22/33 Three women in a Marseille apartment get stuck in a heatwave. They find themselves trapped in a terrifying affair and yearn for freedom. I saw this at the 2024 Ghent Film Festival. Lots of nice and intriguing ideas. However, even so many boring elements turn this film into a less than perfect experience. The controversial reviews I’ve read are understandable and a logical result. One of the annoying things is that I have a vague idea that the story is trying to educate us on how to communicate with women, when they say No it means No, but we already understand that and don’t need an introduction. Other annoying examples are the three protagonists behaving in a messy and counterproductive way, while trying to remove the traces of the crime, hopefully not with the intention of exposing it as typically feminine. All of these boring parts overshadow the serious moments in this film. As a seasoned horror fan, I have nothing against blood, or screaming, or severed body parts (and the dangerous hardware that does it). Naked bodies, half or completely undressed, are also not a problem. Note that we see a lot of nudity in various stages of undress (is that a word??), both in the house and in the public domain. For me, it’s all decoration, which doesn’t contribute much, unfortunately hiding the good parts of the film, a very original plot and perfect acting by the main protagonists. Most of the characters that appear in this film are a bit vague in terms of what they do and who they are. The only clearly delineated people are the couple at the beginning, where the man complains about his wife, after which she takes drastic action, later telling that her husband tripped and fell into a shovel. We have to wait until the end to see the police following her in handcuffs, probably not fully believing her dead husband’s explanation. However, this story is just a side story. The main part of the film is the interaction between the three women on one side of the street and the handsome man on the other. In contrast to the simple story with the above couple and the deadly shovel, it is impossible to even hint at the many complications that arise from the visit of the three women in the opposite apartment. One of the women stays with him, probably waiting for a happy sleepover, but the rest of the story is completely different, as unexpected as it is unprecedented. The bloody remains have to be dealt with, not an everyday task for people like you and me, inexperienced in crime. And they have to deal with worried neighbors who suspect something is wrong. And on top of all that, spooky characters start to appear, not visible to everyone so extra complicated. I can only give you a few hints to say that this story is very unusual, offers very original plot elements and gives us unpredictable turns of events. All in all, a lot of original ideas, some even intriguing. But some negative elements, maybe only for me and only me, turn this film into a half-hearted success. It is not a traditional horror that is built on atmosphere or creepy situations. There is blood, there are severed body parts, there are ghost figures, but still it will cross over into a different kind of horror, where there is also room for humor. VISITOR VISITOR 2024 10BIT MAGNET