Svarta Madam

It's always fun to see horror from Scandinavia. There's not enough of that stuff. Svarta Madam is Spooky and gorgeous with elements of both the ghost and slasher genres and still manages to be its own thing. There's definitely a lot of interesting mythology hinted at too, which is cool. Would love to see this expanded into a feature film. It's awesome.

Svarta Madam is a Swedish short film that tells the story of siblings, Alex(Demis Tzivis) & Emma(Ida Gyllensten). When Alex & Emma were kids, they used to play the terrifying children's game called Svarta Madam(The Madame in Black, when translated into English). This game is based on a spooky story about a witch. Years after they first play the game, Alex & Emma decide to play Svarta Madam once again, this time accompanied by Sarah(Jennica Landen) & Harry(Kase Chlopecki). This leads to some dire consequences. Jarno Lee Vinsencius' next short film after, Burn in Hell(2015), Darkness Falls(2016) & Silent Fall(2016) is just as mind blowing as those three movies. Vinsencius' talent knows no bounds as he writes the script, shoots, edits & directs all his films. This is a horror short movie & manages to maintain the tense atmosphere throughout. The cliffhanger left me wanting more. This is the best thing a short film can achieve. The cinematography by Vinsencius is gorgeous. The performances are excellent. Demis Tzivis is spectacular in his portrayal of Alex. Tzivis gives another award worthy performance, after Burn in Hell(2015), Darkness Falls(2016) & Silent Fall(2016). I can't wait for Jarno Lee Vinsencius' full-length movie, Evil Rising(2017). Vinsencius will have an awesome filmography in the coming years.

This is my first exposure to Jarno Lee Vinsencius' work. Moody and atmospheric, with top-notch quality, as is with THE WITCH (a film that I thoroughly enjoyed from all perspectives) SVARTA MADAM is Jarno Lee Vinsencius' tour de force in 23:50. Wise not to make a feature film, SVARTA MADAM is the right length, with a cautionary pace building to it's climax. Vinsencius gently takes you in to his main characters' nightmare. With excellent performances by the cast and and fine score, it was a pleasure to screen. My only criticism (and it could due to the over-saturation of the device here in the States) is that there are too many jump-scares. Though effective, I have discovered that once a jump-scare occurs, the end result is that it takes the tension out of the film. Too many jump-scares not only removes tension, like wind out of the sails of a boat, but now we, the audience, have been trained to expect more jump-scares as the film moves forward, hence dampening the suspense. Aside from that, I truly enjoyed SVARTA MADAM. I look forward to more independent work by Jarno Lee Vinsencius and his outstanding repertoire of actors, designers & technicians.

The Madame in Black, or "Svarta Madam" in its native language, is a film about a supernatural being that was burned at the stake centuries ago, and comes back when someone says its name three times while looking in a mirror--not unlike the "Bloody Marry" children's game. The film begins with a narrative about the Svarta Madam, then cuts to the early 90s, where two kids are about to play the game. From there, it cuts to present day, and the rest of the film seems to take place over the course of one night.

First of all, the cinematography was impressive. The picture was crisp and detailed, the camera moved smoothly, and the choices for lighting and coloring worked really well with the horror genre.

As far as I could tell, the acting was good. I don't speak Swedish, so I couldn't be 100% sure, but the delivery of lines seemed pretty good, and the emotions felt real enough. Nothing about the acting took me out of the film.

When it comes to the plot, things get a bit murky. A character was displaced from the other characters, and aside from an initial question, the other characters don't acknowledge this character's existence again. Secondly, around the climax of the film, it was becoming confusing what the sequence of events were; what was imagined, what was a dream, etc. Aside from those things, however, the plot was serviceable for the film.

I enjoyed watching this film, and I look forward to seeing more from this director. Indie film makers are important for the integrity of film-making. It's preferable that film doesn't grow too inbred, isolated to one city, where everyone thinks the same.

I will start this off by saying that the pacing of the opening to this film was particularly well done, with the exception of one very early jump-scare scene which, in my opinion, broke immersion. Other than that; the music, the slow-moving camera angles and the gritty filter worked in unison to create a very good setup for the film.

From thereon it's sort of a roller-coaster mix of good, mediocre and bad. This is an independent production, and as far as independent productions goes, this is well done. I will give credit most of all to the ambiance, the color setting, the music and the use of camera angles and movements. The acting can be incredibly campy. Some lines are delivered with such strange timing and tone. And the film itself pretty much makes use of every trick and cliché in the big book of horror film history.

Does that make it a bad film though? Of course not. I think that this movie is, if anything, self-aware of how clichéd it is. It contains everything we've gotten to know and learn and either love or hate from older horror films. In short: this is a homage. A harmless flirt with the classics. And I don't find anything wrong with that.

And one can tell that both the actors and the creator(s) of this film had fun making this idea a reality. And that's something they should definitely be proud of. I will give it a well-earned 7/10 for keeping me entertained throughout the whole feature. If you have about 25 minutes you can spare in your daily life, I would totally recommend this one.