Director Marion Le Coroller
Starring Mara Taquin, Sami Outalbali, Karin Viard, Kim Higelin
Score 5/6
Margot, a young intern at the country’s most competitive ER, struggles in the high-pressure environment. When multiple patients her age arrive with strange symptoms, her own body begins experiencing alarming transformations.
When you have moments choosing the movies you watch based purely on the title, there are going to be moments when you stumble across movies like Species. Just so you know, this is a French movie with English subtitles, so if you need glasses, be sure to bring them. Also, Species has already been shown at several Film Festivals, including Cannes and the Melbourne International Film Festival. Now, people who have been reading my reviews for a while know that I’m not the biggest fan of horror movies, but I’ll watch them anyway. For the record, Species (also known as Sanguine) is the kind of movie I’ll watch at about 1 PM, and still feel uncomfortable. Judge me if you must.
One of the greatest things about watching movies at film festivals is that you get the chance to watch movies from directors that you might otherwise have heard of before. For me, Marion Le Coroller is one of those directors. Based on Species, do I want to see another one of her movies? Honestly, I still haven’t made up my mind. Species has delivered something that has something interesting to say about influencers, young people, entitlement, and work. I’m pretty sure that first scene in the burger restaurant with the influencer is the secret fantasy of fast food workers globally. The design of the hospital and, more specifically, the design of the dorm rooms for the residents had a vibe that I would readily associate with the detention block on the Death Star in Star Wars. With Species, Le Coroller delivered some interesting thoughts, though there was one moment that left me wondering whether that shot was really needed, and perhaps that I might need to offer my mother some kind of apology. I hope to see more from Mara Taquin and Sami Outalbali in the future; I enjoyed their performances.