FirstWitch
A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
Keeley Coleman
The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
Arianna Moses
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
Tobias Burrows
It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.
markokristic
As already noticed by other reviewers, this a french "homagge" to "Silence of the lambs", to make things perfectly clear one of the main characters in the film even picks up the Thomas Harris book. It has its problems: pacing is uneven, some scenes drag quite a bit and there are some holes in the plot but when everything is added this is a pretty solid effort whit some interesting ideas and great, lyrical ending. Actors are all very good, even in the smallest of parts(the zoo owner was great). Directon is stylish and camera work impressive at times. Although the script isn't all that original it does elaborate some great twists and psychological insight. It merits one viewing, 7/10.
dbborroughs
Weird unpleasant and unnerving murder mystery that I still haven't completely unraveled. It begins with two men hitting a pedestrian, stealing the money he was carrying and getting mixed up with a kidnapping. Meanwhile a young detective with two kids investigates a murder that seems to be related. Thats a poor attempt at explaining this odd film, honestly there is no way to simply explain this with out giving too much away. Think Silence of the Lambs meets Seven meets something similar. Its a weird frigging movie requires you to pay attention and deal with often heavy weirdness. Worth a look if you like very strange unsettling films. I'm not sure what I think of it completely or that I got everything after one late night viewing. I'm going to have to try it again when I'm much less tired. (A word of warning its got some scenes of heavy sexuality, including hardcore graphic sex in at least one scene on a TV screen, so keep the kids away.)
abisio
With a few situations similar to the Silence of the Lamb; LA CHAMBRE DES MORTS is able to become a complete different and original thriller. Two men hit with a car a person (and kill him) carrying a bag full of money. They take the money and dispose the body however that money was the ransom for a kidnapped girl who is murdered. Another girl, a diabetic one, is kidnapped so a police woman and her partner follow the case. The story follows different directions; the two men who stole the money, the kidnappers, the police and even the kidnapped girl in a brief escape attempt to cross paths near the end. The investigation in itself is realistically resolved; which somewhat drags the first half of the movie. During the second half, several very intense situations raise the tension towards a final act, somewhat similar (but far from equal) to the Jonathan Demme's film. Melanie Laurent, gives an interesting performance as the single mother of two babies' police woman; trying to take care of her siblings while trying to find the killers. While the rest of the cast keeps the level above average. It is important to note that while the gore and violence level are not high; some situations and images are very intense. The movie was rated OVER 12 YEARS OLD in France; which is something like an R here in USA.
john13850
I completely disagree with the comment made by the person from UAE. I'm not generally a fan of the horror/thriller genre, but since this a French film, I was willing to give it a shot. It far exceeded my expectations. I'm not going to say anything about the film's plot, because this is one of those movies to see when you don't know anything about it. I'm just going to say that a smart, small distributor should pick this movie up for distribution here in the U.S. I would suggest a title change for the U.S. from the unfortunate "Melody's Smile." Why not use the literal translation from the original French title, which is "The Room of the Dead"? The audience I saw this with in Los Angeles at COL-COA this week was very enthusiastic. This movie is so much better than the by-the-numbers horror thrillers that so many U.S. movie makers crank out. This movie is genuinely creepy and scary.