Woodyanders Nice guy college student Thierry Richard (a solid and engaging performance by Marc Paquet) meets and immediately falls in love with mysterious, yet bewitching redhead Claire (superbly played by the lovely Marianne Farley). Despite his aversion to redheads, Thierry just can't resist Claire. However, Thierry finds himself in considerable jeopardy when he encounters Claire's oddball mother and sisters, who share a very dark and disturbing family secret. Thierry's loyal, happy-go-lucky best friend and apartment roommate Henri Dieudonne (a marvelously hearty and likable portrayal by Frederic Pierre) tries to save Thiery before it's too late. Director Daniel Roby, who also co-wrote the smart and inspired script with Joel Champetier, grounds the compelling story in a thoroughly believable everyday world which in turn makes the more horrific elements of the plot that much more chilling and upsetting. Moreover, Roby brings an intriguing air of mystery to the picture and nicely maintains a spooky tone throughout (the bleak wintry Canadian locations go a long way to enhance the overall eerie and unsettling mood). Kudos are also in order for the uniformly fine acting by the capable cast: Richard, Farley and Pierre all do sterling work in their roles while Jessica Malka likewise excels as Claire's crazed and vicious bitchy whore sister Marquise. Eric Cayla's bright, crisp cinematography and the funky, rattling score by Rene Dupere and Martin Lord are both up to speed. Best of all, there's even a potent and poignant central message about how far one is willing to go for love and a refreshing absence of any dumb obtrusive humor to diminish the severity of the horror. This movie offers proof positive that you don't need a lot of fancy special effects, excessive gore, or flashy film-making to create a strong and effective fright feature. Well worth checking out.

Elswet This was somewhat of a surprise. I read the synopsis, so I had an idea, but I didn't expect any quality whatsoever. That was a huge element of the surprise; the performance and story quality. The execution was a bit choppy, and the racial theme was a bit off putting, but all in all, this was very well done.A grad student discovers his distant, overly-white girlfriend has a few secrets. Secrets her mother will do anything to destroy.This features some decent performances, a relatively unique story line, and a half-decent score. The dubbing is horrid, but I suppose it's difficult to sync French with English. This is a drama rather than an actioner, and is more suspense with horror elements than outright horror, so remember that if you decide to give this one a viewing.All in all? This was very well done, considering lack of budget, and carries an innovative story I found entertaining. Perhaps you will, too.It rates a 6.7/10 from...the Fiend :.

Claudio Carvalho While celebrating his anniversary with his black roommate and friend Henri Dieudonné (Frédéric Pierre) in a bar, Thierry Richard (Marc Paquet) is invited by Henri to a program with two hookers. They go to a motel, and Henri is attacked by his girl, being saved by Thierry. Later, Thierry meets the red-haired musician Claire Lefrançois (Marianne Farley), they have wild sex and he falls in love for her. But she tells him that she has a disease and she breaks with him. When Thierry meets Claire again, he finds how she may be cured.I loved this Canadian movie. I started watching the DVD without any clue about the genre, and based on the beginning of the story, I thought it was a dramatic romance. However, when the secret of Claire and her family is disclosed, I realized that it is a very well developed low paced horror movie. This genre is my favorite, and I confess that the excellent screenplay of this movie is really an extremely original story. The acting is great, but there is confusion in the concept of succubus, which is basically a female demon that drains energy from men through sexual intercourse with minor variations in the definition. I have never read or heard anything about cannibalism associated to succubus. My vote is nine.Title (Brazil): "Carne Branca" ("White Flesh")

JoeHorror Though some may present this as a "chips & beer" type film, La Peau Blanche (USA DVD RETITLE: Cannibal) is certainly not the kind of film one might bring to a friend's home.The film touches on race, heredity, evolution and love. This was an interesting film though it did tend to jump up on a soapbox on occasion which ended up giving the film a 1st draft, film school student feel.The acting was decent but the dialogue was stiff at times.This is art-house horror at its best and worst. If you're in the U.S., don't let the retitling and silly DVD cover fool you. Lionsgate loves to play with titles and covers (i.e. Romasanta).Fans of films like Nekromantik & The Addiction may find this film to their liking.