Svartsjön

Swedish drama 'Black Lake' combines the vibe of 'The Blair Witch Project' with a Mexican standoff, as a group of young people gradually lose it in an isolated winter resort, driven mad by strange (and possibly supernatural) events. Unfortunately, the story defies logic: any normal person would just run away once people start dying, instead the protagonists spend the entire drama venturing on their own into dark cellars where their friends have already been killed, with predictably awful results. By the end, I barely understood the plot, but each episode felt like a repeat of its predecessor. In conclusion: not one of the best Scandi-dramas.

Right from the start season 1 was very mysterious and scary. Not always logical, but very exciting nevertheless. I loved the enchanting winter scenery. Season 1 gets a rate from me of 8.

Season 2 was very boring. Also the sect / commune was very annoying. After 3 episodes it still did not capture our attention, so we skipped the rest. Season 2 gets a rate from me of 2.

What do you say about a program where the two lead characters take their friends to an abandoned resort, get engaged and 15 seconds later are cheating on eachother especially the Hanne character. She says yes to her boyfriends proposal only to meet and fall in love in a half minute later with the local kid who she trusts more than all her friends put together. Sarah-Sofie Boussnina plays a very unlikeable character with a ridiculous obsession with the past and her new boyfriend. I normally enjoy foreign shows but this isn't good.

When a group of good looking 20 something Swedes head off for a skiing holiday to a remote ski lodge, it turns out that more than Skiing, Schnapps and Sex are on the agenda. Unknown to them twenty years previously a family staying at the lodge had been brutally murdered. This of course means strange things start to happen. Lights flicker on and off books fly off shelves and one by one the group start acting strangely. All this and throw in a creepy caretaker and a cellar that no one will dare enter, and you have an above average thriller set in the stunning Swedish mountains. 7/10

In short - it's really good. The Swedish horror takes a great deal of unoriginal and common themes, but manages to connect them in such a way, that it's hard to stop watching. The movies strengths, are most definitely:

• Aesthetics: (from the intro, to the scenery to the actors themselves, the movie is beautiful and it's cold atmosphere works well with the plot).
• Properly done shots: I personally dislike many of "spoiling" horror shots or predictable scenes. 'Black Lake' does have a couple of those, but not enough to spoil the fun.
• Music - not intrusive but atmospheric (and fitting well the movie's aesthetics)
• Ending - while there is one detail which annoyed me in the ending, what I like is that here it doesn't come in a 'one big bang' but unfolds through at least 2 episodes and reveals more than one secret.

The weaknesses:

• Uneven perfomance - varying not as much between characters, as between the same characters in different episodes. Sometimes it's really good, however at some scenes you get the impression the protagonists are dull inside. Perhaps it's intended though
• Characters doing stupid things - okay, so this one is extremely common in horrors and 'Black Lake' is not the worst one... but neither clean of this sin. A person who - by themselves even though they can call their boyfriend/girlfriend or simply friends, decided to visit a creepy cellar alone? Stupid. And what's worse is that this behaviour repeats to the very end (even when the character's are perfectly aware of the dangers).

If there's ever season 2 I will certainly watch it