A soft and hypnotic theme song sets the mood for this atmospheric thriller, which could take place anywhere (the feel is European, though it is actually set in Brooklyn) at anytime (the style of dress is 1940s, though the film was made in 1999). The camera moves slowly and deceptively, communicating the protagonist's furtive intentions, while lulling the viewer into a pleasant acceptance of everything that happens, no matter how strange. Emmanuel Salinger is Thomas, a young tailor whose father enters him in an exclusive tailoring competition, the preparation for which begins to unravel Thomas' fragile psyche. When his sister, Vera (Myriam Cyr), a beautiful and secretly sickly woman, arrives to share the work in his shop, Thomas' nerves are further aggravated. The predatory visits Vera receives from a horny sewing machine repairman make matters worse. But it is the realization that Vera possesses the lion's share of the sartorial talent in the family that finally pushes Thomas over the edge. He becomes obsessive about his art and about body dimensions, turning his profession into a deadly art. This audacious debut feature from codirectors Arthur Flam and Diane Doniol-Valcroze is visually inventive, menacing, darkly erotic, and reminiscent of both Hitchcock and Kafka. KILL BY INCHES is an arresting and fascinating, artistic horror story.
