The May 14th release of Calibre 9 couldn’t have been timed more perfectly: The U.S. is entrenched in gun-control laws and dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy at the Boston Marathon. Calibre 9, the debut feature from French writer/director Jean-Christian Tassy, celebrated it’s world premiere at the 2011 Fantastic Fest to a great response from fans and critics.

The concept of this film is insane, hilarious, and genius. No doubt it’s a blast. As the synopsis goes:

“In a town riddled with corruption, naïve urban planner Yann acquires a 9mm handgun, which is possessed by the soul of Sarah, a murdered prostitute. Working together to eliminate the city’s criminals one by one, they ultimately seek to restore order by hunting down the man at the head of the corruption, the mayor himself.

When asked if he feels he is part of the “new new wave” of French genre filmmakers that includes Xavier Gens (Hitman, The ABCs of Death) and Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes, Maniac), director Tassy said, “Calibre 9 didn’t just have a small budget, it had a ridiculous budget. At the end it cost around double the budget of El Mariachi. This is something that seems to me quite unique in France, the DIY filmmaking ethic. I feel very close to this new wave of filmmakers.”

Calibre 9, a French-language action film, will be released on DVD on May 14th with English subtitles.

Rock Hard \m/