From Jeff Nelson

Horror audiences best know director Fabrice du Welz for his contribution to the early 2000s Euro-extreme scene with 2004’s Calvaire. He further explores the darkness of humanity in Maldoror, inspired by a harrowing true crime story that terrorized Belgium in the 90s. What begins as a haunting, disturbing detective thriller unravels into something toothless.

Paul Chartier (Anthony Bajon) is a young officer hand-selected to join a team, Maldoror, tracking down a dangerous sex offender. The high-profile case proves increasingly difficult to navigate without potentially losing their lead. After the operation doesn’t go according to plan, Paul becomes consumed by it and decides to pursue it as an independent investigation.

Maldoror nestles within true crime, but Du Welz and Domenico La Porta’s screenplay plays with history and takes liberties to explore its themes of human wickedness and obsession. Paul’s story is caught in the crossfire of law enforcement reform resulting in gendarmerie, local, and judicial police departments wrestling for survival. The Maldoror surveillance team is less about justice than politics to ensure the gendarmerie’s future. However, the community is scared and horrified for two girls (7-year-old Cécile and 8-year-old Elina), who are still missing.

Paul’s superior reminds him of the ghosts in his past, particularly his former juvenile delinquencies. But, he’s passionate about his job in law enforcement and helping vulnerable people in their time of need. He has a bright future ahead of him with the love of his life, Gina (Alba Gaïa Bellugi), by his side. Paul’s obsession with the case bleeds into every other facet of his being. Paul’s mother, Rita (Béatrice Dalle), suddenly reappears in his life, further complicating his family dynamic, and causing the past and present to collide.

The thriller and dramatic halves don’t make a compelling whole. Maldoror sets the disturbing inspiration with high stakes and unspeakably heinous consequences. However, the crime component is stretched to the point where the tension evaporates. Du Welz shifts the focus to Paul’s hardships that spiral out of control with minimal dramatic payoff, as the character deals with colleagues unwilling to act and a community looping him in with his idle colleagues. Additionally, there are comedic “buddy cop” elements between Paul and Luis (Alexis Manenti) during their surveillance that twist and contort the tone in strange ways.

Maldoror speaks on a very unnerving side of humanity, but it doesn’t go anywhere. Du Welz throws a lot of ideas at the wall, stretching an otherwise standard procedural into a bloated runtime that long overstays its welcome. Bajon is a unique talent and his performance skills are evident in this leading performance, although he does feel miscast in this overall forgettable true crime thriller.

Rating: 2/5

Maldoror played Fantastic Fest 2024 on September 22nd, 2024.

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