Marianne (2011) Review

Marianne (2011)or horror done right

8 Out Of 10 Stars was only constrained by it's budget

The Short Of It:

• Good Story
• Great Acting
• Nice Soundtrack
• Well Done Cinematography
• A few places where shaky cam almost took away from it

The 2011 Swedish horror film based on the folklore of a "Mare"as in nightmare, By writer/director Filip Tegstedt is a true indie classic in my opinion.Made on a budget of just 150 thousand USD it holds it own with any studio release of recent memory. The cast may be unknown in the US and with few exceptions in Swedish cinema but that doesn't let it hold it back with great performances from top to bottom. New comer Sandra Larsson (as Sandra)plays the teenage daughter with just enough angst and vulnerability to be very believable. Anchoring the film is veteran Swedish actor Thomas Hedengran (as Krister). It's not often that lead character has so little redeeming qualities but you still feel for him, but he nails it.

A mention here to Peter Stormare(as Sevn) who is the only actor on this project that US audiences might know. From work in Prison Break and numerous voice acting work. While not your average ghost story by any means, you can see influences of some of the classic the genre offers. Tegstedt takes us through the story of a man that karma can't stop messing with and it's with Tegstedt's timeline flashback story telling that we find out he is deserving of all he's getting. While the movie has no real jump scares it's the creepy slow burn that draws you in and keeps you watching. It was truly refreshing to have a movie not rely on special effects and gore to to make you uneasy. I really hope we see more from Filip, in my for what it's worth opinion I think we may be seeing the next Ti West, Eli Roth, or Neil Marshall. In conclusion if you want a good movie that is equal parts horror, family drama, with a touch of thriller thrown in this ones for you. The only this could have been better for me if it was a documentary crews found footage. If you don't run across it, seek it out, Available on ITUNES, XBOX, and VUDU to name a few.  .