Jägarna 2

False Trail is named, and put under the heading, of a thriller. Because of the lack of actually thrilling thrillers, this title didn't mean much to me. But Kjell Sundvall's movie really does as it says on the tin.

In this Swedish sequel, we follow Erik Bäckström, an aging policeman called down to his old home town where a young woman has gone missing. Here we watch a murder case unfold, and are not only confronted with Erik's painful past, but are lead into a deeper, more sinister mystery than we initially imagined.

What first hits you about this movie is the dark, dense setting. Set in the picturesque woods of Norrland Sweden, you're struck by wintry lakes and friendly faces. In the beginning, the characters seem like boring, basically normal people. But when we delve into the mystery, and the first inklings of doubt and suspicion creep in, things begin to escalate, and our opinions change at every twist.

This movie really kept me alive and thinking. Its plot twists were calculated and realistic, and the acting was superb. Peter Stromare's character was fantastically played; everything we once thought we knew about him is warped and distorted until we see the character that he is. Through tongue-in-cheek gore and unprecedented acts of violence, this story will make you jump in your seat and question every motive.

Without giving too much away, notice Sundvall's directing; cutting into the truth like a fly on the wall, and letting the chaos run wild around him, until the characters realise the daunting reality just a step too late. Excellently done. In total, a well thought-through movie that did indeed thrill.

FALSE TRAIL, a Swedish slice of crime noir, is a follow up to 1996's THE HUNTERS, and sees returning protagonist Erik Backstrom (Rolf Lassgard) back to solve more crimes in the chilly Scandinavian wilderness. Well, it took them fifteen years to make a sequel, but the wait was worth it: I find this to be a superior follow up in terms of excitement, thriller aspects, and pacing.

THE HUNTERS was a similarly-plotted story but had a different style of execution: it was darker, more of a family tragedy, and rather depressing. FALSE TRAIL is equally dark but has more of a conventional detective feel to it, a battle of wits between good and evil. Some viewers will find it the lesser piece, but I preferred it. It helps that Peter Stormare (FARGO) has a huge and complex role and is absolutely fantastic in it, the best work yet I've seen from the actor.

Inevitably, the taciturn and grumpy Backstrom is the film's guiding force, and Lassgard is a delight to watch as ever. The production values are better than ever, and Kjell Sundvall seems to have really grown as a director, crafting a well-polished and exciting thriller in which the stakes are never less than high. Unpredictable, involving, and harrowing, FALSE TRAIL is one to watch.

This is a masterpiece of nail-biting intensity. It is a sequel to a film made as long ago as 1996 by the same director, Kjell Sundvall, with the same actor, Rolf Lassgard, called THE HUNTERS (JÄGARNA, 1996). Lassgard in both films plays Stockholm detective Erik Bäckström, who returns to his roots in the wild and remote northern part of Sweden, a land of vast conifer forests, hunters, and small introverted settlements where everybody knows everybody else far too well. In this sequel of many years later, there are a few wistful flashbacks lasting only a few flickering moments, but otherwise the story is full-on and right-now. The characters portrayed in this film are the Swedish version of 'hicks in the sticks'. and there is more than a whiff of DELIVERANCE (1972) about the atmosphere. All those men going out in gangs with guns to murder elk! There is an unpleasant scene in the film where a female elk is standing twitching her ears and looking with curiosity at the humans, and she is then shot in the forehead and falls over dead. There are a few gruesome scenes which are even more unpleasant. Everyone in this film carries guns frequently, and you would think they had all run for Vice President with John McCain. Rolf Lassgard is marvellous as the central character. He exudes so much gravitas, it could sink a battleship. He is one of those Scandinavians who doesn't have to say anything, he just makes a slight expression in his rather dour face, and you get the message. One can imagine him communicating with Sarah Lund by microscopic twitches of his facial muscles, and no words need pass between them. This is such a nail-biter that unless you wrap your hands in towels you won't have any fingernails left. As to who killed the girl Elin, when, and how, and with which rifle, well that would be telling. But this film is about far more than a murder mystery. It is about searing family tensions, battered wives and children, hypocrisy, cover-ups, psychotic obsessions, criminal ingenuity, corrupt police, desperate danger, and throughout it all, there is the pervasive atmosphere of fear and intimidation of a small community which dare not face its own devils. There is also sadness and redemption. It's all there, you just have to be strong. You will be totally mesmerised by this drama, which is unrelenting, and is what is called 'character-driven' rather than 'plot-driven'. It is about people, some of whom you would definitely not want to meet. But Rolf Lassgard gets my vote for best cop of the year, and also for Mr. Nice Guy of the Frozen North.

I'm really beginning to dig these Swedish/Nordic/Icelandic crime thrillers more and more. At the outset, the stories seem relatively simple, but as the film goes on, and with all the twists and turns presented, you begin to realize all is not as it seems on the surface.

Overall, I found no fault with the acting. Everyone played their part as they should. Direction was spot on. If I had a complaint it was the movie drags in spots. The Swedish hinterlands were also captured vividly by the cinematographer - pristine lakes, deep green forestry, wide multicolored skies, etc. Kind of reminds me of the Pacific Northwest.

Jägarna 2 was shown as preview at Tampere, Finland this week. Preview was arranged as blind performance. No one in the audience knew what to expect.

The movie by Kjell Sundvall was completely success. The unusual kind of murder mystery surprised with its smooth and natural progress of storyline.

I was shocked by extremely magnificent actor work. Roles suited seamlessly.

To say something constructive I have to mention the use of extraordinary evil. After a set of plot twists killer's character has grown so abundantly wicked that it bugged me at the end of the film.

Not meant to say last, backgrounds of the film were also pleasant to watch. The Nordic nature is always good for the movie.