MadS

October 16th, 2024

MOVIE: MADS

STARRING: MILTON RICHE, LUCILLE GUILLAUME, LEWKOWSKI YOVEL

DIRECTED BY: DAVID MOREAU

AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 4 STARS (Out of 4)

RATED: R

RUN TIME: 86 MINUTES

It may be frustrating to hear but MadS is a zombie movie about nothing and that’s why it works. Director David Moreau’s film is a one-take style, where the camera starts and keeps going, following from one character to the next and allowing us to see the absolute chaos that ensues in the French countryside. Most zombie stories or outbreaks that turn people mad have an underlying message, about people losing their humanity, or the downfall of civilization. Not here. MadS is about much less but in return so much more. There is a harsh reality to a story that captures the fleeting nature of life, to live in the moment, because at any time things can turn mad.

The story’s main character is Roman (Milton Riche), who we meet in the beginning sampling new drugs from his dealer, with hopes to bring some for his party later. On his ride back, he notices a car pulled onto the side of the road and decides to take a look, which is a bad idea, as a woman jumps into the passenger seat, proceeding to bleed and freak out all over the car. It is right as he arrives home that the person stabs herself in the neck, bleeding all over Roman, making it look like he was a killer, but that’s a minor part, considering some sort of infection has just been spread, and Roman’s day only goes from bad to worse.

As the camera continues to move, there is little time to think or absorb what has been happening to Roman, which works for the direction from Moreau because mindlessness is the point. Through the terrifying freakouts, the party continues, drugs being consumed, and an escape from anything that happens. We soon meet Roman’s girlfriend Anais (Lucille Guillaume) who convinces Roman to go out to a big party, but as his mad freakouts continue, we soon start to see it’s only a matter of time before someone else is infected, and that ends up being Anais and soon Roman’s mistress Noa (Lewkowski Yovel).

Something is being said in MadS, much more than I initially alluded to, but what I mean from the nothingness is that Moreau is showing how chaotic life is. With or without the drugs, with or without the infection, it’s not easy to see who the next person will be. In many aspects, it’s a metaphor for the COVID-19 pandemic. People are sick and we keep going on. The story of one person will soon end and the camera will go on to follow the next story. It’s in that rush, an inability to process the wild actions of each character that MadS feels prescient, and of our time.

Although the one-shot look may seem like a gimmick to some, for me it was spot on, and the cinematography from Philip Lozano is just as good as Sebastian Schipper’s Victoria or Gaspar Noé’s Climax, all of which have their unique style of chaos. MadS is a fever dream, a twisting and turning journey, with car chases and heads being smashed into walls. It captures the sheer chaos of reality, an unpredictable sense of dread that has you eager for the next event, and as far as zombie movies go, this one is more alive than ever before. MadS is freaky great.

4 STARS

MADS IS NOW PLAYING ON SHUDDER ON FRIDAY OCTOBER 18TH, 2024.

Written by: Leo Brady
[email protected]