Mørkets øy

I rather liked this film. Not too long, and genuinely creepy in parts. The low budget shows, but the film-makers don't over-stretch themselves so it works fine. The most obvious comparison is to "The Wicker Man", which has a similar premise. Sofie Gråbøl plays the lead role well, and Paul-Ottar Haga is perfect as the charismatic vicar. Definitely worth a look, more cerebral than watching a Bruce Willis film.

A drama with some tense moments and a gripping climax. When Julie, a Danish school-teacher takes on a new job on a small Norwegian island, she discovers that the god-fearing islanders and their crazy vicar hide a dark secret. It seems that past students at the school have committed suicide. Julie starts to piece together bits of information despite the fact that the church members tend to shun her believing that the devil sent her to their island. This air of mystery is well-developed. Like all good thrillers it is difficult to point a finger at the guilty party although one does have some strong suspicions fairly early on. But is it a red herring? A man carrying an axe, shadowy cellars and faces suddenly appearing unexpectedly at unlocked doors add to the general spooky atmosphere. But this is nothing compared with the closing scenes when Julie exposes the perpetrator and the secret is revealed. The chase which follows and the escape by boat is truly exciting....real edge of the seat stuff! In fact it's enough to put you off teaching as a profession, and the church as depicted in this film is not particularly inviting either.

In the mediocre world that is Norwegian Cinema, Mørkets Øy fits in well with its token plank actors, amateur cinematography (it is SOO obviously not night in that last boat sequence...did they use blue overhead paper on the lens or something?) and contrived "cool" story. The only good thing in the film is the locations, so cudos to the location scout. If you want to see a good Norwegian film, watch "Junkmail" instead.

A Danish teacher moves to a small island in Norway. The island has a dark secret, two schoolgirls who were said to have committed suicide. When a third girl nearly dies of the same reason, the teacher ¨becomes suspicious... Beautiful surroundings in a rather dull film, but an interesting theme with an insane priest in a small parish. Exorcism and fear of sexuality and changes. I liked the film.

A thriller should be exciting and suspenseful - and this isn't. Sofie Gråbøl is over-acting and the direction doesn't work at all.