Fantastic Fest review: Gaspar Noé’s Climax is a hallucinatory trip to nowhere

Climax, the latest film from the Argentinian filmmaker / provocateur Gaspar Noé (Enter the Void, Irreversible), rests on a relatively simple premise. A dance troupe is celebrating a night out together in a nightclub in 1996 when they realize that someone has spiked their Sangria with LSD. What transpires from there is a claustrophobic and tense night of terror as the troupe embark on a sex and violence filled journey, becoming increasingly more volatile and erratic as their trip progresses.

The first half of Climax is a visual marvel, featuring a staggering dance sequence that seems to be made up of one-long unbroken shot (this was a midnight screening mind you, so take that with a grain of salt) that wouldn’t be out of place in the golden age of Hollywood musicals. We initially meet the members of the troupe via an extended opening sequence on a small TV set, with VHS recordings of their audition interviews. The sequence seems to go on forever, but it’s a clever way for Noé to introduce us to the large cast, made up of real dancers acting for the first time (with the exception of lead Sofia Boutella, who starred opposite Tom Cruise in The Mummy).

The joys of the film come from the easygoing repartee of the cast as we see them in their small groups at the beginning of their night out, loudly boasting about the sexual conquests they’re planning for the rest of the night before things start going south. Noé imbues these scenes with a documentary-like quality, framing them simply and cleanly before the horror of the night takes hold.

Like a drug come down, the darker second half of the film pales in comparison to its euphoric opening. As the characters run through the darkened nightclub to a thumping soundtrack of period-appropriate house and techno music, committing all manners of atrocities against each other, the film commits to a relatively standard set of horror tropes that can’t compete with the inspired opening half (the film is based on a true story, though Noé has undoubtedly taken some creative license).

Noé is intent on making Climax a meditation of life, death and the worthwhile pursuit of dance and hedonistic / hallucinatory pleasure as a tribal communal activity, filling the screen with occasional text blocks displaying perplexing platitudes like “death is a unique opportunity.” It makes for a unique and disorientating experience, which is likely just what Noé had in mind. Climax may not amount to much in the end, but the sheer inspired madness and incredible choreography make for a singular experience, one that demands to be seen on the big screen (without or without your own enhancements).