Let's be realistic.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Simon Killer is the new Psychological thriller by Antonio Campos, the film follows Simon (played by Bradley Corbet) as he travels in Paris trying to forget about his girlfriend, whom he had just broken up wit, after staying together. One night as he wonders about he comes to a strip club, where he meets the stripper/prostitute Noura. (Played by Mati Diop.) Simon quickly falls in love with Noura and finds it difficult to spend time away from her and becomes jealous of the fact that she has to sleep with other men for her job. So to try and fix the situation he proposes that she should black mail one of the married men that come for her services. She reluctantly accepts, and they start their working on their trap, needless to say things do not go according to plan.Simon Killer is a very slow film, and sometimes it's pace works and other times it doesn't. Antonio Campos tries to lull you in with a slow hypnotic pace, working mainly through repetition and dream-like passage of time. The film does a good job of bringing you in with its pace, but unfortunately starts to lose its audience around the half way point. The film becomes very tedious with its repetition and we're not quite sure who we're supposed to be rooting for. The characters motivations become muddled and you're not sure what's going on or why. This works for some films, like Caché or The Virgin Suicides, but films like the ones previously mentioned always give the audience enough to peak there interest and make them want to figure out the rest of the film. Simon Killer doesn't ever do this, so most of the film ends up being pretty forgettable.But I should give credit where credit is due. First of all Bradley Corbet does a great job as the introverted Simon. He is able to create this character that just doesn't feel right, from the second we see him we can tell that something is just wrong. Antonio Campos also has some excellent camera work, for most of the scenes the camera is set almost completely still, and if there is movement it's typically a slow zoom in/out, or a slow pan to the left or right. The effect is something unnerving, and the cinematography in general is very similar to the cinematography in Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation. i.e. creates a sense of paranoia. Overall I'd say Simon Killer had some good ideas, they just need to be more developed. If you're into slow dark psychological films I'd say it's worth checking out.5.5/10

I was very impressed at the intelligence and subtlety of the direction and the protagonist's portrayal in this film. I very quickly felt queasy and uncomfortable in the right way with the story - one needs to recognize that this is a larger canvas, a deeper psychological layout and one needs to wait, step back to see the bigger picture. Very well put together indeed, and hinges well on the authenticity of the performances.Recently graduated from college, ordinary American male, Simon is in France for reasons which are unclear, after a serious breakup which is unresolved for him. He appears ambivalent about his expectations for the place but possesses yearning for connection. The film follows his initially aimless wandering through overcast Paris but over the course of the film his behavior evinces troubling questions, creating a picture of complex and disquieting psychology.I have to agree with the sentiments expressed by a few other IMDb reviewers - there is a problem which is troublesome for films of this nature. Who wants to spend so much "subtle" time with such an flavorless, watery and increasingly unpleasant person? It should be recognized that these qualities are exactly what the filmmakers are aiming at. Some personality types are parasites which require a host to feel content. However, that may be a flaw, in my opinion.A realistic portrayal of everyday psychopathy can be presented from a revelatory and entertaining viewpoint casting new light into a previously hidden part of life. When it's presented in the dour, and faintly bland & vague way it's done here, it just feels like you're watching yourself, friends, family or co-workers in a way that feels less like an 'escape to the movies' and more like work. Good films make that work invisible or enjoyable. This film has very few pleasures to deliver. That too, is the perhaps filmmaker's point.I may be over simplifying my point or not making a good one, but it certainly is a problem that many artistic statements have to contend with - don't make your audience regret the time they spend with your story. If your protagonist has a troubled mind, the audience has to occasionally relate to him/her. Make that experience MORE engaging than one's own life, not less. Again, that may have been the filmmaker's point.

To be quite honest, I am not sure how I discovered this movie exactly. I was just searching about and found this despite not knowing a single actor, or anyone involved. Still, the trailer made it seem very interesting so I decided to give it a chance.The focus of the movie is one Simon (played by Brady Corbet) who just lost his girlfriend of 5 years, graduated college with a degree in neuroscience, and seemingly is having trouble letting go. However, with the help of a young prostitute Noura (played by Mati Diop) who fits Hollywood's vision of a Julia Robert's Pretty Woman styled sex worker with good lucks and a heart of gold, and a young college student named Marianne (played by Constance Rousseau) who is as sweet as Noura, but without the emotional baggage and sex worker profession, you foresee a turnaround for this heartbroken boy. But then you discover, slowly but surely, why after 5 years his girlfriend from High School decided to call it quits.The way the story is setup, for the first 40 minutes we are shown a Simon which is a pitiful young man who makes you slightly uneasy, but with how heartbroken he is you want to give him a chance as a lead. But, once those first 40, or so, minutes are over and we meet Noura, under the name Victoria originally, things pick up. From there Simon finds a way, conveniently, to get nestled into Noura's naive little heart. Then comes in Marianne and with her introduction, we see Simon for what he really is: the type of character which reminds you why women must be careful of the men they interact with.In a way though, there lies the appeal of the movie. For most of the movie you are presented a superficial version of Simon that would be no different from a guy you met in class or know at work. You see him sobbing and pitiful to the point you can almost see him as the victim, but as you get to know him you see this isn't fully true. Also, something I liked about this movie, was the character of Noura. Now, Noura isn't drawn much differently from most women who are sex workers since she has a troubled past and does sex work for independence, but what is likable about it is she doesn't feel like a victim. She frankly calls what she does work, just like you would call going to an office and being on a computer 7 or so hours a day work. It sort of put a rarely seen spin on sex workers for often they focus so much on their past issues that it seems you could blame an abusive ex or parent for everything as if perhaps they forced them to get into their profession. With Noura though, it seemed she chose it for she has worked doing other things, but perhaps it didn't pay enough to be independent.But, as much as I like certain elements of the film, it does have one major pitfall and a few others sprinkled in. Focusing on the minor ones first, there is an issue, to me, in the movie when they decide to let a scene go on too long. For example, there is one shot of just a guy's face as Simon is in the process of blackmailing him, and we focus on him thinking in silence for 3-4 minutes. Also, there is a dance scene where Marianne and Simon are dancing, and you wonder why is it there, much less, why so long? Before that scene, they already establish something is going on between them, so why are we watching them dance for 5 minutes with their dialog muted and only the music being heard? The biggest pitfall of the film, by far, are those first 40 minutes. Watching Simon mope around Paris, seem socially maladjusted, and talk about, or to, Michelle really makes you want to stop watching the movie for it just drags on too long. And even when it thankfully decides that it needs to show us more than him moping and masturbating, they switch it with what could have been a compelling story, which just sort of turns into decently written soft-core porn. Overall: On the Fence (Leaning Toward Skip It)While the film has elements I usually appreciate in a movie like romantic drama, violence and character evolution, though not necessarily all in one movie, this comes at the price of spending 40 minutes waiting for that all to happen. Then, once it does, it seems like it only does so because it realizes it needs a story and it feels like it was written so no one could really outshine Corbet, who is one of the writers for this film. With that, the characters of Noura and Marianne feel like they get stunted while Corbet continues to try to dominate the film. Making it so, overall, you feel like with some editing it could be good but, as is, the film is just a mess.

"Simon Killer" may the toughest film I've ever tried to categorize. It's not a horror film, it's not a thriller, it's not a romance, and it's not a drama. And yet, in another way, it *is* all of those. From the very title of the movie to the closing scene, this film defies all common conventions."Simon Killer" is the story of Simon, played brilliantly by Brady Corbet, who has just graduated from college and comes to Paris to get over a bad breakup. We never meet Michelle, his ex, but based on Simon's e-mails to her and her reply, it was not a happy breakup, and maybe even worse than that. While there, he meets a drop-dead gorgeous hooker (Mati Diop) and they start a relationship. I could discuss more of the plot -- and there is definitely more, involving blackmail attempts and other events -- but really, it's irrelevant. The film basically invites us to watch Simon and what he does. And it's engrossing. And the question is, what IS Simon, really. He's not really a pleasant guy. Why is he doing what he's doing? Is he a pathological liar? Or just a confused kid telling small lies in a foreign land. Does he hate women and think they are only for sex? Or is it the opposite, and he gets deeply emotionally involved. "Simon Killer" is fascinating and potentially frustrating as it invites you to watch and yet refuses to give pat answers and instead, seems to raise more questions.Film, like all art, is subjective, and I found "Simon Killer" absolutely riveting. You may find it disturbing and uncomfortable, but I think it's worth the ride.