incidents in MadS. Romain (and the other two leads who we will discuss in a moment) are either caught in a zombie apocalypse and the woman he tried to help was patient zero…or they’re having the worst trips ever. Given that the world around them seems to be crumbling as the movie goes on…you’re probably safe to assume the former. It is interesting, however, that the drug subplot is included. Perhaps a rewatch will reveal a more open-ended question than the story seems to give. MadS is certainly worthy of that rewatch.
Romain is our central character when MadS begins. We follow him from his dealer’s house to his fateful drive home and through a party with friends and sometimes lovers Anais (Laurie Pavy) and Julia (Lucille Guillaume). Eventually…Romain hands the perspective off to Anais. She, in turn, passes the baton to Julia for the climax of the story. The continuous take freshens up the lead character…and only increases the pace and insanity.
While everyone in the movie does a fine job with their roles…I want to take a moment to single out Laurie Pavy’s performance as Anais. She is jaw-droppingly great. A panicked performance turns into a manic one. Whether infected by the blood of a zombie virus or losing her mind due to the drug…she commits to the wildness and ups her intensity to match the film’s breathless pace.
The truth is that it doesn’t matter if what’s really happening in MadS is made perfectly clear or not. It also doesn’t matter that the entire package is heading towards something a little more horror standard than you might be expecting. The way in which MadS tells the story is what matters. Everything feels fresh and new. Exciting and thrilling. Noisy and dangerous. The decision to present this story as a one-take feature film pays off in every way. The movie feels loose despite being tightly packaged. It feels wild while writer/director David Moreau is in full control. It’s full of life as death overtakes the world.
What Moreau and company have hit on here is a picture-perfect match between story and storytelling. A way to create memorable moments in the midst of pure adrenaline-fueled madness. It also features a standout performance that carries the middle of the story to new heights. Where it’s heading may not be the most original thing in the world. The way that it gets there is more than enough to make up for that. The pairing of breathless storytelling and a story to match it creates one of the most fun movie watching experiences of the year.
Mads continues Shudder’s 2024 winning streak. I said at the beginning of this review that I wasn’t here to sell Shudder subscriptions. That’s true. But I am here to sell MadS as one of the best examples of how stories are told being as important as the stories that are told themselves.
Scare Value
Energy is the name of the game in MadS. Much of it is achieved through the film’s one-take presentation…but the story itself has plenty to spare. One standout performance dominates the middle of the picture as the movie itself continues to ramp up the craziness. It may end up in familiar places…but it gets there in the most exciting ways possible. A good concept and an even better technical achievement.
4/5
MadS Link
Streaming on Shudder
