Jägarna 2

This is a masterpiece of nail-biting intensity. It is a sequel to a film made as long ago as 1996 by the same director, Kjell Sundvall, with the same actor, Rolf Lassgard, called THE HUNTERS (JÄGARNA, 1996). Lassgard in both films plays Stockholm detective Erik Bäckström, who returns to his roots in the wild and remote northern part of Sweden, a land of vast conifer forests, hunters, and small introverted settlements where everybody knows everybody else far too well. In this sequel of many years later, there are a few wistful flashbacks lasting only a few flickering moments, but otherwise the story is full-on and right-now. The characters portrayed in this film are the Swedish version of 'hicks in the sticks'. and there is more than a whiff of DELIVERANCE (1972) about the atmosphere. All those men going out in gangs with guns to murder elk! There is an unpleasant scene in the film where a female elk is standing twitching her ears and looking with curiosity at the humans, and she is then shot in the forehead and falls over dead. There are a few gruesome scenes which are even more unpleasant. Everyone in this film carries guns frequently, and you would think they had all run for Vice President with John McCain. Rolf Lassgard is marvellous as the central character. He exudes so much gravitas, it could sink a battleship. He is one of those Scandinavians who doesn't have to say anything, he just makes a slight expression in his rather dour face, and you get the message. One can imagine him communicating with Sarah Lund by microscopic twitches of his facial muscles, and no words need pass between them. This is such a nail-biter that unless you wrap your hands in towels you won't have any fingernails left. As to who killed the girl Elin, when, and how, and with which rifle, well that would be telling. But this film is about far more than a murder mystery. It is about searing family tensions, battered wives and children, hypocrisy, cover-ups, psychotic obsessions, criminal ingenuity, corrupt police, desperate danger, and throughout it all, there is the pervasive atmosphere of fear and intimidation of a small community which dare not face its own devils. There is also sadness and redemption. It's all there, you just have to be strong. You will be totally mesmerised by this drama, which is unrelenting, and is what is called 'character-driven' rather than 'plot-driven'. It is about people, some of whom you would definitely not want to meet. But Rolf Lassgard gets my vote for best cop of the year, and also for Mr. Nice Guy of the Frozen North.

There's been 15 years since the first "Jegerne" ("The Hunters), and it's very understandable that there was to be a follow up many years later. This is the finest of thrillers made by the Swedes. Kjell Sundvall has directed both, and that's probably why both th first and the second is almost equally good. The story is different, of course, but the feel and the tension is the same. The film never slips when it comes to make a tense feeling.

This is the most true of sequels. We meet the same people 15 years later, where a policeman's family was involved in a murder. All these years later he is ordered back, after a young girl has gone missing.

Both films is kept in the same tone. This is brilliantly done. It makes a kind of rural tension. Somewhere where bans between village people are so tight that no one dares speak up. We're in the rural North of Sweden, where hunting is an everyday event. The film depicts the nature and landscape in a beautiful way, and weaves this into the story.

We feel the tension all along, and this tension is what makes the films such a treat. The actors are great, where both Rolf Lassgård and Peter Stormare are as good here as in the first. Fine actors. The first film was never forgotten. Not even outside of Sweden. That's why many also was drawn to this continuation many years later. It could've all gone wrong, this follow up. It doesn't, due to fine script writing, great acting, good instruction as well as the Swedish nature.

"Jägarna 2" is a really powerful swedish crime thriller.

This film really shows how a good script can make up for minor editing and/or directorial mistakes. And even though that might sound harsh, altogether this was a great experience which gets the viewer hooked pretty much right from the start.

It not only uses the classical suspense a lá Hitchcock, but also makes one deal with feelings of injustice, tension and a need for gratification.

Also, compared to all the "cheap" crime thrillers out there, this one combines a good crime story with real characters, who have emotions and more importantly goals.

I'd definitely recommend this picture to everyone who wants to widen their horizon when it comes to films and stories of this particular genre.

Sundvall's movies often deal with the same theme: A lone person fighting against an evil establishment. Nevertheless, he always succeeds in making great movies. This movie, too, was very exciting and very intense. It was even more intense then Jägarna 1, its predecessor. The acting was first- rate. Especially Lassgård and Stormare did absolutely magnificent jobs.

The nature sceneries were great to watch, too, especially for me who have never yet seen that part of Sweden or Finland.

I'm most likely going to buy this one when it is (very soon) released on DVD and blu-ray.

FALSE TRAIL, a Swedish slice of crime noir, is a follow up to 1996's THE HUNTERS, and sees returning protagonist Erik Backstrom (Rolf Lassgard) back to solve more crimes in the chilly Scandinavian wilderness. Well, it took them fifteen years to make a sequel, but the wait was worth it: I find this to be a superior follow up in terms of excitement, thriller aspects, and pacing.

THE HUNTERS was a similarly-plotted story but had a different style of execution: it was darker, more of a family tragedy, and rather depressing. FALSE TRAIL is equally dark but has more of a conventional detective feel to it, a battle of wits between good and evil. Some viewers will find it the lesser piece, but I preferred it. It helps that Peter Stormare (FARGO) has a huge and complex role and is absolutely fantastic in it, the best work yet I've seen from the actor.

Inevitably, the taciturn and grumpy Backstrom is the film's guiding force, and Lassgard is a delight to watch as ever. The production values are better than ever, and Kjell Sundvall seems to have really grown as a director, crafting a well-polished and exciting thriller in which the stakes are never less than high. Unpredictable, involving, and harrowing, FALSE TRAIL is one to watch.