Wonderful Movie

Sorry, this movie sucks

Just what I expected

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

'F#*?ing city people'Syversen's debut follows in a long tradition of horror movies where a group of unsuspecting travellers stray into the unfamiliar territory of a band of murderous natives. Accordingly shot in homage to seventies slasher movies, this Norwegian equivalent to 'Wrong Turn' is set in 1974, and with its use of hand-held cameras and close-ups, together with the haunting notes of a hunting horn, occasionally offers a far more chilling tale of a fight for survival in the backwoods. This more realistic sense of threat is accentuated by the depiction of the hunters as everyday rustic types, much in the vein of 'Deliverance'. The feel of the period is not only provided by the musical score, with the opening track taken from David Hess' soundtrack for Wes Craven's 1972 budget slasher, 'the Last House on the Left', but also by the tone of colour in which the film is shot. At the outset, the four characters, en route to their final break prior to starting their academic studies, offer potential for development which the story- line lets slip. This is especially true of the abusive boyfriend of the lead character, though the audience should still relish when he gets his just desserts. Aside from a genuine early shock at the roadside execution of one of the main protagonists, played incidentally by Syversen's co-writer and assistant director, Nini Bull Robsahm, the story- line's reliance on the common plot devices of this genre eventually detract from the overall impact of the movie. Furthermore, it requires a bit of a leap of the imagination to accept that the main female protagonist can so easily transform herself from a screaming and shivering wreck to a female 'Robin Hood' in terms of her sudden found skills with a bow and arrows. Having passively endured the abuse of her boyfriend, this becomes even harder to accept as credible. In addition, the director in attempting to put their own spin on the commonplace final ploy of whether the final survivor has reached safety or not, offers an inconclusive and tentative ending.

MANHUNT– nothing to do with the controversial video game of the same name – is yet ANOTHER entry in the 'survival horror' genre that's flourished since THE Texas CHAIN SAW MASSACRE came out in 1974. More recently, the genre has seen a rebirth with the likes of WILDERNESS, EDEN LAKE, SEVERANCE and many others, and the distinction this film has is that it's Norwegian. Nothing else is remarkable. This is a lean, pared-down, unpleasant little film detailing a bunch of campers who run afoul of some hunting nutters. And that's all there is to it.The direction is all right, the performances pretty good. Visually, there's a muted colour palette that turns the woodland setting into a drab grey and brown mix, presumably to add to the earthy feel. The atmosphere is pretty good. I enjoy these films that link with the primeval in some way and the forest is always a perfect backdrop for true horror. I don't think any film has managed to surpass THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT yet, but this is another beast entirely. It's a bit like THEM without the set-up and with extra gore.The gore itself is a big talking point and it is explicit. There are impalings, stabbings, guts, and plenty of blood, as well as one of the most painful gunshot wounds I've seen on a film. Thankfully, it's all shown rather briefly rather than being dwelt upon in detail, but it does leave a nasty taste in the mouth, as was undoubtedly the intention. The sleazy scene in which one of the bad guys forces the barrel of his sawn-off shotgun into a blonde girl's mouth is the worst part of the film, threatening to turn the whole production into a misogynistic mess. The ending is fairly intense, although not a patch on EDEN LAKE's, and the director pays his dues to THE LONG GOOD Friday in a BIG way. So, MANHUNT isn't going to set the world on fire, but it's a perfectly serviceable kind of film that delivers plenty of shocks and gross moments during its short running time. I enjoyed the experience, but I'm not in a hurry to see it again.

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)

Again ! As I've said before, apparently nobody in Norway are able to make a good movie that works. Hence, this movie disappointed me as so many other Norwegian ones.I saw this one yesterday. My girlfriend looked puzzled at me as i unaffectedly ate popcorn looking somewhat bored, while a host of girls covered their faces in horror. My calm popcorn eating behavior should not be puzzling; this movie is not scary.I jumped a few times in my seat, but for the same reason that you would react if someone bang together two frying pans while standing behind you. If a horror movie has to scare the audience in this way, it's not good in my view. While such movies as 'Alien' are gut wrenching and thrilling to watch, 'Rovdyr' goes for the two frying pans approach. It's low budget, and the acting is poor. The dialog, especially in the beginning is straight out of amateur night. There are a few somewhat uncomfortable scenes in it that's not suited for the younger audience. But having seen my fair share of zombie movies, I wasn't to bothered.And I have a few other problems with it, such as the lack of a little realism, which isn't uncalled for. In one scene a girl is being held by the hair while a hillbilly is using his sawed-off shotgun to fondle her. She has both arms free, and could have disarmed him in less than a second.In another scene she is shown escaping a camp site. Although two axes, a huge knife and a shotgun are readily available and she has plenty of time to choose from the inventory, she chooses to head into the forest unarmed. Argh ! The logic ! And no, it's not the panic psychology excuse that she can't think straight; she was armed with a big knife in one scene before the camp site, but that knife magically disappears. That should have been one for the blooper reel, but instead it ended up in the final cut.Finally, all of the hillbillies attacking the campers appear to be super stealthy or close to invisible, as they attack at point blank range from nowhere, even when the persons they attack have close to a 360 degree angle of view. And they move way too fast through the forest grounds, given their out of shape hillbilly physique.Horror movies, especially the low budget ones, tend to have unsettling logical flaws, but this one is littered with them.The verdict: Watching it was a waste, even though the popcorn was really good.