Rökkur

"Two men's broken relationship is tested as they are haunted by a supernatural entity awakened by their grief."

That's what it was about?!

I can sheepishly and honestly say that I didn't understand what was going on from beginning to end. That's a light exaggeration as I did understand some of the relationship between the two ex-boyfriends, but I was lost as to what the hell was happening around them. The odd thing is that is what kept me watching it, ultimately proving to be a futile exercise. The countryside is beautiful in this bizarre film from Iceland. The acting wasn't bad and there are ominous moments in this very slow moving film, but they don't make any sense and it seems to me that is on purpose. Obscurity seems to be the goal here.

"Rökkur"/"Rift" (Iceland 2017) This is a pretty well crafted psychological thriller that will keep you guessing right up to the end (and beyond!). Months after their relationship has ended, Gunnar is awakened at 3:03am by his ex-boyfriend, Einar. His message is cryptic, "Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night and get the feeling that something is with you? Or someone?". He is calling from his family's remote cabin...and Gunnar is sufficiently worried to get dressed, hop in his car, and drive all night to get there ASAP. From this point on NOTHING is what it seems! The acting is very good, the stark scenery of the Icelandic countryside is chilling, and the storytelling is creepy as hell.....I'm just not quite sure exactly what happened. LOL. I have some theories, but if you watch this one -- I will be interested to hear your thoughts on just what this film is about. Many reviews have called it "Hitchcockian" -- but I've never seen an entire Hitchcock film to say if that is true or not....but it sounds good on paper. ;) [4/5]

This is a great addition to the queer horror catalog, about a broken relationship that we see spark and grow again between Gunnar and Einar, with one of the most sad endings I've seen in a hot minute. Sprinkled with some supernatural creepiness that grow a sense of dread and saddness and you cant seem to understand where it comes from or why Gunnar is in the middle of this with Einar, each time a small clue revealed until the ending hit you hard.

I decided to watch the film because it promised to be a non-mainstream little gem. Considering the boundary conditions (especially the small budget and the short shooting time) I was really amazed by the actors' performances. I had the feeling that they prepared excellently for their parts, while the director knew exactly what to show. The atmosphere is captivating (although a bit cliché and borrowed from countless other drama-horror movies) and the Island landscapes superb (however not really owing to the director but to nature).

All things being the film was very promising, but ended up being very mediocre. The characters do not evolve much, new random personality elements appear without being explained or supported, the story line sucks heavily and the ending is predictable and nonsensical at the same time. Countless questions go by unanswered. For some this is not a problem, since they are simply connected to the heroes' past and are open to interpretation, others, however, are crucial to the story line (like why on earth at a given time one would in the middle of the night get off the car at start wandering in a deserted place) and make the protagonists simply look stupid.

Watch the film if you like National Geographic documentaries, enjoy the sceneries shown and the acting, but switch off any need to explain or even remotely understand the plot.

Ambiguous, hunting, unsettling, painfully sad and tormenting at times, this movie is psychologically true in terms of capturing the inner world of characters lost in past trauma and broken love, all contained in the space of shivering beautiful icelandic landscape.