Vittra

This Swedish zombie film "Borrows" a lot from several horror classics including The Evil Dead (1981) Despite this it finds its own identity and actually has a fairly decent premise behind it.

The zombies look interesting and stand out from the average, the movie has a budget behind it and the performances aren't entirely terrible. So why the low rating?

The problem with Wither is it simply isn't very well made. Despite a lot of action the movie is oddly boring, the sequences are highly uninspired and the subject matter seems wasted in the hands of someone who didn't know how to utilise it.

Wither isn't bad, it's just a drag. A slow, unexciting, unoriginal drag.

You know what this undead vs young people in a cabin in the woods needed? Bruce Lorne Campbell!!!

+ The concept + The creature effects - The pace - The action sequences

I went to see this movie at London Fright Fest 2013. I was really looking forward to see it as I love Scandinavian movies such as Deadsnow or Trollhunter. Many reviewers compared it to Evil Dead, so obviously my expectations were high - and that was the problem. Don't compare it to the cult classic, they have very little in common. Unfortunately I did not find Wither funny, nor scary, a little gory yes (but I'm sure you've seen it all before), and have to admit I was leaving the cinema quite disappointed. The plot isn't anything special, takes off slowly, and characters aren't helping either (I actually found two main characters really annoying).

I hope you'll going to like the movie more than I did, but please refrain from comparing it to Evil Dead.

A group of friends head out for a weekend of fun at an abandoned cabin in the woods but unwittingly unleash an ancient evil that begins hunting them one-by-one.

So originality is not a key factor with 'Wither' but then it isn't supposed to be. What 'Wither' is though is an okay little cabin-in-the-woods story that evokes the gritty and primal feel of old school horror flicks of the 70s and 80s - the good and the bad.

The good: (1) There is minimal back story before we get to the "goods"; (2) The cast do an adequate job of looking pretty one minute then terrified the next; (3) There are some pretty neat practical effects throughout; (4) From the setting to the use of film grain, the entire film looks very gritty which helps set the atmosphere; (5) The horror set pieces are entertaining for the most part (and gore fans are well catered to).

The bad: (1) Things happen a bit too conveniently in order to push the film along and there are some breaks in the film's logic that were a bit jarring; (2) Although it's to be expected, there are A LOT of "Why would anyone do that?" moments which are really infuriating; (3) The neat practical effects are counterbalanced by some not-so-neat CG effects; (4) The film starts to drag towards the end and peters out into a bit of a ho-hum conclusion.

'Wither' is no classic but is enjoyable enough if you don't expect too much from it (and we all need films like these once in a while, right?). This is a simple cabin-in-the-woods story: no muss, no fuss. Worth a view.

Some young people decide to party and spend the night in an abandoned house in the woods. One by one they are possessed by… something and the possessed start attacking the not-yet-possessed. We only get a semi-explanation for why and what's going on, but that's really all that's needed. It's not the most original story of all time, but it works.

This Swedish horror movie is like a modern Evil Dead with more realistic gore effects, but most else is sadly not up to the same standard as the old cult-classic. After an initial horror scene to set the tone, we get a superficial presentation of the characters and why they are going to the house. This part is rather boring. I understand that they want to set up the characters and story, but we get mostly uninteresting talking. No interesting stuff happening, no funny jokes, and no good buildup of what's to come. Regarding the dialog: the lines themselves are mostly realistic during this part. However, the delivery isn't always that realistic, but not bad enough to be funny.

The movie does get better once the horror begins. There are some creepy parts and excellent gore effects. Despite this being a low-budget Swedish horror, the effects are up to par with a modern Hollywood horror movie, so kudos for that. The acting even improves a bit. However, I was a little annoyed at times at the inconsistent behavior of the possessed. Sometimes they can't attack the humans fast enough, yet at other times they just stand there and look.

I would recommend this to someone who is mainly interested in seeing some nice gore.

Watch out, folks!! The Swedish "Evil Dead" is here...

In horror Movies curiosity usually kills the cat, but reinventing old Movies Always kills the Movie. Some Movies are just better off left alone. Evil Dead is such a Movie because it is a true Product of its day. You cannot outshine Bruce Campbell, nor the great atmosphere and the ingenious, although amateurish, sfx.

For such a small country as Sweden we have succeeded in delivering so many international stars within the Movie industry: Max Von Sydow, Greta Garbo, Ingrid Bergman, Mauritz Stiller, Gösta Bergman, Stellan Skarsgård. Now, Vittra won't go down in history as the ultimate Swedish Movie, however, it is far better than I expected and I am not a fan of Swedish Movies, especially Movies within the action and the horror genres where we suck big time. Why? Because we haven't succeeded in creating our own identity within those two genres. The dialog just doesn't work, it just sounds silly and the action sequences is retarded and static and the Movies themselves lack ingenuity. Everything tries to be American. That said, I love and prefer American Movies because they give me what I want, i.e. Entertainment. But when genres lack their own identity and at that, instead, tries to be something they cannot be...well I Think you know how the result will turn out...

Plot: a Group of Young friends decides to get together for a weekend in a cabin in the Woods to catch up. One of them wonders off to explore and silence her curiosity, when she returns something has changed...

Well, what to say? It is not bad, in fact, it is quite good. Of course, the weight is on the sfx and as I mentioned above, it lacks story, originality, wit, identity. Above all, it is too much Evil Dead to be taken seriously to any degree. Nevertheless, it is not, thank God, cheesy and badly executed. The dialog sucks and it just sounds silly.

To my fellow Swedes, I can't really compare Vittra to any other Swedish Movie within the genre since we don't make a lot of these. The only Movie that comes Close is Evil Ed (1995) which is, truly, a cheesy Movie, so cheesy that it becomes funny. To my international colleagues, Watch this one if you like "Evil Dead" or any other Movie about people being stuck somewhere and stalked by creatures of the unknown.

I give it 5 out of 10 because it is well made, good sfx and lots of gore. It lacks any degree of originality and it is one of those Movies where the directors/creators just want to show off their technical skills in order to get funds for their next venture, which I Believe they will. But Vittra will not stand the test of time like Evil Dead.