In actor-turned-director Noémie Merlant’s dark, gory French farce, three friends must conceal a #MeToo murder while haunted by the ghosts of abusive men.

It’s midsummer in Marseille, and heat-crazed residents are taking to their balconies – including boisterous camgirl Ruby and quiet writer Nicole. After their starlet friend Élise shows up from her latest film set, exasperated by phone calls from her possessive husband, they flirt with the hunky fashion photographer across the street. He clearly fancies Ruby, so the others head home. Then Ruby shows up covered in blood, having lethally fended off a rapist. Now the Balconettes are on body-disposal duty … which is the worst possible time for Élise and Nicole, who are having their own issues – both real and otherworldly.

Merlant stars as Élise in her second feature as director – co-written with her Portrait of a Lady on Fire (MIFF 2019) director Céline Sciamma – which premiered in the cult Midnights program at Cannes. This gory, maximalist horror-comedy isn’t an expected move from either Merlant or Sciamma, and most directors definitely wouldn’t go full-frontal nude onscreen. But its exuberant, sex-positive tone, bright colour palette and broad genre swerves will titillate fans of Pedro Almodóvar and Julia Ducournau.

“A boisterous romp … that never runs out of surprises or lets convention get in the way of following its own bliss.” – IndieWire