I went into this not knowing what to expect. Is it a slasher? Ghost story? Psychological thriller? Home invasion? I ended up finding out it's a slow mystery. The movie runs a little too long but the characters are interesting and the movie had a decent plot and for that I give it 6 stars. Not bad at all, good, just not great. The actors performances were great though. It's unique to find LGBTQ mysteries so see it for yourself if this subject interests you.
13 Reviews
Nice cinematography, good acting, wonderful landscapes, horrible script
schorschi10012 January 2018
I decided to watch the film because it promised to be a non-mainstream little gem. Considering the boundary conditions (especially the small budget and the short shooting time) I was really amazed by the actors' performances. I had the feeling that they prepared excellently for their parts, while the director knew exactly what to show. The atmosphere is captivating (although a bit cliché and borrowed from countless other drama-horror movies) and the Island landscapes superb (however not really owing to the director but to nature).
All things being the film was very promising, but ended up being very mediocre. The characters do not evolve much, new random personality elements appear without being explained or supported, the story line sucks heavily and the ending is predictable and nonsensical at the same time. Countless questions go by unanswered. For some this is not a problem, since they are simply connected to the heroes' past and are open to interpretation, others, however, are crucial to the story line (like why on earth at a given time one would in the middle of the night get off the car at start wandering in a deserted place) and make the protagonists simply look stupid.
Watch the film if you like National Geographic documentaries, enjoy the sceneries shown and the acting, but switch off any need to explain or even remotely understand the plot.
All things being the film was very promising, but ended up being very mediocre. The characters do not evolve much, new random personality elements appear without being explained or supported, the story line sucks heavily and the ending is predictable and nonsensical at the same time. Countless questions go by unanswered. For some this is not a problem, since they are simply connected to the heroes' past and are open to interpretation, others, however, are crucial to the story line (like why on earth at a given time one would in the middle of the night get off the car at start wandering in a deserted place) and make the protagonists simply look stupid.
Watch the film if you like National Geographic documentaries, enjoy the sceneries shown and the acting, but switch off any need to explain or even remotely understand the plot.
The Strangers Hitchhike at Night
thesar-228 March 2018
Ahhh, the power of the Indie. Do whatever, splash whatever paint on any canvas, call it "art" and let the viewer decide because the artist has no clue.
Oh, sorry, that's just 10% of the movie. The rest of it was nearly fantastic. Well written, completely believable acting, beautifully shot, awesome score and song (in credits.) Not to mention, you truly believed the love between the leads.
But, oddly, and as that paint splashes, brief moments of "horror" are spread throughout this movie which is mostly a drama. An effective drama and those horror elements almost want to stand in the way of this being elevated.
The movie's 1st hero is "Steve Buscemi as Norman Bates" who goes back to control, er, I mean, be the dominate one to the submissive, er, lemme start over. Concerned "Norman" thinks his ex might do something bad. Turns out, his ex is slightly off and he might have motivations of his own.
"Norman" and his ex spend several days in his ex's parents' isolated cabin and while they revisit their recent and abrupt breakup, weird things are going on around the town with a population of 2. (Maybe more, depends on what you call "population.")
The weird stuff, I guess could blend in with the main story, but it also could've easily been deleted and though it might have been a thick and heavy drama, I probably would've loved it more. Especially without the ending we did see.
No spoilers, but it's another indie-cliché of a finale that's kind of disappointing. Especially in a movie so competently made in so many ways.
Well, it's nearly 2 hours. Maybe we can see a cut of this without the weird, Exacto Knife Knocker Killer and his Kid.
***
Final thoughts: Shudder, oh, you "horror" streaming service. Disappoint me, you do more than impress me. You keep getting movies that have 1-10% horror elements and feature them as the latest in horror and/or *EXCLUSIVE TO SHUDDER!* Huh. 1-10% horror IS NOT A HORROR MOVIE. It's a drama or comedy or action with so little horror, it's like calling Disney's The Lion King horror since it had 40 seconds of scary scenes in an hour and half. Tsk. Please stick to what you advertise.
Oh, sorry, that's just 10% of the movie. The rest of it was nearly fantastic. Well written, completely believable acting, beautifully shot, awesome score and song (in credits.) Not to mention, you truly believed the love between the leads.
But, oddly, and as that paint splashes, brief moments of "horror" are spread throughout this movie which is mostly a drama. An effective drama and those horror elements almost want to stand in the way of this being elevated.
The movie's 1st hero is "Steve Buscemi as Norman Bates" who goes back to control, er, I mean, be the dominate one to the submissive, er, lemme start over. Concerned "Norman" thinks his ex might do something bad. Turns out, his ex is slightly off and he might have motivations of his own.
"Norman" and his ex spend several days in his ex's parents' isolated cabin and while they revisit their recent and abrupt breakup, weird things are going on around the town with a population of 2. (Maybe more, depends on what you call "population.")
The weird stuff, I guess could blend in with the main story, but it also could've easily been deleted and though it might have been a thick and heavy drama, I probably would've loved it more. Especially without the ending we did see.
No spoilers, but it's another indie-cliché of a finale that's kind of disappointing. Especially in a movie so competently made in so many ways.
Well, it's nearly 2 hours. Maybe we can see a cut of this without the weird, Exacto Knife Knocker Killer and his Kid.
***
Final thoughts: Shudder, oh, you "horror" streaming service. Disappoint me, you do more than impress me. You keep getting movies that have 1-10% horror elements and feature them as the latest in horror and/or *EXCLUSIVE TO SHUDDER!* Huh. 1-10% horror IS NOT A HORROR MOVIE. It's a drama or comedy or action with so little horror, it's like calling Disney's The Lion King horror since it had 40 seconds of scary scenes in an hour and half. Tsk. Please stick to what you advertise.
Hmmm...
fil-nik0913 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I did not know anything about this film prior to watching it. I gave it a try as I thought that it would be something different and the whole horror / mystery attached to it...
Well, this is not a horror. It may be a mystery and it may be some kind of a gay romance. Like any gay romance, this one ends with not happy ending. That said, I do not know what to think about the film or acting. Maybe because it is in a foreign language, the whole acting seemed to be a bit disconnected - in a way, like the actors did not know what to say next. The dialogues were pretty bad. I believe the film would be much better without maybe 50% of the dialogue.
On the other hand, the mood and the music were good.
I really do not know actually what happened. I guess that you can calla mystery when you are done with a film and you simply do not know what was going on and is there any sense to it?
Hmmm... It almost feels like I invented half of the film.
Rating 5 from me as this one is neither there nor here. Everything is kinda middle of the road.
Well, this is not a horror. It may be a mystery and it may be some kind of a gay romance. Like any gay romance, this one ends with not happy ending. That said, I do not know what to think about the film or acting. Maybe because it is in a foreign language, the whole acting seemed to be a bit disconnected - in a way, like the actors did not know what to say next. The dialogues were pretty bad. I believe the film would be much better without maybe 50% of the dialogue.
On the other hand, the mood and the music were good.
I really do not know actually what happened. I guess that you can calla mystery when you are done with a film and you simply do not know what was going on and is there any sense to it?
Hmmm... It almost feels like I invented half of the film.
Rating 5 from me as this one is neither there nor here. Everything is kinda middle of the road.
Amateurish in the extreme
laduqesa30 August 2021
This film just couldn't decide what it wanted to be. Was it a love story, a drama, a horror film or a slasher movie? Honestly, it was really stupid. Someone knocks on the door in the middle of the night. On the third time of knocking, Gunnar opens immediately and there's no one there. No one's running away, no one came to murder the lads.
Dire warnings abound. The neighbour warns of burglaries, the petrol station girl warns about hitch hikers, the neighbour again suddenly remembers to warn about an eccentric farmer. All through, Gunnar and Einar are working through their relationship breakdown and their memories, some painful. This might have been an interesting film if it had simply followed that path. For a start it would have been thirty minutes shorter once all the supernatural stuff was taken out.
I lost count of how many times the hoary old device was employed of having someone rush across the frame in front of the camera while the lead's back was turned and he was looking for the person. It didn't make me jump the first time and I was getting fed up on the sixth or seventh occasion. On other occasions it was worse. People being chased disappeared and then were seen fleetingly at the corner of a house, disappearing. So the chase began again, only to have another glimpse of the figure rushing round a corner or vanishing into a doorway.
Absurd coincidences abound, Gunnar finds Einar's phone in the middle of a lava field after he just happened to stop at that particular spot by the road.
There are occasions when people speak and are visible but aren't really there. It's utterly risible.
This could have been a good two-parter exploring sexuality and break ups. To pace it a bit, a few of the village inhabitants could have been introduced during the narrative. Instead, we got a mishmash of nonsense and genres that was half an hour too long.
Not recommended.
Dire warnings abound. The neighbour warns of burglaries, the petrol station girl warns about hitch hikers, the neighbour again suddenly remembers to warn about an eccentric farmer. All through, Gunnar and Einar are working through their relationship breakdown and their memories, some painful. This might have been an interesting film if it had simply followed that path. For a start it would have been thirty minutes shorter once all the supernatural stuff was taken out.
I lost count of how many times the hoary old device was employed of having someone rush across the frame in front of the camera while the lead's back was turned and he was looking for the person. It didn't make me jump the first time and I was getting fed up on the sixth or seventh occasion. On other occasions it was worse. People being chased disappeared and then were seen fleetingly at the corner of a house, disappearing. So the chase began again, only to have another glimpse of the figure rushing round a corner or vanishing into a doorway.
Absurd coincidences abound, Gunnar finds Einar's phone in the middle of a lava field after he just happened to stop at that particular spot by the road.
There are occasions when people speak and are visible but aren't really there. It's utterly risible.
This could have been a good two-parter exploring sexuality and break ups. To pace it a bit, a few of the village inhabitants could have been introduced during the narrative. Instead, we got a mishmash of nonsense and genres that was half an hour too long.
Not recommended.
Truly "twilight", and low budget at it's very best!
jorgen_ovesen5 February 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Two actors, a summer house in the countryside and fifteen days to shoot the film - that is all you need to create a masterpiece if you just have a good story at the bottom.
Icelandic "Rökkur" (or "Rift") is about two men that processes memories of an ended love relationship in a place where folklore says that memories are distorted and you can not trust your senses. This opens up a truly surprising story that made the audience at the Gothenburg Film Festival scream of fear in the packed theater - and yet it is not a traditional horror movie. With very small resources director Erlingur Thoroddsen creates a condensed story of love, loneliness and betrayal - packed with the kind of spooky atmosphere we like to associate with Iceland, where fifty percent of the population is said to believe in elves, ghosts and goblins. Everything - good as bad - backed up by the overwhelmingly landscape.
Normally you feel extremely frustrated when you see a movie with questions still without answers. But here it feels completely natural! It becomes part of the complexity of relationships; the ambivalence we city dwellers feel about nature and the unknown; and a mirror image of our own inner demons. And it only feels stimulating to wrestle with the questions about what is real and what is the characters (and perhaps even our own) fantasies.
The Icelandic title "Rökkur" means twilight. But Thoroddsen said with a laugh in an interview that when he was thinking of an alternative English title to the film, he considered "Twilight" already occupied. But make no mistake about it: this movie IS truly Twilight!
It's low budget at it's very best! This is what you can get from a talented director who rather relies on a good and suggestive story than on special effects!
Jörgen Ovesen
Icelandic "Rökkur" (or "Rift") is about two men that processes memories of an ended love relationship in a place where folklore says that memories are distorted and you can not trust your senses. This opens up a truly surprising story that made the audience at the Gothenburg Film Festival scream of fear in the packed theater - and yet it is not a traditional horror movie. With very small resources director Erlingur Thoroddsen creates a condensed story of love, loneliness and betrayal - packed with the kind of spooky atmosphere we like to associate with Iceland, where fifty percent of the population is said to believe in elves, ghosts and goblins. Everything - good as bad - backed up by the overwhelmingly landscape.
Normally you feel extremely frustrated when you see a movie with questions still without answers. But here it feels completely natural! It becomes part of the complexity of relationships; the ambivalence we city dwellers feel about nature and the unknown; and a mirror image of our own inner demons. And it only feels stimulating to wrestle with the questions about what is real and what is the characters (and perhaps even our own) fantasies.
The Icelandic title "Rökkur" means twilight. But Thoroddsen said with a laugh in an interview that when he was thinking of an alternative English title to the film, he considered "Twilight" already occupied. But make no mistake about it: this movie IS truly Twilight!
It's low budget at it's very best! This is what you can get from a talented director who rather relies on a good and suggestive story than on special effects!
Jörgen Ovesen
I couldn't come up with a spoiler if you paid me
justahunch-7054924 November 2022
"Two men's broken relationship is tested as they are haunted by a supernatural entity awakened by their grief."
That's what it was about?!
I can sheepishly and honestly say that I didn't understand what was going on from beginning to end. That's a light exaggeration as I did understand some of the relationship between the two ex-boyfriends, but I was lost as to what the hell was happening around them. The odd thing is that is what kept me watching it, ultimately proving to be a futile exercise. The countryside is beautiful in this bizarre film from Iceland. The acting wasn't bad and there are ominous moments in this very slow moving film, but they don't make any sense and it seems to me that is on purpose. Obscurity seems to be the goal here.
That's what it was about?!
I can sheepishly and honestly say that I didn't understand what was going on from beginning to end. That's a light exaggeration as I did understand some of the relationship between the two ex-boyfriends, but I was lost as to what the hell was happening around them. The odd thing is that is what kept me watching it, ultimately proving to be a futile exercise. The countryside is beautiful in this bizarre film from Iceland. The acting wasn't bad and there are ominous moments in this very slow moving film, but they don't make any sense and it seems to me that is on purpose. Obscurity seems to be the goal here.
Chilling Psychological Thriller
drtodds11 February 2018
"Rökkur"/"Rift" (Iceland 2017) This is a pretty well crafted psychological thriller that will keep you guessing right up to the end (and beyond!).
Months after their relationship has ended, Gunnar is awakened at 3:03am by his ex-boyfriend, Einar. His message is cryptic, "Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night and get the feeling that something is with you? Or someone?". He is calling from his family's remote cabin...and Gunnar is sufficiently worried to get dressed, hop in his car, and drive all night to get there ASAP. From this point on NOTHING is what it seems!
The acting is very good, the stark scenery of the Icelandic countryside is chilling, and the storytelling is creepy as hell.....I'm just not quite sure exactly what happened. LOL. I have some theories, but if you watch this one -- I will be interested to hear your thoughts on just what this film is about. Many reviews have called it "Hitchcockian" -- but I've never seen an entire Hitchcock film to say if that is true or not....but it sounds good on paper. ;) [4/5]
a fantastic heart breaking queer horror movie
thebadatgaming30 August 2019
This is a great addition to the queer horror catalog, about a broken relationship that we see spark and grow again between Gunnar and Einar, with one of the most sad endings I've seen in a hot minute. Sprinkled with some supernatural creepiness that grow a sense of dread and saddness and you cant seem to understand where it comes from or why Gunnar is in the middle of this with Einar, each time a small clue revealed until the ending hit you hard.
A ghost story in a few senses of the phrase
sbowjacobs14 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This movie is definitely going to be divisive among audiences, if for no other reason than its purposeful ambiguity. The ending, which most reviewers have brought up, leaves a lot in the manner of interpretation, and for that reason I think a lot of horror fans may find the film lacking. I didn't find that to be the case at all, in any sense--the dialogue is wonderfully written (granted I watched the english subtitles), the scenery is breathtaking--and while one reviewer said that the film cannot be credited for this, I think that the shots deserve an immense amount of appreciation, even if the starkness of the Icelandic landscape is inherent in the shooting location. The acting is heartbreaking and beautiful; you can see the love--and disintegration of it--between the two leads.
The pacing is certainly slow up until the last 25 or so minutes, but in all honesty I was riveted nonetheless.
The pacing is certainly slow up until the last 25 or so minutes, but in all honesty I was riveted nonetheless.
A thrilling piece of art.
oscarvonseth4 July 2018
This is a powerful film, but not for the faint of heart!
The isolated Icelandic landscape setting gives this break-up story story an eerie feel. The characters' memories of their broken relationship are as beautiful as they are haunting. The film is sometimes frighteningly tense, and despite the scarce dialoge it manages to stay aesthetically interesting throughout.
The isolated Icelandic landscape setting gives this break-up story story an eerie feel. The characters' memories of their broken relationship are as beautiful as they are haunting. The film is sometimes frighteningly tense, and despite the scarce dialoge it manages to stay aesthetically interesting throughout.
unique unsettling atmosphere
linistea7 May 2022
Ambiguous, hunting, unsettling, painfully sad and tormenting at times, this movie is psychologically true in terms of capturing the inner world of characters lost in past trauma and broken love, all contained in the space of shivering beautiful icelandic landscape.
Simply Amazing!!
BlackSandRedMoon14 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
If I had to explain what scres me in horror movies the answer is: everything this movie does. You get familiar with the characters, you root for them, you sense something is wrong but don't know what, you feel any minute something can go horribly wrong, or it already has... what an amazing movie, superb actors, director, cinematography, sound, light, camera.. I am a huge horror fan and not much scares me anymore but I had to hug my dog during the last 25 minutes of this movie. And the movie does this without any cliche jumpscares, devils , monsters or gore. Pure psychological, existential dread! I want to write my opinion on what happened: I think Einar really called Gunnar while drunk, and then met up with a guy from a dating app. The guy killed him. When Gunner came he was connecting with his ghost. Einar was trying to remember what happened there, "something bad happened here" he says, "but I can't remember." Because he hasn't processed his own death yet. While they were together last summer, in the abandoned building Gunnar had a precognition of Einar's death when he saw the little boy and realised something bad was going to happen to Einar. Thats why Einar asks him why he was acting strange suddenly. This also has a connection to the movie Don't Look Now (red coat) as that movie was all about seeing the inevitable tragedy in the future. We get the hint that Einar was killed when Gunnar talked to the neighbor about an older farmer living close by, and Gunnar sees Einar's picture in his house. All the other aspects of the film are about the childhood trauma which both of them experienced. Einar getting lost and dying at the same location, Gunnar hearing the imaginary friend of Einar saying he was stuck. The paranoia from trauma (from rape and assult) manifests itself as voices in the dark, hand underneath the bed.. I think in the end Gunnar discovers Einar's body then while going back home stops to pick up a hitch hiker, eventhough the woman in the gas station told him "do not take hitch hikers to your car here" he proceeds to do it because he wants to face the demons now that he figured it all out. He is both defeated (with blood all over his body) and not affraid anymore.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
