‘Vincent Must Die’: Cannes Review

Dir: Stephan Castang. France/Belgium. 2023. 108mins

Alfred Hitchcock built a career on placing ordinary people in extraordinary situations. Director Stephan Castang brings a fresh energy to that time-honoured jeopardy tradition with his entertaining debut feature Vincent Must Die, a tragicomic apocalyptic thriller which plays out a nightmare scenario with black humour and soulful reflections on the human condition. An appeal that extends beyond genre fans should ensure healthy theatrical interest following a world premiere in Critics Week.

Has pace and jolts a plenty

An experienced actor, playwright and short filmmaker, Castang confidently sets his first feature in a normal, unremarkable world in which strange things start to happen. Vincent Borel (Karim Leklou) is a mild-mannered graphic designer in Lyon. One day in the office he suffers an unprovoked assault from an intern who tries to batter him across the head with a laptop. The incident provokes a shrug of embarrassment and no further action from Vincent’s superiors. This is followed by a further attack from a colleague who viciously stabs him with a pen. Vincent is unfailingly reasonable about what has happened, but his boss suggests he might want to consider working remotely in future.

There is something of Hitchcock’s The Birds or George A Romero’s The Crazies in Castang’s tale of a world at the mercy of an irrational phenomenon. You assume there is some Covid-19 era inspiration to the scenario, although screenwriter Mathieur Naert has explained that it was developed pre-pandemic.

Naert cleverly builds from the original premise to create a film that is not for the socially anxious. Vincent’s online investigations uncover endless reports of a rising tide of rage and sudden acts of violence. Soon, he is a twitchy, paranoid loner constantly looking over his shoulder in anticipation of the next assault. Other people become the hell of Vincent’s existence. Eye to eye contact triggers fresh attacks; friends become potential enemies; family members are no guarantee of safety. One wrong look transforms neighbour’s children into vicious little brutes. A friendly encounter turns nasty, ending in brutal hand-to-hand combat in the muddy, malodorous waste from an overflowing septic tank. The violence is messy and startling. Living a solitary existence armed to the teeth and frightened of others seems to be the only course open to the persecuted Vincent.

Vincent will discover that he is not alone in becoming a punching bag for the rest of the population. Others are suffering a similar fate and offer some sound advice. He acquires a guard dog in Staffordshire bull terrier Sultan played by the scene-stealing Suzy. (The stoical animal’s wise looks and loyal service must surely make it a contender for the Cannes Palm Dog award.) There is also a possibility of romance in Vincent’s chance encounter with waitress and fellow lost soul Margaux (Vimala Pons) although intimacy is a prospect fraught with danger. Karim Leklou’s Vincent is an endearing combination of sweet vulnerability and bug-eyed, taser-toting resolve which perfectly chimes with a film in which his battered, lonely romantic might really blossom if only people would stop trying to kill him. 

Vincent Must Die has pace and jolts a plenty, and Castang maintains a brisk momentum. John Kaced’s music echoes the scores of John Carpenter, adding to the urgency and unease. What really gives it an edge, however, are the thoughtful moments of reflection on the harsh realities of this new world and what might lie ahead. It may have the energy and elements of a familiar zombie virus pulse-racer, but it is also a film about love, family and what it takes to be human.