Alleluia
New York Times Critics' Picks • 1h 33m
Directed by Fabrice Du Welz • Drama • With Laurent Lucas, Lola Dueñas • 2014 • 95 minutes
Based on notorious real-life “lonely hearts killers” who make victims of their romantic liaisons, Alleluia is a dark and fascinating love-story-gone-wrong from Belgian horror maverick Fabrice du Welz. Michel (Laurent Lucas, With a Friend Like Harry and Calvaire) is a born womanizer and professional hustler with a penchant for wooing lonely, vulnerable widows and divorcees. When he meets introverted single mom Gloria (Lola Dueñas, Volver and I’m So Excited!) online and treats her to an electrifying first date, she’s left completely smitten. Michel tries to swindle what he can out of the one-night stand, but his latest victim has other plans. Basking in the rush of new love, she frantically pursues him, witnessing the true depths of his depravity and offering herself as an accomplice in his seductive crimes.
Having truly met their match in each other, the unhinged lovers embark on a deadly odyssey amplified by wild sex, unbridled jealousy, and passionate forays into the dark arts. This smart and gory shocker breathes new life into the lovesick horror genre to serve up a chilling tale of white-hot desperation and terrifying devotion.
“Two rock-solid performances, gritty cinematography and an impressive mise-en-scene make for a great movie. —The Hollywood Reporter
Up Next in New York Times Critics' Picks
-
The Woodmans
Directed by C. Scott Willis • Documentary • With Betty Woodman, Francesca Woodman, Charles Woodman George Woodman • 2010 • 83 minutes
The Woodmans are a family of well-known artists bonded in their belief of art-making as the highest form of expression. But for their daughter Francesca — one of ...
-
Long Day's Journey Into Night
Directed by Bi Gan • Drama • With Wei Tang, Jue Huang, Sylvia Chang • 2019 • 140 minutes
Bi Gan follows up his knockout debut, Kaili Blues, with this noir-tinged stunner about a lost soul (Jue Huang) on a quest to find a missing woman from his past (Wei Tang, Lust, Caution). Following leads acr...
-
Belly of the Beast
Directed by Erika Cohn • Documentary • With Kelli Dillon, Cynthia Chandler • 2020 • 82 minutes
When a courageous young woman and a radical lawyer discover a pattern of illegal sterilizations in California’s women’s prisons, they wage a near-impossible battle against the Department of Corrections...
