Paddy Mulholland
Jul 29, 20201 min
While it's arguably only recently that the U.S. horror film scene has resumed producing creative talent of a high calibre, the same can't be said for its European counterpart. It was there that co-director spouses Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani made a name for themselves as neo-giallo pioneers in the '00s with a series of shorts, followed by their breakthrough feature, 2009's Amer. And it was with their fellow Belgian Manu Dacosse providing the cinematography that they were able to distinguish themselves from the pack and achieve international attention.
Cattet and Forzani are rigorous adn exacting in their filmmaking approach, and Dacosse's wild, innovative, startlingly bold cinematography matches their expressive vision with the utmost precision. Theirs are not quick features to produce, however, so it was with pleasure that Dacosse deservedly caught the eye of a number of other European genre filmmakers, such as Fabrice du Welz, Lucile Hadzihalilovic and, somewhat surprisingly, Francois Ozon. Over the past decade, he's expanded his repertoire and exhibited his extraordinary flair for visual invention across a variety of styles - drama, body horror, erotic thriller, even a contemporary Spaghetti Western - but consistently with the same brilliant imagery. Manuel Dacosse is, without question, one of the most remarkable stylists working not just in the European horror film scene today, but in the world.
Films featured
Amer, 2009
O Is for Orgasm, 2012
The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears, 2013
Alleluia, 2014
Evolution, 2015
Double Lover, 2017
Let the Corpses Tan, 2017
By the Grace of God, 2018