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\n\tAbout 11 days ago the 79th Cannes<\/a> Film Festival opened with a lighthearted French comedy, The Electric Kiss<\/a>. That indicated to me they were getting the fun stuff out of the way in order to go really dark for the next 10 days. That has been pretty much the case, so it\u2019s not surprising that the very last Competition film, premiering Friday night, doesn\u2019t exactly make you leave the Palais walking on air.<\/p>\n \n\tThe Birthday Party<\/a> seems like a fun title but you don\u2019t want an invite to this one. Based on the book Histoires de la Nuit by Laurent Mauvignier, this is yet another home-invasion thriller, a well-worn genre that I think has never gotten a whole lot better than 1955\u2019s The Desperate Hours with Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March (not the \u201990s remake), and in terms of real life, none tops the beginning of Richard Brooks\u2019 brilliant 1967 film In Cold Blood from Truman Capote\u2019s book on the Cutter Family murders. That same year, Wait Until Dark scared me to death when bad guys terrorized a blind Audrey Hepburn. The original Straw Dogs was good, so was Panic Room.<\/p>\n \n\tIt is tough to improve on these, and French director Lee Mysius (Ada, Fire Devil) doesn\u2019t quite get there, though her intense drama has its moments.<\/p>\n \n\tOne of those moments negatively speaking, is [SPOILER ALERT] in the first half hour before things get boiling. The nice friendly dog is the first casualty of this home invasion, and for that I must deduct some points because I really don\u2019t like it when the good-hearted pup gets it between the ears. I have still never forgiven John Wick, the first one, for doing it so vividly to that nice little beagle.<\/p>\n \n\tOther than this transgression, Mysius, who does have a flair for setting the story in a remote location guaranteeing added tension ala another home invasion movie I loved, 1962\u2019s Cape Fear, as well as the Martin Scorsese remake. Fortunately, though this gets violent, Mysius doesn\u2019t go down the path of the most terrifying example of the genre, 1997\u2019s torture porn entry Funny Games.<\/p>\n \n\tRELATED: \u2018The Birthday Party\u2019 Clip: First Look At Monica Bellucci<\/a> In Cannes Palme D\u2019Or Contender Unveiled<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tLiving in a very unpopulated little area of the rural French marshlands, Thomas (Bastien Bouillon<\/a>), his wife Nora (Hafsia Herzi<\/a>) and their young daughter Ida (Tawba El Gharchi) go about their daily routine. Nora is an executive who gets a big promotion at work, Ida heads to school, and Thomas deals with the farm animals and setting about to surprise Nora with a birthday party. He brings the only neighbor they have, Cristina (Monica Bellucci), an Italian painter into the plans since she can really cook. Life here seems idyllic, until it isn\u2019t. A man drives up wanting to be shown some real estate for sale but gives off a strange vibe to Cristina, who blows him off. The air of something bad about to happen continues through the film\u2019s first half hour (including the demise of the dog), and as Thomas is decorating the house with birthday goodies, he and Ida have uninvited guests.<\/p>\n