Kraken: the horror film with Gazo that made people faint
Summary
South of Paris, an empty tower looms over La Grande Borne. In the housing estate, the rumor goes that those who climb up never come back down, and that something stirs in its depths. Behind the legend? Kraken, the horror film that turned Gazo and La Mano 1.9 into actors.
Kraken, by Mohamed Chabane and Théo Jourdain Rhodes, in theaters since September 30, 2026.
Kraken at a glance
- Release: September 30, 2026, not suitable for under-16s
- Directed by: Mohamed Chabane and Théo Jourdain Rhodes, their first feature film
- Setting: an abandoned tower in La Grande Borne, in Grigny
- Cast: Manon Bresch, Alassane Diong, Guillaume Gouix, Bilel Chegrani, Gazo, La Mano 1.9
- Box office: 103,671 admissions in France (AlloCiné, October 12, 2026)
A rumor, a tower, a cop: the origins of a lockdown thriller born on the estate
The idea didn't come from film school. It came from an informal conversation in the south of France with a local weed dealer turned film buff in prison. His suggestion: a horror story set in the heart of a large housing project.
The seed takes root with Mohamed Chabane and Théo Jourdain Rhodes, who worked on the series Young Millionaires. At Séries Mania, they meet producer Guillaume Thevenin. Same obsession, same setting: a horror thriller set inside a tower.
All that was left was to choose what lurked at the bottom. A former soldier gone mad, a child soldier: the ideas kept coming. The duo digs deeper and resurfaces with a fear rooted in reality.
"A cop who's lost it... killing guys, and we revisit all the cases of police brutality as a horror film."
— Théo Jourdain Rhodes, co-director, in AlloCiné's behind-the-scenes feature
The murders are carried out with service weapons: tasers, stun grenades. Guillaume Gouix lends his face to the killer. The monster from the depths has no tentacles. He wears a uniform.
From the mic to the stairwell
For their first movie roles, Gazo and La Mano 1.9 weren't chosen for their streams. The directors were looking for faces with a natural presence, with Top Boy as their compass. The British series had already proved that a housing estate could be the setting for a story without turning it into a postcard.
On set, there was no star treatment. The king of French drill takes on the physical scenes like a professional stuntman, and the co-director still remembers it.
"He gets dragged across a rooftop at -2°C in winter. He never complained."
— Mohamed Chabane, co-director, about Gazo (AlloCiné)
Manon Bresch says the same. Speaking to Numéro, the actress says the two rappers took part in every rehearsal and read-through. She describes them as "total professionals", every bit as committed as actors trained in theater.
The descent doesn't end with the credits. The duo recorded KRAKEN, a track from the soundtrack, with an official video released on La Mano's channel. The film comes out of rap, rap rises back up into the film: the circle is complete.
A must-watch: KRAKEN, the official music video by La Mano 1.9 and Gazo for the film's soundtrack.
Vibe check: KRAKEN, a track from the film's soundtrack.
Last shoot before demolition: when the setting becomes the monster
No studio, no green screen. Kraken was shot in a real building, and Manon Bresch reveals the chilling detail: it was the last production filmed there before the building was demolished.
Inside, even the air seems to work against the actors. "There was this dampness, this smell, this cold (it was about 5 degrees colder than outside)," she tells Numéro. The deeper you go into the tower, the further you sink.
For the effects, the directing duo opts for prosthetics and practical makeup rather than CGI. Manon Bresch performs her own stunts, alongside Manu Lanzi, her stunt coordinator since Mortel. A horror fan? "Absolutely not," she replies.
Did you know?
Bilel Chegrani, who plays Marvin, returned to shoot in his neighborhood exactly ten years after his debut in his first short film. For him, the tower wasn't a set. It was a return to his roots.
103,671 admissions: did the gamble really pay off?
Even before its release, the tower was already claiming victims. Two audience members fainted during the premiere at the Grand Rex. Add the under-16 ban: its reputation was sealed before the first screening.
The opening followed suit. According to figures reported by Generations, the film scored 10,523 admissions on its first day and passed 20,000 in two days. As of October 12, AlloCiné reports 103,671 admissions in France.
Critics, meanwhile, are divided. 3.4/5 from the press, 3.1/5 from audiences on AlloCiné. The gore and the tower's atmosphere top the list of praise, while a plot deemed too conventional leads the criticisms.
The real impact is elsewhere: an audience drawn in by the rap cast discovers a French genre film. And keep your ears open: Manon Bresch hinted that we might see her on Gazo and La Mano 1.9's next album. It's not confirmed, but the creature isn't done stirring.
THE MONSTER LEAVES THE TOWER
Two rappers descended into the depths of a condemned tower and came back up as actors. The building is gone, but the creature has resurfaced: the next chapter is already being written.
#KRAKEN #GAZO #LAMANO19 #RAPFR #RADARPXP