There's a reason that Charlotte Colbert is most often compared to Salvador Dalí. Her work as a photographer, multi-media artist and filmmaker is defined by the surreal, which has made her one of the most fascinating new voices in the horror genre.
Colbert has been directing for more than a decade now, cutting her teeth on short films with titles like The Man with the Stolen Heart and The Girl with Liquid Eyes. Her feature debut is She Will, a slow-burn psychological and supernatural horror film starring Alice Krige that deals with past trauma and maleficent witches. Which is to say, it is as scary as it is surreal.
Below, Colbert shares with A.frame the five films that have had a profound impact on her and the movies that she makes.
Directed by: Nicolas Roeg | Written by: Allan Scott and Chris Bryant
One of the most incredible films. Actually, the guy who did all of Nicolas Roeg's SFX is a lovely gentleman who I met in the streets of London. He's quite an eccentric. He calls himself Michael Surrealist. When we were stuck at the end of lockdown, we couldn't shoot anything. I called Michael Surrealist and was like, "Please help us with some funny effects." That's how the weird, liquidy in-camera stuff [in She Will] was done, by Michael in his kitchen.
Directed by: Marcel Carné | Written by: Jacques Prévert
A masterpiece which, along with Three Colors: Blue, made me realize that cinema is just absolute poetry. The film is just completely magic.
Directed and written by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
In terms of the dialogue and the world it creates, that's maximum storytelling.
Directed and written by: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
It's extraordinary. All of these people are obsessed with Powell and Pressburger. It's just dreamy as hell — you can't beat that.
Directed by: Dario Argento | Written by: Dario Argento and Daria Nicolodi
Absolutely remarkable. The music in it by Goblin is so extraordinary and so bold. There's something so interesting about that space of horror where it becomes so aesthetic and allows for the most exquisite world building.
