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Rovdyr
Directed by: Patrik Syversen Starring: Henriette Brusgaard, Jørn-Bjørn Fuller-Gee, Ninni Bull T. Robsahm, Lasse Valdal Synopsis: Norway, 1974: four friends in a minivan – brother and sister Mia and Jorgen, Roger and girlfriend Camilla – are travelling through the Northern countryside to one of their uncle’s lodge. On the way they are hassled by some locals at a diner and encounter a frightened young woman called Renate. Roger agrees to give her a lift, against the opinion of the rest of the group... When they are later passed by a landrover in the middle of the forest, Renate starts to freak out, telling them they have to get away... Review: Watching this movie reminded me of going to see Saving Private Ryan at the cinema – when the Americans finally made it off the beach, I felt like I’d been holding my breath for the whole 20 minutes. With
Rovdyr
, from the moment the travellers meet the landrover, till the final frame, I felt exactly the same way.
Running at a scant 78 minutes, Rovdyr sets its stall out at the very start, showing the viewer the fate of a previous couple of travellers, before sketching the social dynamics of our group of friends – Roger is a bit of a git, self centred and arrogant – Mia is the quiet one, Jorgen is the geeky one and Camilla is the strong feisty one. Any horror fan worth his salt will know from that description who is likely to get culled early on and who will last the longest – and who knows, might survive... The plot has been done before, in fact the above synopsis bears a resemblance to the remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre - it’s just that with Rovdyr it’s done that much better. The movie is intense all the way through, with nasty moments every step of the way. Even though Rovdyr adheres to classic horror movie traditions, there are still some surprises, such as the fight-or-flight impulse and survival instincts of certain characters. There are some very clever shots in this movie, such as when two are hiding from the killer, not knowing that he can see their legs sticking out.
Using an HD camera and shooting in widescreen, Syversen captures the immensity of the forest and also at times projects his movie world beyond the frame of the camera – the initial confrontation with the rangerover is a perfect example of events happening beyond the camera’s grasp, people reacting to something going on behind us. It actually makes you want to turn your head to see what's going on!
Verdict: Norway is fast establishing itself in the realm of horror movies: hot on the heels of the success of Fritt Vilt, director Patrik Syversen too delivers a heart-in-the-mouth horror movie. If you like your horror to be graphic, unrelenting and tense, then this movie is definitely worth seeking out. 8 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)
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