(1960) The Time Machine

(1963) The Terror

(1966) The Witches

(1967) Torture Garden

(1954) Sabrina

 

(2024) The Balconettes

The Balconettes (French: Les Femmes au balcon) is a 2024 French comedy horror film directed by, co-written by, and starring Noémie Merlant. The film, which co-stars Souheila Yacoub and Sanda Codreanu, follows three young women during a heatwave in the south of France.

The film premiered in the Midnight Screenings section at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on 19 May 2024, where it competed for the Queer Palm.

Plot: In a 46-degree heat wave in Marseille, three friends – Nicole (an aspiring writer working on a story about a shy woman’s affair with her neighbor), webcam model Ruby, and the careless Elise (an actress still in character as Marilyn Monroe, in a complicated relationship with lawyer Paul) – languish in an apartment, watching from the balcony as they fantasize about their mysterious neighbor across the street. After a minor accident involving Elise, the neighbor invites the girls over. 

A drunken evening takes place in his apartment, which also doubles as a photo studio. When Elise and Nicole go to bed, Ruby stays for the photo shoot. A few hours later, she returns, half-conscious and covered in blood – having accidentally killed the neighbor during an attempted rape. In the morning, Ruby is still unable to speak. Returning to the crime scene, the friends discover a horrific scene: Magnani's body is hanging on a pole with part of his genitals missing. 

They begin cleaning up, hiding the body in the freezer (Nicole finds the missing part and temporarily places it in a food container). Paul stalks Elise, who turns out to be pregnant, and rapes her in a hotel; Nicole begins to be haunted by the ghosts of the rapists, including the spirit of the murdered neighbor.

Ruby tells her friends about what Magnani did to her. The women get rid of the body by dismembering it, placing it in two suitcases and throwing it into the ocean. Elise has an abortion and leaves Paul. Nicole makes the ghosts admit their guilt and disappear. At the end friends walk through the city, where more and more women take to the streets with bare breasts, celebrating their new life.

Nipple tape and gore...

That's a lot of blood!

Still not wearing her bra...

Definite pleasure girls...

Examine my vagina!

It's your job to look at my pussy!

Come on, while my panties are off!

You know you want it...

(1967) Smashing Time

Yvonne (Lynn Redgrave) and her best friend, Brenda (Rita Tushingham), head for the big city - in this case, London - with dreams of hitting the big time. But when they arrive and quickly lose their savings to a robber, they find that city life is tougher than expected, and success may be more elusive than they planned. The pair separates, and after Yvonne unexpectedly turns a bad song into a hit single, she begins to wonder about the cost of fame, and the whereabouts of her old friend.

That Night (1992)

A romantic take on teenage love, set in Long Island in the 70s. Alice Bloom is a shy teenager who looks up to her older neighbour, student Sheryl O'Connor, but after the death of Sheryl's father, her life spirals downhill. When she becomes pregnant by Rick, only Alice can bring the two separated lovers together in this unassuming but engaging film.

Sweet Hostage (1975)

An escaped mental patient takes on the role of teacher, friend and lover to his illiterate teenage captive. An adaptation of Nathaniel Benchley's novel `Welcome to Xanadu'.

Mysterious Planet (1982)

A spaceship crash-lands on a planet, and the crew is astonished to find that it holds a beautiful woman who can heal the sick and injured and a race of super-intelligent beings.