A dystopian medical thriller in a short format for young viewers. 12 girls are trapped in a mansion, but why are they there, and is it for real? (Please note, this review may contain spoilers.) Scandinavian public broadcasters are required by law to offer programming for children and teens, including drama series. This is something…
In Norwegian cinemas now, the sequel fantasy blockbuster The Ash Lad 2. Do you know your Norwegian folk tales? Try to spot as many as you can in the film! Following the successfull original big budget mainstream Ash Lad from 2017 (original title; Askeladden), the sequel In Soria Moria Castle see Espen and Kristin embark…
The hard science fiction feature Aniara is a rare opportunity to see the future as it was envisioned in the 1950s. Rare in the sense that never before has a science fiction poem from Sweden been filmed. Here’s a gallery of alternate posters tested by the designers at Magnolia. Aniara adapts the 1956 poem by…
Netflix, the global VOD giant, releases The Rain 2 tomorrow. The second season of the Danish post-apocalyptic drama series actually started pre-production before it was commissioned by the distributor. The first season of the first ever original Danish series commissioned by the giant streamer premiered almost exactly a year ago. Tomorrow the second season will…
Coming to US theatres and on VOD on May 17th is the Swedish feature film Aniara, based on some of the most famous Swedish science fiction ever written. Originally a response to World War 2’s nuclear watershed and the Cold War, the story is still relevant in light of environmental disasters mankind may be facing.…
The semi-Norwegian horror feature Polaroid will be released on home video for the first time on May 17th. It’s origins are Norwegian and in spite of a troubled release, the director went on to bigger projects. In 2015, Lars Klevberg directed the 15 minute Norwegian film Polaroid, in which two young girls, both social media…
Nordic fantasy films that gets a sequel is a rare event, but the Danish Shamer’s Daughter franchise has achieved that with the first sequel now playing in Danish cinemas, and opening in Norway today. Following the success of the original film in 2015 (it sold 225.000 tickets in Denmark alone and was compared to Harry…
Today the first two episodes of Hidden aired on Viaplay. The series is the latest big budget effort in an improving Scandinavian mainstream fantasy scene. Since only two episodes have aired, we’ll leave a complete review for later, and only look at a few things in the first episodes. “Aired” is not the correct term,…
The Scandinavian TV & streaming network Viaplay is jumping on the local supernatural / fantasy wagon with Hidden, an urban fantasy drama based on a bestselling novel by Filip Alexanderson. After having been an actor since 2002, Filip Alexanderson published his first novel in 2015, called Förstfödd (First born). In November 2017 it was announced…
Today is launch day for the new Danish feature film Finale, that was to be Denmark’s first theatrical torture porn film. Based on the award winning book by Steen Langstrup. We first reported on the film in 2015 when it was scheduled to open in theatres in October 2016, but it’s not until today that the…
The first proper Swedish science fiction film in many years is coming to cinemas today. Alone in Space is a sci-fi adventure for children but also a hommage to genre classics their parents grew up with. Directed by Ted Kjellsson, Alone is Space (original title: Ensamma i rymden) started shooting in July 2017 and is…
After one week in Norwegian cinemas, The Quake is shaking up some real business and on its way to become a success, just like its predecessor, The Wave. The opening weekend alone was the strongest in 2018 for any movie. In its first weekend more than 155.000 Norwegian film fans went to see Oslo shaken…
Roar Uthaug was an established director in Norway when he flooded Norwegian cinemas with The Wave in 2015. Now the sequel is here, in which director John Andreas Andersen takes the disaster to Oslo. The Wave was Norway’s first proper disaster film and pulled a huge crowd to cinemas, with more than 800.000 tickets sold.…
The critically acclaimed supernatural thriller Thelma has been nominated to 12 Amanda awards, the Norwegian Oscar. That happened in spite of the director’s threat to boycott the award show. Last year, Joachim Trier’s supernatural Thelma became one of the most applauded Norwegian genre movies in recent times. The film was part of the official selection at…
What is even rarer than a Swedish science fiction movie? A Swedish disaster movie. Den blomstertid nu kommer suggests what happens if Swedish infrastructure and society are attacked by a hostile force. The film title actually refers to a Swedish summertime hymn, traditionally credited to Israel Kolmodin, a Lutheran priest. The origin of the hymn…
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