Mørke sjeler

This is the definition of a real classic movie.

I just have goosebumps when ever I watch the movie, it's a piece of art.

Directors and writers Mathieu Petuel and César Ducasse obviously know their horror. There's a deliberate, unhurried pace from start to end and, as with so many other effective horror movies over the years, the pacing is used to build tension and to unsettle the viewer. This isn't your average American slasher, filled with jump cuts and loud bursts on the soundtrack in a vain attempt to summon up scares, everything here is designed more to pick at your nerves and unsettle, apart from the occasional head drilling, of course. The acting is generally fit for purpose, so while it won't win any awards, it does engage your sympathy in all the right ways, and Morten Ruda is the stand out, carrying more of the narrative as the movie progresses and allowing the mix of off-kilter laughs to blend perfectly with the feeling and the pain.

The narrative unfolds around an abundance of oil, both literal and symbolic, as we follow the harrowing journey of Johanna, a young girl left for dead after a brutal attack. Caught in the throes of mystery and intrigue, her father, Morten, finds himself ensnared in a labyrinth of secrets that threaten to consume him.

Directors Mathieu Petuel and César Ducasse exhibit a deft hand in the genre, utilizing a deliberate pace to gradually intensify the tension. Unlike conventional American slashers, "Dark Souls" eschews gratuitous jump scares in favor of a more psychological approach, interspersed with moments of visceral horror.

While the thematic use of oil adds a layer of complexity, it's the grotesque body horror that truly leaves an indelible impression. With subtle nods to horror classics and standout performances, particularly from Morten Ruda, the film strikes a delicate balance between unease and macabre humor.

For an immersive cinematic experience, "Dark Souls" demands to be witnessed on the grand scale, where its evocative imagery can truly envelop and unsettle audiences, ensuring an unforgettable journey into the heart of darkness.

The Pitch: Oily Vomit Of The Living Dead.

The Review: I will be honest, this, in nearly 100 reviews I've written, has been one of if not the most difficult one line pitches to write. Part of that is down to how much is going on in this quiet little Norwegian chiller, which while running to only just over an hour and a half covers an awful lot of territory in that time. The one substance in abundance in this movie is oil, but it's not the only black entity around, as much of the humour is of the dark variety. Dark Souls attempts to put a smile on your face as it drills into your brain, and it succeeds to a large extent in that endeavour.

We start with a young girl, Johanna (Johanna Gustavson), who is attacked by a man in an orange boiler suit with an electric drill and left for dead, found face down in the mud by the police who pronounce her dead and have her taken to the mortuary. This comes as a surprise to her loving father, Morten (Morten Ruda), who's seen her walk in the door not moments earlier. But there's something not quite right about Johanna any more, and she's not alone. While detective Askestad (Kyrre H. Sydness) attempts to uncover the truth behind these mystery murders, and the local doctor (Jan Harstad) attempts to uncover the truth behind these rather lively corpses and their strange symptoms, Morten attempts to re-establish family life with Johanna as best as possible, but is slowly but surely drawn into the secret world behind it all.

Directors and writers Mathieu Petuel and César Ducasse obviously know their horror. There's a deliberate, unhurried pace from start to end and, as with so many other effective horror movies over the years, the pacing is used to build tension and to unsettle the viewer. This isn't your average American slasher, filled with jump cuts and loud bursts on the soundtrack in a vain attempt to summon up scares, everything here is designed more to pick at your nerves and unsettle, apart from the occasional head drilling, of course. The acting is generally fit for purpose, so while it won't win any awards, it does engage your sympathy in all the right ways, and Morten Ruda is the stand out, carrying more of the narrative as the movie progresses and allowing the mix of off-kilter laughs to blend perfectly with the feeling and the pain.

The use of oil is also an interesting motif, but its allegorical use pales in comparison to the body horror of watching it exude from every pore of its victims, and it gives them a distinctive and effective look. There are also a lot of references to other horror movies thrown into the mix (more than this casual horror fan could ever detect), but the overall narrative, while taking occasional tangents, hangs together very effectively, and the abiding impression is of a deliciously dark movie that will creep under your skin like the oil in its victims.

Why see it at the cinema: There's plenty of effective imagery, both subtle and in-your-face, and of course this is at its core a horror movie, so why not guarantee yourself a dark room with a large screen to make the most of the chills?

The Score: 8/10

"Dark Souls" starts out like dozens of other horror movies do, namely quite typical and straightforward, with an attractive female jogger getting killed in the woods by a psycho with a drilling device. Less typical, though, is that the girl's corpse comes back to life in the morgue and return home where she continues roaming around as a zombie and pukes up black goo. In the following month, 37 (!) similarly inexplicable murders/resurrections occur that baffle the Oslo police, and only the father of the first victim undertakes action.

Sounds intriguing, doesn't it? I thought so too, and I had reasonably high expectations for this seemingly morbid and original Norwegian horror flick, but the sad truth is that "Dark Souls" never truly takes off. The plot never surprises and there appear to be more holes in the logic and structure of the script than in the heads of the victims. There are a couple of nice gory bits, like when the prostitute in the abandoned factory receives an extra hole in her face, but the budget is too low to do much more. The pacing is slow, the entire middle-section is boring, and the conclusion is disappointing. Give it a miss.

If Abel Ferrara's DRILLER KILLER and Larry Cohen's THE STUFF were dropped inside a Magimix and the resulting concoction seasoned with a dusting of tongue-in-cheek humour it'd likely end up looking something like Mathieu Peteul and Cesar Ducasse's DARK SOULS.

The film opens with a teenage girl named Johanna (Johanna Gustavsson) jogging alone through the woods. She barely has time to build up a sweat before a sinister figure dressed in orange overalls wrestles her to the ground and bores a hole into the side of her head with an electric drill. Later, moments after she returns home, her father Morten (Morten Ruda) receives a phone call from the police pronouncing her dead. His joking and laughing is soon turned to shock when she starts vomiting up thick black bile.

It turns out she is the first victim of a bizarre wave of attacks involving a mysterious black liquid which transforms otherwise healthy individuals into mindless, rotting zombies. As his daughter slowly loses control of her bodily functions and her skin begins to blacken and decay, a distraught Morten takes it upon himself to go track down those responsible.

Fans of Chris Morris' JAM will no doubt find plenty of laughs in the ludicrousness of Morten's situation as Johanna slowly becomes his pet zombie but the film is also at times a sensitive portrait of fatherly devotion. And when Morten is shown watching old Super 8 family films with his daughter's limp, rotten body propped beside him it's difficult to know whether to laugh or cry.

Lazy clichés such as the slasher movie's 'last woman standing' rule are subverted: our hero is not a nubile teenager but a bewildered, overweight father looking for the man who drilled his daughter, leaving her zombified. References to horror classics are skillful and witty, for example the homeless oil diver's expositional monologue which mirrors Quint's famous speech in JAWS. Winner of Best Horror at the Manhattan and Swansea film festivals, DARK SOULS brings slick thrills and oil spills without resorting to easy scares. 5 out of 5

Cambridge Film Festival Daily