I was approached to cover Stéphane about the time that I saw a post about it on the Fangoria twitter. The tweet compared it to Creep, which I’ve not seen but I have seen it talked about enough to know a tiny bit about it. From what I know its an apt comparison and Stéphane has increased my timetable of watching both of the Creep movies. That’s how much this movie has affected me.
Stéphane was written and directed by Timothée Hochet and Lucas Pastor. The fact that this is a found footage movie adds so much to the atmosphere of the movie. I had to take a small break about a half hour in so that I could take a break from the anxiety inducing nature of the movie. There are hints at the insanity of the movie, but it doesn’t prepare you for the final ten minutes.
Lucas Pastor, Bastien Garcia, and Eva Gregorieff are the primary cast of the movie. Both Garcia and Pastor are the main two that we spend the most time with. Pastor even plays the titular character on top of being a writer and director of the movie. I don’t think I can even do his performance justice. I’ve only just finished the movie and his performance is sticking with me an hour later.
The makeup effects are amazing. It adds to the characters and performances. I don’t want to say anything else without possibly giving vital information away. The costume and set design for the movie is on par with the makeup effects. Everything about the movie works in its favor.
Stéphane is an amazing French film that will keep you squirming on the edge of your seat. This movie is yet another topnotch found footage movie that does something interesting with format. After I finally see the Creep movies, I’ll know whether the comparison is as spot on as it appears to be. I imagine that fans of found footage movies will enjoy Stéphane. I hope it gets a release in the States soon so that more people can see it. I give Stéphane 9.5 egg presents out of 10.