Monstrum

Firstly, an important thing to note: I don't speak French to any meaningful degree. As of writing this, there are no subtitles available. I've read quite a bit on Gilles de Rais, so with the few words I did understand I could reasonably well follow what was going on. ---- I went into this film expecting the worst; the cover made it seem like a cheesy horror film and its obscurity as independent film didn't help. And then.. it was actually pretty good! Of course keeping in mind it's an independent film - some of the acting, special effects and lighting aren't the best and there's a couple very out-of-place cliche horror moments - but the general charm the film has really makes up for it. From what I could understand, the story is for a large part faithful, with some things changed. The main actor (Spinassou) did a brilliant job, and if you like late-medieval costume, there's a lot of eye-candy to enjoy. The cinematography was way better than I expected and there's some great choir music. The film radiates that the people making it enjoyed it and wanted to make something good. All in all I'm very impressed by the genuine care that went into making this film.