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France | |
Category: | Country |
Region: | Eastern Europe |
Continent: | Europe |
Points of interest: | Aix-en-Provence; Alsace; Grand Est; Marseilles; Paris; Rhyll; The Seine; Tarascon |
1st appearance: | Le Manoir du diable (1896) |
France is a country in Europe and part of the European Union. It's capital city is Paris, one of the most famous cities in the world, visited by millions of tourists every year. France has played a provincial part in the evolution of the horror film genre and was the principal setting for two of the most important movies of the silent film era; The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Phantom of the Opera, both of which starred the "Man of 1,000 Faces", Lon Chaney. The Hunchback and the Phantom have been re-imagined many times over the years, and with few exceptions, they are almost always set in France. The 1985 film The Bride was shot almost entirely in the French countryside and the cities of Ain, Aude, Carcassonne and Dordogne. France is also the birth place of vampire exploitation director Jean Rollin. Almost of Rollin's films from the 1970s take place in France. France was also the setting of the 1997 horror/comedy An American Werewolf in Paris, itself a sequel to 1981's werewolf revisionist film An American Werewolf in London.
MadS[]

Infected Romain at a party.
In 2024, a viral outbreak contaminated several people, resulting in subjects demonstrating extreme acts of violence. The contaminant was passed through the blood and could be administered through a bite or a scratch. [1] [2] One of the infected patients, Subject C39 escaped from a medical facility after being injected with a retrovirus that introduced a dangerous contaminant into her bloodstream. Wrapped in various bandages and in a hyper-elevated state, the infected woman lumbered down a two-lane roadway in Mulhouse where she encountered a young man named Romain, who had just pulled off the side of the road in his Mustang convertible. She leaped into the passenger side of Romain's vehicle, scaring the young driver, who was already highly excitable due to being high on drugs. Romain attempted to communicate with the woman, but being without tongue, she could not speak. He offered to drive her to a hospital, but the woman frantically indicated her disapproval by shaking her head. The woman produced a micro-recorder, which contained a voice explaining that she had been experimented on. She then began repeatedly slamming her forehead into the center console of his car. She then bit Romain across the throat, forcing him to push her off of him.

Anais is feeling the madness.
Romain continued to drive, but instead of taking Subject C39 to a hospital, he instead brought her to his house. The woman scrambled away from the car and began skittering throughout the house on all fours like an animal. Scared and confused, Romain left the woman to her own devices and took a shower. He quickly dressed himself and left the house to meet up with his girlfriend, Anais. The amount of drugs in his system may have staved off some of the viral effects, but Romain remained in a disoriented state. He had a random encounter with a former fling named Julie, who happened to be Anais' best friend. Afterward, Romain fell into a psychoactive state where, without warning or provocation, began brutally beating one of the party guests. Romain then stole a bicycle from another guest and returned to his house.
By this point, news of the contamination began to spread as quickly as the virus itself. Military personnel converged on various infection zones. A group of masked soldiers entered Romain's house, first encountering Subject C39 whom they promptly shot to death. Romain tried to escape, but soldiers apprehended him on the road pulled him into a military vehicle and shot him to death.

Julie & Anais.
The virus had now taken root in Anais, who began acting psychotic, often bursting into hysterical peals of laughter. Julie tried to help Anais, but getting her away from the area, but it was too late. The infection had cemented itself deeply in Anais and Julie was forced to abandon her. Julie took her scooter back to her invalid mother's apartment to check on her, but came upon a neighbor who had already become infected.
Anais followed Julie to her apartment and eventually caught up to her. A soldier named Noa entered the room and was forced to put Anais down unloading the entire clip of her machine gun into the woman's face. Yet still, her body continued to twitch. After confirming that Julie was not infected, Noa then noticed that Anais had clawed her way through her uniform's pant leg, thus spreading the contamination. Noa took her own life by shooting herself in the head.
Julie slumped down in front of a window in her apartment in a fit of hysterics. Outside, balls of fire rained down on the city of Mulhouse as military helicopters tried to contain the infection. [3]
Points of Interest[]
- Aix-en-Provence
- Aix-en-Provence is a city located in the southern region of France approximately thirty kilometers north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the subprefecture of the arrondissement of Aix-en-Provence, in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône, in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Aix-en-Provence is situated in the south of France, in a plain overlooking the Arc river, about 1.5 kilometers from the right bank of the river. The city slopes gently from north to south and the Montagne Sainte-Victoire can easily be seen to the east. Aix's position in the south of France gives it a warm climate, though more extreme than Marseille due to the inland location.
- Mulhouse
- Mulhouse is a city located Grand Est region of France and is part of the European Collectivity of Alsace. It is situated in the northeastern region of the country close to the border of Germany and Switzerland. It is under the governmental département of the Haut-Rhin. In the 2024 film MadS, Mulhouse became the central target of a viral infection that caused its host victims to spontaneously devolve into a psychoactive state, committing extreme acts of violence.
- Paris
- Paris is the capital city of France and part of the European Union. It is one of the most famous cities in the world, visited by millions of tourists every year. Paris has played a provincial part in the evolution of the horror film genre and was the principal setting for one of the most important movies of the silent film era, Phantom of the Opera, which starred the "Man of 1,000 Faces", Lon Chaney. Phantom have been re-imagined many times over the years, and with few exceptions, they are almost always set in France. Paris was also the setting of the 1997 horror/comedy An American Werewolf in Paris, itself a sequel to 1981's werewolf revisionist film An American Werewolf in London.
- Rhyll
- Rhyll was a kingdom in France during the Dark Ages. A man named Guy DuBlanc lived in Rhyll and was captain of the guard and the taxation enforcer for Baron Rivalen. A vain, wicked an cruel man, he often extorted and maimed peasants who were unable to pay their dues. Guy DuBlanc met his match however when the guardian of the peasants, a Hellspawn known as Lord Iain Covenant scarred his face. The Sisters of the Morrigan provided him with a mystical helmet with four horns.
- Seine
- The Seine is a river that travel through the North of France. It is 482 miles long and runs through the Paris Basin. It is considered a major commercial waterway with numerous bridges crossing its banks all the way through Burgundy. In 1845, a mad scientist named Doctor Mirakle performed bizarre evolution experiments by injecting ape blood into the bodies of young women. The women all died and Mirakle dumped their bodies into the Seine. [4]
- Tarascon
- Tarascon made an appearance in the opening scene from the 2023 film The Nun II. In the film in 1956, a priest named Father Noiret prepares to conduct mass at his church. He sends a boy named Jacques down into the cellar to fetch a large bottle of communal wine. The boy does as instructed and when he returns the wine, notices an eeriness about a painting of Saint Lucy before observing a kick-ball rolling back to him of its own accord. Returning to the nave, Jacques and Father Noiret observe the container of Holy water beginning to boil. Valak the demon nun appears before them and levitates Father Noiret several feet into the air and then causes him to suddenly burst into flame. [5]
Films that take place in France[]
- 28 Weeks Later (2007)
- As Above, So Below
- Bloody Mallory
- Deadly Games: Dial Code Santa Claus
- Diary of a Madman (1963)
- Eye of the Devil
- Fright House (1989)
- Happening, The (Partially)
- High Tension (2003)
- Hunchback of Notre Dame, The (1923)
- I Vampiri
- Infested
- Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (Partially)
- Kandisha
- Le Manoir du diable (1896)
- Lips of Blood (1975)
- Living Dead Girl (1982)
- MadS
- Man Who Could Cheat Death, The
- Munsters, The (2022) (Partially)
- Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)
- Nun II, The
- Phantom of the Opera (1925)
- Phantom of the Opera (1943)
- Phantom of the Opera (1998)
- Phantom of the Opera (2004)
- Requiem for a Vampire
- Scream of Fear
- Strange Door, The
- Titane
- Vampires (1986)
- Van Helsing (2004) (Beginning only)
- Zombie Lake
TV Shows that place in France[]
Books that take place in France[]
Comics that take place in France[]
Characters from France[]
- Andre du Pres
- Andre Toulon
- Coraline Duvall
- Erik Destler
- Guy DuBlanc
- Josette du Pres
- Lestat de Lioncourt
- Marseilles
- Natalie du Pres
- Noiret
- Pouissin
- Subject C39
People who were born in France[]
People who died in France[]
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ Red.com; "How Indie Horror MadS Was Filmed As A One-Shot Thriller". January 27th, 2025.
- ↑ Screen Daily; "Pulsar Content boards David Moreau's one-shot genre film 'MadS' (exclusive). (1 September 2023). Leffler, Rebecca.
- ↑ MadS (2024). Directed and written by David Moreau.
- ↑ Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)
- ↑ Nun II, The
![]() This article relates to locations featured in the 28 Days Later film franchise. |
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