Péril en la demeure (1985)

Péril en la demeure is a French thriller film first released in 1985, directed by Michel Deville.  The film stars Anémone, Richard Bohringer, Nicole Garcia, Christophe Malavoy and Michel Piccoli.  It has also been released under the title: Death in a French Garden.  Our overall rating for this film is: very good.


A young teacher, David Aurphet, agrees to give guitar lessons to Vivianne, the daughter of a wealthy bourgeois couple.  Straight away, David finds himself the object of unbridled desire for Vivianne’s mother, Julia.  But a few weeks into their passionate love affair, David’s life begins to take a dark and potentially deadly turn.  One evening, he is assaulted by a stranger, but is saved thanks to the intervention of another stranger, Daniel, who reveals that he is a hired assassin.  Daniel’s target turns out to be Julia’s husband, who may possibly have uncovered his wife’s infidelity and may be planning to kill David.  Meanwhile, David receives a video recording of his hot romantic liaisons with Julia and suspects that Julia’s mysterious neighbour, Edwige, may be implicated.  If nothing else, one thing is clear.  Someone is about to be killed…

Michel Deville won the best director César in 1985 for this slick erotic thriller, an unusual departure for a filmmaker who has made a point of avoiding genre cinema for most of his career.  Without compromising his very individual artistic style, Deville manages to compose one of the most memorable thrillers of the 1980s, rated by some as one of his most inspired and accessible films.  The director’s quirky humour and eccentric ideas for linking scenes add some disturbing undercurrents to a bizarre but thoroughly compelling story, which is based on a highly acclaimed French detective novel.

Christophe Malavoy heads a distinguished cast, playing a naïve teacher caught up in an increasingly bewildering web of intrigue and romantic entanglement.  Malavoy is a perfect casting choice – he plays innocence and vulnerability supremely well, and his beautiful physique serves the film well in the raunchy (but tasteful) lovemaking scenes.   There are fine contributions also from Nicole Garcia (as hot as a barbecue sausage in some scenes, and just as tasty) and a spectacularly sinister trio comprising Richard Bohringer, Anémone and Michel Piccoli (each of whom seems to be auditioning for the last place in a lunatic asylum).   Seductively tense from start to finish, and ever so slightly bonkers, Péril en la demeure is a satisfying treat for any fan of the sophisticated French thriller.

© James Travers 2006

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