So much average

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

In Stockholm, Henrik (Jonas Malmsjö) is a popular priest whose good relationship with his congregation sadly doesn't stretch into his home life, which is awkward to say the least. On hearing of his father's death, he drives through the night – against the wishes of his girlfriend – to his father's hometown. On the way, he knocks down a woman whose body then disappears.He takes lodgings with a very strange family and sees a little girl in the barn outside. The girl transforms into a CGI demon and vanishes. Then he meets other people who transform into CGI demons, including a teenage girl who appears to seduce him in the barn before assuming the appearance of his mother (I think) before transforming into another CGI demon.This continues for the film's running time and it soon becomes an impenetrable tangle of intensely acted, beautifully directed set-pieces and flashbacks, most of which appear to be designed to force Henrik into believing in the existence in Hell – something he has always previously denied.The repetition and occasional absurdity of the effects cease to have any real effect after a while, especially as such moments are never really explained. It actually becomes an annoyance that such talent is wasted here – why take the time to perfect these shots and effects if they are just lost in a story that continually makes no sense? The ending sees Henrik conducting a sermon to a full congregation (including his son, with whom it seems relations have at last improved) denouncing religion and his faith as an elitist fiction. The implication is that he has lost his mind, and his faith in religion, but gained the acceptance of his wayward family. Very odd.

I was a bit afraid to watch another flick in the 'horror collection' series. But luckily this one did deliver the goods. The use of the camera was well done and they even washed the colours to add the creepiness toward this flick. Although the effects were CGI it didn't bother me at all because the used CGI to change faces just like they do in Asian flicks. This is also a perfect example that you can make a good horror without blood. But this movie delivers even more. Due the fact that it concerns religion it also add something special towards religion. They included many questions about religion and some will say this is blasphemy but if you think about it you must agree. In Belgium they had serious problems with priests that misused children on a sexual base. And that's what this flick is about on some parts. The acting was really good I must say. Especially the younger priest Henrik Horneus (Jonas Malmsjö) did a good job. It's funny that the director Fredrik Hiller chose to add male nudity in it when having sex with a young girl. And for being his first effort into direction he really knew his stuff, the way of editing delivered an extra touch to sometimes some arty shots. He even wrote this flick, but we all knew him as the Frisian Leader in Beowolf (2007).This was really a nice surprise coming out of Sweden. I won't recommend it to gorehounds but if you can dig Asian horrors or horrors about religion then this is one for you and do listen to the preaching at the end, it will make you think...Gore 0/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 3/5 Story 4/5 Comedy 0/5

Psalm 21 is one of those few Swedish horror films that actually are good. It come into the company of The Cellar, Let the Right One In and Frostbite. Psalm 21 had the potential to become the best of them all but loses track.The first half is scary as s**t, and has an amazing atmosphere. But it soon loses track. The horror is less in focus and the film as a whole suffers a result. The ending should have been cut out. It's way to into pushing it's message down our throats. The acting is good, but the special effects are silly at times taking away much of the horror in the second part of the movie.

#may contain spoilers# I just watched this movie last night and to tell the truth i didn't expect much since there are very few Swedish films worth seeing. But this one actually surprised me, in a very bad way.The first thing that hit me was the dialogue and this is one of my major problems with Swedish films in general. Not one person in this entire country speaks this way, all the dialogue feels very forced and clinical. Not to mention the fact the movie is supposed to take place in the northern part of the country yet everyone talks in dialect that is used in our capital.Plotwise there isn't anything even remotely original about it either, its a pretty basic ghost story(although you could argue that there are no ghosts at all) with a few twists that doesn't make any sense at all and an ending that just serves the directors wish to make his views on religion crystal clear.As far as the horror elements go it is also very lacking, basically they're just Ringu inspired ghosts(one scene is almost copy/pasted right out of Ringu 1) and considering how scary the deep woods in northern Sweden can actually be at night they completely messed up by not taking advantage of that.To sum up, this movie isn't worth your time or money. The acting is bellow average but with a script like this im not sure you can blame the actors. Add to this a nonsensical plot and the sub-par horror elements you will only be wasting your time.