Koko-di koko-da

... and you're still overwhelmed from the loss of a child a few years earlier, then be prepared for some surreal, dark and psychedelic like goings on from a trio of weird wood wanderers. Extremely bizarre and fantastical, an imaginative way to emphasise the challenge of overcoming loss and the torment that loss can infuse in the minds of the emotionally tortured.

If you're expecting jump scares or gore, you'll be sorely disappointed, this is an art first head trip through and through. In short, it uses a time-loop slasher as a metaphor for a failing relationship. How well this metaphor works is a little iffy, but points for the bold creativity and sturdy execution. There are also these extended sequences that pair crude shadow play animation with a foreboding string score that could be read as pretentious, but I felt added nicely to the mood of the film. It may not be perfect, but it's certainly an interesting experience if this kind of film is up your alley. If it's not, stop watching these movies and giving them an undeserved low score.

However... I liked it. I thought it started out strong. I liked where the story was going and thought the acting was great. The story didn't stay as engaging as I wanted it to though. It was repetitive (obviously) but not with enough variation.

There are so many different ways it could have gone each time. Some quick, some slow. Some more creepy, some more funny. Some with more hope and some with more despair. And with each of those variations we could have observed a new window into a different facet of each characters emotions and how they would manifest in said scenario. Instead we got almost identical emotions each time, panic and confusion, so we really only saw one side of each character. Missed opportunity for me there.

And listen, I'm here for a long shot. Especially if it's beautiful and/or really trying to drive a point home or stir an emotion or feeling. There were many long shots in this that it almost felt like they ran out of ideas and wanted to fill 85 minutes. You could've taken all of those superfluously long shots, cut each one of them in half, still gotten the point across just as effectively and had another whole rewind to do something cool with.

Now that that's out of the way, I really did actually enjoy this movie. It was not perfect, but it was cool and creepy with (what seemed like to me as an English speaker) really good and authentic acting. If they had pushed it just a little harder I think they could have had something really special and erie on their hands. Also, I feel as if they had driven home the point/moral at the end a bit more... i'm not asking you to spoonfeed it, but with the overall atmosphere of the movie, if the ending had been a little bit more poignant I feel like it would've really given it that parable feel like I was already getting from the piece.

Would recommend, just not to everybody.

What if you could go back and do just one thing differently...would it be enough to change the outcome? To shift the path of your destiny?

That's the sort of question this bizarre Swedish fantasy-horror-mystery film confronts.

3 years after losing their child to a freak food poisoning accident...a young couple goes on a roadtrip to honour her memory.

Though fraught with arguments from the get-go, there hasn't been any real hitch in their plans...until he decides to pull off to camp along a secluded private road.

This throws them into some sort of twisted cyclical time loop...in which they both die a vicious death at the end.

However, at the end of each scenario they find themselves in...they always reawake to find themselves in the tent, moments before the interaction with their killers is about to take place.

And each time this happens, they are endowed with a little more knowledge...about what not to do...in the situation.

Though nothing seems to ever go their way.

Considering the structure of the plot, the film has a very odd chronology.

So it takes some attention to follow.

But it's not overly complex.

One might describe it as Groundhog Day in Hell.

A Hell somewhere between Deliverance and Wolf Creek.

They really do do a good job of inducing anxiety and frustration...as you want to see the beleaguered couple free themselves from this vicious loop of violent death.

But you can't help but wish that a little more happened...especially considering a good portion of the film is animated filler that really has no other purpose than to inflate the runtime a little.

That aside...it's a nice twist on the whole Deliverance thing.

The backwoods family was genuinely creepy.

And there were a few moments to make you jump.

It's certainly not as extreme as something like Wolf Creek- the level of ultraviolence is mild in comparison.

But it wins some points with the whole sci fi angle.

In the end...it's one of those see it...or don't...kind of films.

It's worth the time if you think it sounds interesting...but you aren't missing a masterpiece if you decide to skip it.

5 out of 10.

It's a metaphor and a groundhog day style that won't appeal to everyone. My brother called it "weird", my girlfriend said she "didn't get it, but I knew you would love it" and yes, I loved it.

It's a fantastic concept and a good way to show the difficulties dealing with trauma, mourning and ptsd. Take it how you want it, is this a real horror movie? It's just a dream? Are they really stucked there? Is something real here? Well, the trauma and a couple relationship going down is definitely there and following that cat is necessary to understand how to overcome and to learn how to move on.

Good atmosphere, creepy and tense. You need a little patience, but I think It's one of the most original ideas in the genre in the last years.