Exhilarating and surprising from start to unforgettable finish, this cool and menacing thriller from up-and-coming auteur Sébastien Marnier, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, follows Pierre Hoffman, rigorously played by Laurent Lafitte (Elle), a handsome gay substitute teacher in the early stages of a midlife crisis. When one of the teachers at an elite private school departs under unsettling circumstances, Pierre—newly single and in the middle of his thesis with no end in sight—takes the job finishing the semester, teaching French to the school’s gifted class—where strange occurrences are as common as active shooter drills. When the students prove to be both difficult and suspiciously sinister, Pierre begins following them after school, uncovering a startling mystery that proves what he’d suspected from the beginning: the kids are definitely not alright.

Aided by a moody John Carpenter-esque score and haunting renditions of Patti Smith songs, Marnier taps into our collective fears (aging and the environment, to name a few) to craft a brilliant, sophisticated thriller that is both unshakably urgent and wholly original.