FrightFest

8/10 - pretty solid, although the police should have considered both Josef and Evelyn as possible suspects from the start. The half-seen mirror image was pretty cheesy. But really liked the fact that the hypnotist did exactly what he warned them of - he fed Evelyn's name to Josef and then heard what he expected to hear - not what Josef said. Movie didn't really run with it, though.

Perfectly happy with that. Good, solid start to the day 7/10

Solid Scandinavian thriller (may well have been stretched too thin if it became a series) with superlative direction, by the director one of my favourite films (My Life as a Dog).

The slow pace exploded quite nicely in that final scene, even if (as discussed with a fellow FF attendee over the dinner table in Busaba) that frozen lake was put there for a reason.

One irksome thing was the failure to spot the family connection. And I heard someone commenting about "evil Scandinavian nurses", but this was for me part of the genre trope "Hospitals that are not much like real hospitals". See also: unprofessional behaviour by professionals and made up drug names.

didn't quite have the impact of Girl With The Dragon tattoo, but was still an excellent thriller - quite a slow burner to start with, then really went for it at the end, very nice scenery too! 8/10

Usual slow build up which seems standard with most of the Scandinavian but still enjoyed it immensely.

On a lighter note am still wondering when the cops in these will realise that taking the family/next of kin with them to apprehend the main suspect is not a good idea.

Pretty much agree with all that's been said. A solid Nordic noir, but not as good as "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo". Some twists and turns help to sustain the mystery, while there are decent performances from most of the cast. I've not read the source novel so it would be interesting to hear of any differences and how the two versions compare. 8 / 10

"Solid" is the word. Enjoyed it; it's absorbing, and has a decent action climax, though much of it has the feel of an ITV Drama Premiere (not unlike the Dragon Tattoo sequels, though not Tattoo itself). But.....

Alex J wrote:Pretty much agree with all that's been said. A solid Nordic noir, but not as good as "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo". Some twists and turns help to sustain the mystery, while there are decent performances from most of the cast. I've not read the source novel so it would be interesting to hear of any differences and how the two versions compare. 8 / 10

The book has more horror elements in it, the surviving boy is a really nasty piece of work who threatens/blackmails his "sister" into sexual acts, cuts himself up more than we got to see in the film...there is a lot in the book (a gang of kids subplot for the missing boy), but as usually happens with adaptations, something has to be left out. The sister is in the film for one brief scene, whereas in the novel she is a key (albeit background) character. If you enjoyed the film then it's worth a read. Plus the sequel is out now.

Having said all of that, myself and the wife both rather enjoyed the film...although we were maybe hoping for a bit more nastiness from the boy.

I thought the skilled direction, fine acting performances and impressive cinematography almost managed to conceal the fact that the underlying story was really pretty thin and downright stupid at times.