Night of the Hunted (1980)

 

(Original Title:La nuit des traquées) A Jean Rollin film that is often compared to Cronenberg's work. 

Driving down a dark road Robert (Alain Duclos) sees a woman, Elysabeth (Brigitte Lahaie), just wandering around looking lost.  Easily one of the most memorable opening scenes I've ever seen.

Elysabeth seems like a total space cadet.  Robert drives her back to Paris.

Robert doesn't realize there is a totally nude woman, Véronique (Dominique Journet), nearby who he never saw.

He drives off, none the wiser.

In Paris it becomes clear this woman's brain is gone.  Is she on drugs?  

Robert takes Elysabeth up to his apartment.

He gets frustrated that she can't remember a fucking thing.

Hm. This doesn't seem right. Robert beds down the woman who is clearly mentally unable to consent. 

Robert goes off to work and Elysabeth is left alone.

Creepy Dr. Francis (Bernard Papineau) and his assistant Solange (Rachel Mhas) arrive

Francis gets brain-dead Elysabeth to go with him back to the hospital - ominously called "The Black Tower".

Elysabeth gets dressed.

Elysabeth is led through a brutalist cityscape 

When she's brought to her room, Elysabeth smiles at seeing a familiar face

Catherine (Cathy Stewart) seems to be suffering from the same brain/memory issues as Elysabeth. This isn't revealed until nearly the end of the film, but what's happening is the government is conducting experiments.  The guinea pigs end up with the side effect of progressive memory loss - which ultimately turns the person into a zombie.

 

The world is a terrifying place when you can't remember anything beyond yesterday.

Catherine is actually a little worse off: she can't even feed herself at this point. Elysabeth helps her eat soup.

The hospital interiors are as minimalist and cold as the exteriors.

Back in the room; time to change clothes.

When Elysabeth leaves, Catherine kills herself with a pair of scissors.

Another unforgettable scene

Elysabeth returns and finds Catherine dead - with the scissors impaled in her eyes.

Véronique (Dominique Journet), the ginger from the start of the film, is back in the Black Tower.

She also is plagued by the memory loss.  

A scrap of paper with Robert's phone number on it.  What could this be?  Elysabeth has already forgotten about Robert.

Christiane (Christiane Farina) is another patient

Alain (Cyril Val) the orderly brings her with him.

In another room, Alain rapes Christiane

Another zombie-like patient shuffles in and kills Alain with a hammer. 

Christiane is spared, but at this point - is she really alive anyway?

Elysabeth tries to get Véronique to snap out of it so they can escape.

Marie (Élodie Delage) and Pierre (Jack Gatteau) are two patients who are damn close to being zombies. Marie coaxes Pierre, who seems worse off, to another room.

Clearly not in control of his actions, Pierre strangles Marie to death in the sauna.

Elysabeth and Véronique stumble upon Marie's body, dead in the pool.

An extremely creepy and macabre scene.

Elysabeth uses the scrap of paper with Robert's number.

Robert is coming right there to save her.

Dr. Francis and Solange deal with the two escapees. 

Francis literally just starts shooting at them.

Elysabeth and Véronique end up back in the Black Tower.

Robert arrives - Solange meets him wearing a fully sheer gown.

Robert isn't falling for it.  He shoots Solange.

The girls are hauled off in a train.

The government exterminates all the guinea pigs before they reach full zombie.  Véronique, Elysabeth and Christiane are far-gone enough to be put on the train to the extermination site.

Christiane is unloaded first

She's given a lethal injection

Christiane is carried to a gurney then wheeled to the incinerator. 

Véronique tries to escape and is shot dead.

Dr. Francis shoots Robert in the head.

The head wound renders Robert in a similarly zombie-like condition as Elysabeth. 

The two "zombies" shuffle off together.  

The visuals in this film were incredible; not overdone or overly stylized - Jean Rollin hits the sweet spot, conveying a real sense of dismal horror.  Real nightmares often aren't fast-paced action, but rather cold terror - with an irrational sense of dread where nothing makes much sense. It's hard to find a review about this film without the Cronenberg comparison - and I guess this is no exception.  But for what it's worth, I'd say this is as good if not better than Shivers.
★★★★★★★★☆☆8/10