Rovdyr

I was encouraged to seek this out after having seen it trailed on, I think, the Horror Channel and had the impression that it was probably US independent and most stylish. This was either a misleading trailer or a marvellous bit of editing my the TV people. This is Norwegian, not that the subtitles present much of a problem because after the set up there is not that much dialogue. The baddies don't say a word. The real trouble for me was that the youngsters are such an absolute pain that I can't wait for them to get got. It is not a terrible film and the pacing is good as are the action sequences but it just didn't take me along, I'm afraid. Shows how much attention I paid as I've just noticed from the DVD box that the film was set in 1974. I hadn't noticed it was a period piece, nor know why it was but maybe the director was saying something about youngsters in the 70s and that's why I didn't take to them. But hey, life's too short.

The backwoods/survivalist horror genre is one of my favourites, but the films do have a tendency to follow the same formula, Manhunt being no exception. A typical example of 'doing things by the book', it starts in time-honoured fashion with four friends travelling through the wilderness in their VW camper-van (the film is set in 1974, a tribute to that classic of the genre, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre perhaps). After the predictable run in with hostile locals at a roadside diner, they do the expected thing by picking up a scared hitch-hiker, inadvisably stop in the middle of nowhere, and, in yet another retelling of The Most Dangerous Game, fall prey to a group of hunters who prefer killing humans to animals.

Despite all of the familiar trappings, this sort of thing can work very well just so long as there are regular thrills and inventive bloody kills, the protagonists are likable, and they don't behave like absolute idiots; Manhunt is suitably vicious in tone and features some reasonable splatter (although it's not as creatively bloody as I would have liked), but sadly its young victims aren't very appealing and act like morons. They constantly bicker with each other, stupidly insult the locals, and repeatedly make ill-advised decisions that only worsen their already dire situation. In short, I couldn't care less if they survived or ended up as trophies lashed to the bonnet of a Norwegian maniac's Landrover.

The After Dark series gave me Prowl (2010), A flick I liked. It was directed by Patrik Syversen. I saw that he made another horror, namely Rovdyr (2008). The name says it all, it's spoken in Norwegian and came out in our country surprisingly only with French subtitles. Almost one year later over here in my native country they came out with 'Horror Collection' DVD's. And let it happen that Rovdyr came finally in my hands with the right subtitles.

If you just look at the opening sequence and the music used then you should know that it is an ode to the eighties and even a bit toward the grindhouse. Once the movie starts you get to know the characters and it took a while to knew them. It took over 20 minutes and I thought, well, this is going to suck. But was I wrong. Slowly it moves towards a creepy and even brutal horror. Oh yes, you have seen it a thousand times but just watch it. Before you know it someone is being shot without warning and another one is shot at the Achilles'tendon. From then on it is full of suspense and gory scene's. For me the ending was a bit of an open ending because what is going to happen next? You can only guess it. Will it go okay or is she in a downward spiral.

All the acting was believable. What Henriette Bruusgaard (Camilla) did was really excellent, it was her first role! I loved this movie and recommend it to all fans of good old school horror from the eighties.

Gore 4/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 4/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

Really only 5 stars? you have to be kidding me this film was great. From start to finish it kept me on the edge of my seat, I felt like my heart was going to pop out of my chest.

It is quite a basic movie as are most movies of this nature, there is not to much time spent on plot as we need to build suspense and see how the reactions of the characters play out. Its a basic story of good Vs Evil set in a 1970s Norwegian woods. A group of friends travel to the middle of nowhere to go hiking and camping(what an original idea) and end up in a fight for survival. Its your usual everyday plot for a survival horror, But for what it lacks in originality it makes up for in bucket loads everywhere else. The acting is above par along with suspense and some pretty gruesome effects. Its obvious to me that the makers of this film are big fans of the genre and have stayed true to its spirit, which for another fan makes it a great joy to watch.

As I've said the acting is superb, as we get immersed deeper into the action and the dialog becomes ever more sparse we start to see the real capability of the troupe, convincingly portraying the terror of being trapped and hunted by unknowns pushing the suspense level through the roof. Henriette Bruusgaard as Camilla stands out here in the lead role who to my surprise has only played in one other role after this.

Visually it looks great, nice grainy quality to the picture along with some solid cinematography. It feels like watching something of a similar nature from the 70s which helps add authenticity to the project. From the main titles to the ending credits it feels like an exploitation movie from the heyday of the 1970s which many movies lately have tried to achieve and haven't managed to pull off half as well as this. The sound design is also very impressive and offers a great soundtrack.

I really would like to congratulate everyone who worked on this obviously they put so much effort in and it shows. I cant find any reason to complain about this movie I enjoyed it immensely and can't recommend it enough, like a gruesome flashback to the 70s this movie stays true to the genre pushing you to the very edge of your seat chewing down your fingers to nubs. So put on the oven mitts, glue yourself to the sofa and enjoy the ride.

Especially the characters. But it still captures your attention, because it's lean, mean and fortunately short (running time wise). Yes it's not logical, yes the characters are not likable (see above and/or summary line), yes there are plot holes ... but those are things (cliches) that you see in almost any(every) horror movie these days, it's up to you to decide how bad you think it is.

Another reviewer wrote that the whole thing seems to come from nowhere and that there is no explanation for what's happening. For one thing, I'd rather have it that way, rather than some stupid "had rough childhood(s) and this lead to ..." explanation. But if you really look for something, a reason, than the first "meeting" will give a little bit of a clue. For it's low budget heritage it's OK. Not special, but with better written characters, this could've gone a long way :o)