Room 205

Rating based on US DVD of Room 205 (Kollegiet), not the original version. I'd rate this higher, but apparently Ghosthouse Underground doesn't trust the audience to be literate enough to read subtitles. What would have been a very good horror film was ruined by overdubbing the original dialogue with English. It's not the 70s anymore, trust the audience to be able to follow subtitles. The vocal performances are lost under new, studio polished American voices, which takes away from the quality of the film. It's a shame, because it's nice to have a film based on fear, not gore. It's not a perfect film, and I wasn't scared, but it made me want to see more from this cast and director.

But shame on Ghosthouse Underground for overdubbing! I know they've ruined Vikaren (The Substitute) based on the overdubbed trailer at the beginning of this DVD. I've seen that subtitles, and I shudder to think of how they ruined that one.

So know if you rent this, you aren't going to get the full benefit of the original film.

Apparently the Danish can make subpar J-horror movies too. Room 205 features stock characters, a mish-mash plot and almost zero suspense leading to an abrupt and clumsily-paced climax. The ghost and its appearances are more eyebrow-furrowing than scary and at about the hour mark you'll start to wonder if this is actually a horror film or a movie about angsty Danish college kids - Degrassi Copenhagen if you will. The acting is passable but it takes so long to go anywhere that you end up not caring for a single person in the film. This is definitely one of the more disappointing flicks in GHI's 2008 batch. Only recommended for hardcore ghost story fans with nothing else left to watch.

I just saw this and was greatly disappointed because I love horror movies, and this one sucked so bad. The acting is inept, the plot non-existent even for horror. It is just a Danish rip-off of recent brilliant Japanese horror such as The Ring and Dark Water. However, these movies keeps you guessing and being interested in what is going to happen towards the end. I simply walked out from this movie after about an hour because I didn't care anymore what would happen. The script of this movie is extremely pathetic. I have two degrees from KUA in English and it is nothing like described in this movie. I don't mean in terms of good and bad, I just mean it was an extremely odd description of KUA, and it didn't ring a bell with me at all although I have spent 8 years there. I have never tried living in a dormitory but I doubt it is anything like described in the movie. The use of a mirror in the movie was extremely effective but, all things being equal, I don't think this is a coherent movie at all. It is just random scenes cut together to try and scare (and bore) the audience. In the cinema in Lyngby (a small town) where I watched this tonight there were two women who were screaming all the time in the scary scenes. And they are indeed scary. But this is just an imitation of Japanese horror, and it is a pity that Martin Barnewitz(!?) did not either just make a movie of 90 minutes "terror" or put in a decent story.

Danish supernatural horror following the style of the recent Asian ghost story crop? Quite possibly. 'Room 205' isn't too bad, but fairly an uninspired minor effort on all fronts with the college dramas (outcast---fitting in with in-crowd) taking centre stage, as the slow-moving ghost story feels secondary. When this side of the story begins to push along it's rather straight-forward with a nasty little back-story (told in flashback later on) behind the evil entity. Even the stringy concept about souls being trapped in mirrors is an interesting touch, which was done better in the little more complex Korean horror film 'Into the Mirror' (that got an American revamp in 2008; 'Mirrors'). In all, the old-hat story is kind of flat and threadbare with clichéd build-ups and scares, but at least coherent in its progress and considerably depressing in tone. Too bad it ends on not a redundant, but lame cheap shock ending. Something a little more haunting would have worked better. In these cases it's what you call all style, little substance. The slick direction proves it with the flashed up visuals, broodingly dour illustrations and effectively instrumented atmospheric sound work caught within a cramp, gloomy dormitory. Juddering editing and camera-work seems to be used around the minimal special effects and sped up jolts which are competently pulled off. The make-up of the ghost is slender and a little bit of splatter doesn't go astray either. The performances were a lot better than expected and one of the film's main staying power. The endearingly sympathetic Neel Rønholt is strong enough in the central role and Julie Ølgaard is potently good as the spitefully, stuck-up antagonist. Moderately creepy, but systematically plotted and forgettable.

When you decide to watch a film like 'Kollegiet', you need to get your expectations clear. The horror genre DOES have a lot of clichés, but what differences does it make if it works? 'Kollegiet' is not a horror film with tons of blood and ripped off limbs, but a lurking and highly unpleasant horror flick, which gives you everything you need as a horror fan.

The story about the ghost in the mirror we know from such films as 'Candyman' and the ghost itself is clearly inspired by the Japanese horror style. By the first look it sounds like cheep recycling, but 'Kollegiet' ends up being one of a kind. The chocks are lurking in the dark and opposite other horror films, this Danish horror flick sends out the chocks in such unexpected moments that you'll be finding yourself screaming and jumping while shouting "F**K!!!". The blurred camera-work makes it even more spooky and atmospheric, and it all leads to some of the most unpleasant chocks I haven't seen in any horror film besides 'The Grudge' about three years ago. Comparing with the Danish so called horror film 'Midsommer', which was let down by a boring script and lousy acting, 'Kollegiet' does the job extremely well.

The actors are doing it surprisingly well, and give a trustful picturing of an ordinary day on s student hostel. Sweetheart Neel Rønholt shines in the role of Katrine, which gets another kind of stay than she expected (but of course we – the audience – knows better…). The high age of the additional cast, ex. Mira Wanting and Mikkel Arndt (29-30), is not a problem during watching the film.

Bad reviews or not. 'Kollegiet' is within no doubt one of the best and most effective Danish horror films in a long time – if not ever. It does exactly what a horror film needs to do: It scares the crap out of you!