A trip to the cinema on a Friday evening with friends? How relaxing. Little did I know that Climax – written and directed by Gaspar Noe – would be one of the most disturbing films I’ve ever watched and make me re-think my entire attitude towards the accessibility of drugs as a student.
Based on real events that happened in the 90s, the film follows a group of French dancers who are spiked with LSD and a series of very disturbing events begin to take place. Watching Climax, I couldn’t believe that this had actually happened. Without a doubt, Noe must have exaggerated the story for dramatic effect because how on earth could this be real?
I’m not crazy about scary movies and didn’t know what I’d got myself into until I was faced with the writhing body of a bloodied woman being trailed through the snow in the opening sequence. Despite being warned by cinema staff to avoid it at all costs, we sat in the front row. Immediately I felt the man sitting next to me glaring when I almost jumped out of my skin.
After the initial shock to the system, we cracked open a few beers, having luckily anticipated this situation. We turned to our friends behind us and mouthed “cheers,” before grimacing and starting to panic. All I could think was “why have I done this to myself?”
It’s safe to say the film lives up to its title. I was entirely captivated by the slow build-up to the final horrific moments. From an opening single-shot dance performance to the moments before everything goes wrong, there is an jaw-clenching undertone of impending doom. A scene of a girl frothing at the mouth finally made me realise that this was beyond anybody’s control. By the end, the film’s relentless tech-house music had started to drive me completely mad and it was a relief when we were finally released from this hell.
We immediately decided it was time for a drink and promptly took ourselves off to the pub, but we barely spoke for the next hour. It has put me off ever taking hallucinogenics.
WARNING: Climax is NOT for the faint-hearted. The psychotic, near-dystopian scenes created on screen drag you in until your begin to question your own reality. The unnerving script and poignant acting lead to an unbelievable sense of numbness as I left the cinema – a truly extraordinary experience. The unpredictable consequences of hallucinogenics are still whirring around my mind; something I have no doubt Noe intended for his audience.