A Woman Kills (La femme bourreau)
Written and Directed by Jean-Denis Bonan
Starring Claude Merlin, Solange Pradel, Myriam Mézières, Jackie Raynal
Unrated
Runtime: 70 minutes
New restoration and Blu-ray release coming February 7, 2023

by Tori Potenza, Staff Writer

Content Warning: Rape, Depictions of Transphobic stereotypes 

A Woman Kills, known in its country of origin as La femme bourreau, was released in France in 1968. However, the movie was unable to find distribution for 45 years until Luna Park Films worked on this brand new restoration, newly released on Blu-Ray by Radiance Films. This rarely seen French crime thriller is something that is sure to interest film fans, especially those who are fans of the Criterion Collection. While the movie has specific scenes and subject material that might be hard to watch or deal with in a modern day context, this is a fascinating cultural artifact that shares DNA with many classic films upheld in cinema circles. It is always a delight to see rare and hard to find gems get a larger release. As a cultural touchstone, A Woman Kills has plenty of material that will lend itself to interesting conversations amongst those who seek it out. 

A Woman Kills takes place after Hélène Picard, a sex worker is executed for killing several women. The citizens of Paris are still reeling from the fear and anxiety these murders caused them. Unfortunately as soon as Picard is executed, the murders start up again. It seems unlikely that they caught the wrong person, so who could this mysterious new killer be and how do their crimes match Picard’s so perfectly? The story follows police detective Solange (Solange Pradel) as she investigates these new crimes and Louis (Claude Merlin) the executioner who executed Picard. The two strike up a romance and as they learn more about each other and continue investigating the new crimes it becomes clear that the murderer is much closer to them than they might expect. 

While the narrative structure of French New Wave films can be hard to parse out, especially for those who are not familiar with it, there are plenty of interesting aspects in which fans of horror, procedurals, and classic international cinema will find intriguing. A Woman Kills often plays as a pseudo-slasher; jumping from arthouse cinema to an almost grindhouse movie with its nudity and violence. It is clear that it also draws inspiration from Hitchcock’s work, especially Psycho. Ideas around identity, hauntings, and mental illness are all explored within its loose narrative. There are also many elements of a straightforward police procedural which often makes it a task to follow the investigation while also interpreting the experimental storytelling. It also has a somewhat comedic tone to the police investigation which is entertaining, but occasionally hard to understand given the seriousness of the crimes.  It might not always be successful in the way it blends these cinematic elements but considering how it fits in with early pseudo slashers like Psycho and Peeping Tom, it is an essential part of the changing narratives in film history. 

There are gorgeous scenes peppered throughout the movie including a sex scene that is shot from underneath the bed springs, contorting the look of the entangled bodies. Even very simple shots of Solange Pradel lazily lying on the bed awaiting her lover are enthralling and beautiful to watch. This is a treasure for those film fans looking for restorations of lost films and looking for interesting discussion points. The 2k restored release includes an updated documentary featuring some of the cast and crew along with a booklet that discusses gender identity tropes in A Woman Kills and the horror film. So if you are looking to fill in gaps in your film knowledge and explore an underseen classic, consider adding this release to your collection.