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Calvaire

Play trailer 1:15 Poster for Calvaire 2004 1h 34m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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47% Tomatometer 32 Reviews 51% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
A stranded singer falls victim to a dangerously unhinged innkeeper who is determined to keep him captive.
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Calvaire

Calvaire

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Critics Consensus

Calvaire (The Ordeal) has a certain amount of grim potential, but loses effectiveness by too often mistaking disturbing gore for genuine horror.

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Critics Reviews

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Wally Hammond Time Out 11/16/2011
[Du Welz's] art-house experimentation and performance-art approach to ensemble acting sacrifices plausibility in favour of increasingly pretentious surreal black comedy. Go to Full Review Philip French Guardian 01/20/2007
The film is nasty and barely competent. Go to Full Review Nick Schager Lessons of Darkness 01/11/2007
C
A glossy rehash that's far less interesting and frightening than the classics upon which it's unimaginatively modeled. Go to Full Review Arthur Goyaz Loud and Clear Reviews 08/07/2024
3.5/5
the movie stands out as an atmospheric piece with important things to say, but it always feels like an allegory rather than something authentic. Go to Full Review Ygraine Hackett-Cantabrana The Geek Show (UK) 07/09/2024
Calvaire is a hauntingly grim portrayal of the dangers that a misogynistic society provides for all genders, and with it’s violence, nihilism, and utter lack of hope, it’s a stalwart of the New French Extremity movement. Go to Full Review Joel Harley Starburst 10/27/2023
4/5
Adjacent to the early noughties’ French extremist movement (see also: Martyrs, Inside, Haute Tension), Fabrice Du Welz’s backwoods horror film is surprisingly lacking its peers’ excessive gore but remains the most troubling of them all. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Logan D Dec 21 A few days before Christmas, a singer is stranded and finds respite at a dilapidated inn near a town. He wonders whom he should trust, the innkeeper or the villages. This is not a film for everyone. I think many give it low ratings not because of the quality but the content. There are many disturbing things in this film that viewers will not be able to swallow. I, of course, loved it. Not because of the presence of grotesque social breakdown but watching the slow descent into madness of the protagonist within the surreal logic of the narrative. It doesn't provide comfort. It's brutal, gritty, and not an allegory. Uneven pacing keeps it from being rated higher. See more bill f @BrokerBill Oct 10 Brutal, gripping, tense, disturbing and very weird. I absolutely loved it! On second viewing some time later, even more so. A superbly crafted film that will leave you dumbfounded. Astonishing piece of cinema. See more Diana S 12/17/2024 Kind of a French take on a '70s backcountry slasher, which while not my favorite kind of horror movie, this is as good as any of them really. It's grotesque and macabre and at times absurd. Ultimately entertaining enough. See more Jerod S @jeroduptown 08/13/2024 It's like a french version of "The Hills Have Eyes" - minus the grotesque facial features. The town this singer gets stuck in has a bunch of inbred dudes. See more colin m 02/27/2022 ("Calvaire" / "The Ordeal" ) I enjoyed it. See more 10/10/2021 Calvaire (The Ordeal). Unsympathetic, strangely perverse and deeply unsettling. Yet beautifully shot, thematically complex and diabolically humorous. How many films have pulled that off? A film that has stuck with me for 15 years and one that probably took as long to fully appreciate. Genuinely dreadful. See more Read all reviews
Calvaire

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Cast & Crew

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Fabrice Du Welz

Director

Laurent Lucas

Marc Stevens

Jackie Berroyer

Bartel

Philippe Nahon

Robert Orton

Jean-Luc Couchard

Boris

Gigi Coursigny

Madame Langhoff

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Calvaire

Calvaire: Re-Mastered Trailer 1 Calvaire: Re-Mastered Trailer 1 1:15 View more videos
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Calvaire

Calvaire (2004) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis A stranded singer falls victim to a dangerously unhinged innkeeper who is determined to keep him captive.
Director
Fabrice Du Welz
Producer
Michaël Gentile, Vincent Tavier, Eddy Géradon-Luyckx
Screenwriter
Fabrice Du Welz, Romain Protat
Distributor
Palm Pictures
Production Co
Backup Films, Studio Canal
Genre
Horror
Original Language
French (France)
Release Date (Theaters)
May 18, 2004, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Feb 24, 2023
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 3, 2023
Box Office (Gross USA)
$2.6K
Runtime
1h 34m
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