Dernière seance (2011)

Directed by: Laurent Achard | 81 minutes | drama | Actors: Pascal Cervo, Charlotte Van Kemmel, Karole Rocher, Austin Morel, Brigitte Sy, Mireille Roussel, Corinne Lamborot, Noël Simsolo, Francine Blasquez, Nicolas Pignon, Charlotte Romuald, Pierre Sénélas, Anne Prost-Cossio, Viviane Koupogbe

Director Laurent Achard has visibly made an effort to make his thriller ‘Dernière séance’ different from the competitors in the genre. However, this only partially succeeds. The film’s 81 minutes is just a bit too short for the point Achard wants to make, though long enough for countless cinematic tricks and Pascal Cervo’s performance as film projectionist Sylvain who has turned out to be a serial killer.

It’s clear from the first few minutes that Sylvain may seem to commit his murders randomly, but there’s a greater reason behind his actions. Through flashbacks a lot of history becomes clear during the story, but that is not real enough to tie all the strings together. ‘Dernière séance’ is, however, an exciting film – because of Pascal Cervo’s intensely nasty characteristic look – and the fact that the cinema where he works and keeps his bizarre collection of severed human ears, only remains open for a few more days.

The choice to have the entire film revolve around Pascal Cervo’s serial killer was clearly the right one. It takes little effort to go along and watch anxiously as he selects his new victims. Without using any frightening effects, Achard sketches a terrifying man, whom no one seems to be able to stop. For cinephiles, there are still beautiful camera movements and good use of reflective glass in doors, so that the tension can rise for a long time, and there is also something to enjoy for the eye.

In the end it is only the time that ‘Dernière séance’ will play tricks, when the story still needs to be closed and there are simply too few minutes to do this in a way that the film deserves. Thus, the film falls short and many of the minutes that director Achard has used to distance himself from the weaker brothers in the thriller genre could perhaps have been better spent on a nice completion of the story. Now ‘Dernière séance’ still stands out too little above its competition.