Very little happens, and all of the sordid criminal events take place off screen in Claude Chabrol's exquisitely detached and austerely abstract murder mystery set in the Perigord region of central France. At the centre of the intrigue is Chabrol's frequent collaborator and wife, Stephane Audran, who plays Mademoiselle Helene, the beautiful and brash, yet shy and retiring local school teacher. As the film begins, Mlle. Helene is at a festive local wedding enjoying the company of brusque and earnest Popaul, the local butcher. Popaul speaks roughly of his bloody experiences as a soldier, yet shows a sentimental gentility towards Mlle. Helene. As the two engage in a sweet, if unlikely, courtship, the town falls victim to a serial killer who is brutally murdering local women--including the bride at the wedding. The atmosphere of the film becomes rife with subtle yet chilling suspense as Mlle. Helene simultaneously draws closer to Popaul, just as she is beginning to suspect him as the murderer. As the tension builds, so does the intricate interplay between the conflicting yet similar characters of Mlle. Helene and Popaul, resulting in a final explosion of violent acts.

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