In general, I don’t trust French films that weren’t made by the Lumière brothers. No shade to those who like that sort of thing, but the likes of Martyrs and Haute Tension freak me out. So, in terms of French horror, Méandre (or Meander for us English speakers) is a very good place to start. It’s grotesque, sure, but also hopeful, and there’s something universal about it that fans of escape room horror can appreciate no matter their nationality.

Lisa (Gaïa Weiss) is a French woman living in the United States following the death of her young daughter, Nina (Romane Libert). She’s picked up one night by a local named Adam (Peter Franzén) while wandering through the snow, and quickly makes the unfortunate discovery that he’s a serial killer. But this isn’t that kind of movie, and when she comes to after being knocked out against the dashboard of Adam’s car, she finds herself in a small metal box on what appears to be some kind of alien spaceship. Huh. Wasn’t expecting that one.

From there, Lisa finds herself crawling through a maze of tunnels full of gooey corpses, bubbling acid pits, and all manner of video game-like obstacles, meanwhile a strange bracelet locked onto her wrist counts down to some other unexplained horror. I’m not claustrophobic, but this movie had me feeling that way. The camerawork and set design are impeccable.

As Lisa navigates the maze, she comes to discover that it may not be by accident that she’s there, and that whatever put her there may not have done it for the reason she thinks. Weiss carries the movie largely on her own, and how well she pulls it off is a testament to her talent.

Meander is a somewhat standard game/trap/escape room horror, which will probably feel familiar to those who have seen Escape Room, Cube, or even Saw (Full disclosure–I haven’t seen any of those, but I feel like most horror fans know them by reputation at the very least). However, Meander is also an emotional, powerful tour de force about overcoming the black hole of grief and finding your will to live. For those in the “Horror is about healing!” crowd, this one is for you.

And for those who will inevitably watch the film and go, “But the title doesn’t even make sense! She didn’t ‘meander’ through the maze, etc.” I have this to say: it could be one of those flawed translations where the English loan word sounds the same but has a different meaning in the language of origin. Or, it could be a metaphor for Lisa’s character itself, indicating that that’s what’s important in the movie, and all the sci-fi escape room business is of secondary importance. Meander is a movie that’s meant to be deep, and absolutely pulls it off. And that, I can appreciate.

 

8 out of 10

 

Meander (Méandre) – July 9, 2021
RATING: NR
MEANDER Official Trailer (2021)
Runtime: 1 Hr. 27 Mins.
Directed By:
Written By:

 

About the Author

Elaine L. Davis is the eccentric, Goth historian your parents (never) warned you about. Hailing from the midwestern United States, she grew up on ghost stories, playing chicken with the horror genre for pretty much all of her childhood until finally giving in completely in college. (She still has a soft spot for kid-friendly horror.) Her favorite places on Earth are museums, especially when they have ghosts.