Georges Franju, best known for directing the horror classic Eyes Without a Face (1960), began his career with a number of short documentary films, of which 1949’s Blood of the Beasts (Le sang des bêtes) is a primary example. From watching this 20-minute documentary, it is easy to see how Franju was able to transition smoothly into the horror film genre, as this gory, ultra-realistic depiction of French slaughterhouses is far from tame documentary fare.
Filmed, by Franju’s own admission, in black and white to preserve the aesthetic of the work–Franju famously said, “If it were in colour, it’d be repulsive… the sensation people get would be a physical one”–Blood of the Beasts is a haunting example of ultra-realism. Particularly effective is the way Franju juxtaposes images of peaceful daily life on the outskirts of Paris with the bloody brutality of the neighboring slaughterhouses.
Distributed by the Criterion Collection as a bonus feature for Franju’s Eyes Without a Face, this short documentary is a brilliant first feature from Franju, and its pairing with Eyes Without a Face feels extremely appropriate. This is the closest a documentary about real, everyday life can come to being a horror film in its own right.
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