Saints-Martyrs-des-Damnés (2005)
Directed by Robin Aubert
Flavien Juste is a reporter for a failing Quebec tabloid. The movie begins with Flavien conducting an interview with a farmer who's been abducted by a UFO. His next assignment is to travel to an isolated town that has a history of disappearances. He and his friend, and photographer, Armand are booked into a creepy hotel run by a pair of twin sisters. Armand goes outside to take some pictures, and immediately disappears. What's more after Flavien goes looking for him, he returns to the hotel to find it run by some dude who claims the twin sisters are long dead, and that the two reporters have never been there before. Sure enough when Flavien goes back to his room, his stuff is gone. Leaving town seems like a good idea, but first the car breaks down, and then it goes missing as well. So Flavien is stuck, and the locals range from aggressively unhelpful, to aggressively violent. There's also the ghost of a dead bride who keeps making appearances.
This is beautifully stylish, and somewhat confusing film. There are at least three sets of twins running around, and the local toughs are straight out of the 50's. Things are explained, but your best bet is to give in to weirdness. The film maintains an otherworldly Twilight Zone like quality. The works of David Lynch are another point of reference, especially Twin Peaks. This requires a little patience on the part of the viewer, but we're rewarded with some striking visuals, and an intriguing mystery.
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