Manhunt

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.

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

I think the rating for this is a tad unfair. Okay, its pretty unoriginal, and doesn't particularly contribute anything new to the genre, but there was plenty that it did right. The acting throughout was great, especially the first girl. I also liked the 70's Scandinavia feel, it really gave it a tone and an atmosphere that sucked you into its world. It had a lovely texture and aesthetic to how it looked, and I think the contrast of the dated, distressed visuals with the shocking effects and edge-of-your-seat sound design was really brilliant. Yes I must say that I usually prefer a tad more story to get invested in, but it was fast, tense, believable, and I genuinely enjoyed it! Hopefully the filmmakers have more to give than this next time around- they clearly have the technical skills for the genre, lets see what they have to give in the story department. A great debut film.

Patrick Syversen and Ninni Robsahm must be the most dangerous couple in Norway. Together they transformed the harmonic Norwegian woods into a dark nightmare. When this film kicks in you can either love or hate it, but that's how it should be with this kind of movies.

The title music by David Hess(taken from Last House on the Left) sets the mood and from there on you can just lean back and get scared out of your mind. This is not the sterile dreamy and slightly funny kind of horror that we usually see these days. Rovdyr has taken back the hardcore thrill ride story telling we saw in American and Italian horror movies during the 70's.

I hope Syversen and Robsahm will continue on the route they have started because they are most interesting as makers of Norwegian horror.

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)