• Consequence
  • Music
  • Film
  • TV
  • Heavy
Menu Consequence
Menu Shop Search Newsletter
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Live
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Cover Story
Advertisement
  • Reviews
  • Film Reviews

Film Review: Climax Spirals Into a Wild, Drug-Fueled Haze of Sex and Violence

A dance troupe's spiked punch leads to madness in Gaspar Noé's latest feature

Climax (A24)
B-

Directed by

  • Gaspar Noé

Starring

  • Sofia Boutella
  • Romain Guillermic
  • Souheila Yacoub

Release Year

  • 2018
Advertisement
Sarah Kurchak
February 25, 2019 | 12:30pm ET

    The following review was originally published as part of our coverage of the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.

    Climax begins in typically Gaspar Noé-esque fashion: tip-toeing toward sensory overload with supersaturated colors, filled with equal parts malice and promise as a bloodied body crawls artistically through the snow. And what follows provokes a response almost as typical of Noé now: a cacophonous mix of glowing praise, some screening walkouts, a few screeds, and the occasional shrug.

    Based on the true story (according to the credits — whether this is actually true, or true like the events of Fargo were “true,” is unclear), Climax follows the chaotic descent of an experimental dance troupe after their sangria is spiked with LSD on the eve of an American tour. Getting to that moment, though, is where the film truly shines. Like stacking sexually and violently charged dominoes, Noé and his cast/collaborators (a collective including actors and dancers who were discovered everywhere from clubs to YouTube videos) piece together a complex and charged dynamic between a disparate crew.

    Related Video

    These divergent perspectives and personalities are first introduced via a series of audition tapes (played on a TV flanked by VHS tapes and books filled with references that will probably not come as a surprise to anyone who has ever seen a minute of Noé) where their goals, their visions of what dance should be, their concepts of America, and what they would do to get ahead are discussed in cool, casual detail. They come together in a rapturous dance number, perfectly executed by the cast and captured in stunning fashion by the camera. The schisms begin to show as we drift from one conversation to the next, voyeuristically creeping from awkward small talk to the admonishments of a disapproving brother to observations on dance, child-rearing, and anal sex. Then the sangria kicks in, and both civility and the group begin to crumble. And Climax, more often than not, descends right along with them.

    Advertisement

    (Interview: Climax Director Gaspar Noé on Modern Cinema and Why He Skips Star Wars for Documentaries)

    Noé clearly has a fondness — and, arguably, a talent — for gleefully exploring and exploiting the depravity and hollowness that bubbles beneath the surface of humankind through intensely physical performances. He made brutally realistic violence perversely compelling in Irréversible. He turned real (3D!) sex scenes into empty cries of ennui and despair with Love. Now, he and his cast have used dance as a means of expressing a Lord of the Flies-like breakdown of polite society. While this generally makes for interesting viewing, though, it doesn’t always make for convincing viewing., especially when other cinematic experiments with similarly physical storytelling have come to far less cynical conclusions.

    Shortbus‘ explicit sex scenes, for example, found catharsis where Love found only a cold, ironic take on its own name. Where Climax sees only darkness in intense, full body expression, other works of art — everything from The Fits to a good Hiroshi Tanahashi match — have hinted at something bordering on transcendence. This often makes Climax feel like more of a flailing work of provocation trying too hard to shock or unnerve than a searing romp through the id of a counterculture collective on LSD.

    Climax works best when it holds back from those impulses just a little, teetering and teasing complete drug-induced collapse without giving into full indulgence of any kind, including self-indulgence. It’s most intoxicating when we’re doused in the same sensory overload as the characters, stumbling through the hallways of their practice space with them as if we’ve been plunged into a hallucinatory haunted house, hearing menace, seeing it out of the corner of our eyes, and anticipating it without yet being engulfed in it.

    Advertisement

    That paranoid high starts to fade right around the time that one of the dancers is literally engulfed in flames, though, the film eventually plunging so far into over-the-top depravity that it starts to feel cartoonish and hollow. There’s some skin scratching. There’s a lot of floor writhing and fighting. There’s a touch of womb kicking. A remix of Soft Cell’s version of “Tainted Love” throbs predictably in the background for a while, because that song hasn’t suffered enough indignity since Marilyn Manson dragged it onto Not Another Teen Movie‘s soundtrack.

    As a parade of exaggerated neon-soaked atrocities, Climax is certainly never boring, but it often strains credulity where it aims to provoke genuine discomfort. It exhausts where it should provoke. It comes close to scandalizing a few times, but can’t quite reach that peak. All of that conflict leaves the whole proceeding feeling a little like a faked version of the film’s titular act.

    Trailer:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit

More on this topic

  • A24
  • Gaspar Noé
  • Movie Reviews
  • Sofia Boutella
  • TIFF 2018 Coverage
  • TIFF18

Subscribe to our daily email digest for the latest headlines.

Advertisement

Popular Stories

dolly parton 4 non blondes cover what's up rockstar album song stream

Music

Dolly Parton Takes on 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up?" with Linda Perry: Stream

Chad Smith plays Thirty Seconds to Mars song

Heavy Consequence

Chad Smith Crushes Thirty Seconds to Mars Hit as He Hears It for the First Time: Watch

Advertisement

Corey Taylor: Beyond the Mask Merch Bundle Exclusively Available at the Consequence Shop

Corey Taylor: Beyond the Mask Merch Bundle Exclusively Available at the Consequence Shop

The Continental Taxi Driver Easter Eggs

TV

Why De Niro’s Taxi Driver Cab Pulls Up at The Continental

Michael Cera Greta Gerwig Barbie deleted scene Jaws Rodrigo Prieto IMAX

Film

Greta Gerwig "Couldn’t Stop Laughing" at Michael Cera's Deleted Barbie Scene Inspired by Jaws

Latest Stories

B
A Haunting in Venice

A Haunting in Venice Isn't as Scary as It Seems, Thankfully: Review

September 15, 2023

A-
theater camp review ben platt

The Hilarious and Authentic Theater Camp Takes Center Stage: Review

September 14, 2023

B-
Dumb Money Review

Dumb Money Takes Stock of the Gamestop Squeeze in Droll, Empathetic Fashion: Review

September 14, 2023

A
Cassandro Review Gael Garcia Bernal Amazon

Cassandro Review: Gael García Bernal Soars in Stunning, Inspirational Biopic

September 14, 2023

B
The Equalizer 3 Review

The Equalizer 3 Is a Lot of Fun, Even if You've Never Equalized Before: Review

August 29, 2023

B
Strays Review Movie Will Ferrell Jamie Foxx

Strays Review: A Slightly Unhinged, Strangely Funny Dog Comedy

August 17, 2023

B-
Blue Beetle (Warner Bros. Pictures) DC Comics Superhero Movie Review

Blue Beetle Puts Latin Culture At the Forefront of Its Charming Superhero Antics: Review

August 16, 2023

B+
Heart of Stone Review

Heart of Stone Review: Gal Gadot Goes Full James Bond for Netflix

August 10, 2023

Advertisement

News

  • Music
  • New Music
  • Album Streams
  • Upcoming Releases
  • Tours
  • Film
  • TV
  • Pop Culture

Reviews

  • Music Reviews
  • Film Reviews
  • TV Reviews
  • Concert Reviews
  • Festival Reviews

Features

  • Editorials
  • Interviews
  • Cover Stories
  • Lists
  • Guides
  • CoSign
  • Song of the Week

Live

  • Tickets
  • Festival News
  • Tour Dates
  • Photo Galleries
  • Music Instruments & Gear

Heavy

  • News
  • Interviews
  • Concerts

More

  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Wellness
  • Giveaways

Other sites

  • Heavy Consequence
  • Consequence Media
  • Modern Drummer
  • About
  • Privacy policy
  • Advertising
  • Work For Us
  • Terms
  • Contact
  • Copyright
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Information

Download our app

  • Get it on the App Store
  • Get it on Google Play
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest
  • Twitch
  • Tiktok
Consequence
Current story

Film Review: Climax Spirals Into a Wild, Drug-Fueled Haze of Sex and Violence

Menu Shop Search Newsletter
Consequence
News
  • News
  • Music
  • New Music
  • Album Streams
  • Upcoming Releases
  • Tours
  • Film
  • TV
  • Pop Culture
Reviews
  • Music Reviews
  • Film Reviews
  • TV Reviews
  • Concert Reviews
  • Festival Reviews
Features
  • All Features
  • Editorials
  • Interviews
  • Cover Stories
  • Lists
  • Guides
  • CoSign
  • Song of the Week
Live
  • Tickets
  • Festival News
  • Tour Dates
  • Photo Galleries
  • Music Instruments & Gear
Podcasts
  • The Opus
  • Kyle Meredith With...
  • Stanning BTS
  • The Story Behind the Song
  • The What
  • Going There with Dr. Mike
  • The Rome and Duddy Show
Videos
  • Interviews
  • Two for the Road
  • First Time I Heard
  • When I Made
  • Battle of the Bandmates
  • Peer 2 Peer
  • Essays
  • Fan Theories
Heavy
  • News
  • Interviews
  • Concerts
  • Premieres
  • Culture
  • Beyond the Boys Club
  • Mining Metal
Shop
  • Shop
  • Giveaways
Hometowns

Follow Consequence

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest
  • Twitch
  • Tiktok
Close
Close