Vincent Must Die

''Vincent Must Die'' () is a 2023 French- Belgian satirical black comedy thriller film, directed by Stéphan Castang in his feature-length directorial debut.Fabien Lemercier
"Review: Vincent Must Die"
''Cineuropa'', 19 May 2023.

Plot

Vincent is a graphic designer in Lyon who finds that everyone, starting with his coworkers but soon expanding out into the wider community, suddenly wants to kill him for no obvious reason.Damon Wise
"'Vincent Must Die' Review: Beckett Meets 'Shaun Of The Dead' In This Satirical French Horror – Cannes Film Festival"
''Deadline Hollywood'', 19 May 2023. He eventually meets Margaux, a waitress who seems to be the only person not out to kill Vincent. Later when he tries to drive away with her, he hears of a plague on the radio, and sees a pile of cars with people who have gotten out and try to kill each other.

Cast

Release

The film premiered in the Critics' Week program at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.Christian Zilko
"'Vincent Must Die' Review: 'John Wick' Isn't Nearly as Interesting When the Guy's a Schlub"
'' IndieWire'', 26 May 2023. It was also invited at the 28th Busan International Film Festival in 'World Cinema' section and was screened on 7 October 2023.

It was theatrically released in France on 15 November 2023 by Capricci Films.

Reception

Critical response

Damon Wise of ''Deadline Hollywood'' reviewed the film positively, writing that "for all its deadpan humor — an altercation by an open sewer goes exactly the way you think/hope it might — ''Vincent Must Die'' is a really rather thoughtful film about the minefield of microaggressions that await us all. You can read the set-up as a metaphor for office politics, and the rest of it as allegory for the internecine nature of social media, where the mildest of opinions can ruin lives and reputations. Most of all, though, it is a joyfully absurdist tale of everyday alienation writ large. If Samuel Beckett had scripted ''Shaun of the Dead'', it might have looked something like this."

Fabien Lemercier of ''Cineuropa'' wrote that "careering along at top speed and punctuated by fights which are all the more hellish for the fact the individuals involved don't have a liking for fights and they break out in the most unseemly of places (notably a septic tank), Vincent Must Die injects much needed dark humour (flirting with slapstick) into a razor-sharp, pre-apocalyptic societal portrait (based on an incredibly rich script whose underlayers come courtesy of Mathieu Naert). Carried by the formidable talent of its lead actor, and wonderfully enveloped by Manu Dacosse's photography and John Kaced's music, the film sucks the viewer into its many twists and turns, releasing enough in its uncompromising wake to make us reflect upon the state of the modern world. It's a highly promising prototype from an exciting new generation of French filmmakers who cite Carpenter and Romero among their sources of inspiration."

Christian Zilko of '' IndieWire'' was more dismissive, grading the film B− and opining that "Castang and screenwriter Mathieu Naert seem to tease us with the multitude of exciting paths that the film could go down before ultimately choosing the least interesting one. Instead of continuing with the dark comedy or fleshing out the mythology of The Sentinel, they take the darkest route and leave us with something that begins to resemble a generic zombie movie by the end. The natural response to the first few dozen attempts on Vincent's life is righteous indignation at the poor man's mistreatment. But after an hour and a half, it's fair to wonder if the possessed mob is onto something."

Accolades

At the 2023 Fantasia Film Festival, the film received a special mention from the Cheval Noir award jury.Erik Pedersen
"Fantasia Film Festival Awards: 'Red Rooms' Takes Best Feature & Two Others; 'Femme' A Double Winner – Full List"
''Deadline Hollywood'', 30 July 2023.

References

External links

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* {{Rotten Tomatoes

2023 films
2023 directorial debut films
2023 thriller films
2020s French films
2020s French-language films
2020s Belgian films
French thriller films
French black comedy films
French satirical films
French-language Belgian films
Belgian black comedy films
Belgian satirical films
Belgian thriller films
Arte France Cinéma films
Magritte Award winning films