Genre: Horror thriller
Director: Pal Oie
Plot: The crew of a new reality TV show venture into the forest and spend a few nights in a cabin to prepare themselves before actual filming begins. Strange things start happening once they arrive, including the discovery of a dead body in the pond nearby.
The gist: This Norwegian film looks like a cross between The Cabin In The Woods and The Blair Witch Project, but still manages to maintain its own identity somewhat.
The plot is simple: a TV crew venture into the forest with no modern gear, in order to put themselves in the same shoes as the show's participants. They live together in the same cabin owned by the show's director. Everything's fine until they discover an abandoned tent near a pond, and subsequently a dead body in the water. The presence of a mysterious figure in the woods starts to spook them, but the director insists on staying put, even as he starts to show signs of losing his mind.
The filmmakers do a great job of using the forest itself as a character, and manipulating the darkness to compliment the feeling of fear that comes from being in the forest alone. The cast also perform to expectations.
The good: As mentioned, the cast are all great, especially Kristoffer Joner and Bjorn Floberg as Lasse, the chain smoker who doesn't enjoy being there at all and Gunnar, the director respectively. Cinematography, set design and lighting all work together beautifully to create the sense of dread of being in the dark forest.
The bad: The buildup is too slow. As a viewer, I wished the situation was far more tense than they had come up with. The script tries to build the suspense by having the crew argue and bicker, but they never really reach the breaking point. The final payoff was also weak.
Verdict: It's a decent thriller, but if it had capitalised on the opportunities it had made for itself, it would have been far better. (3/5)
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