User reviews

For some this might have been a bit over-hyped. And I get that with great expectations, comes great disappointment. But if you try to keep in mind, that this is a low budget production and that it doesn't re-invent the wheel, than you may be able to have a really good time watching this. Because there is tension, there is drama, there is horror, but there is also comedy to be found here.

The characters are very nicely drawn and portrayed by the actors. You still get clichés and you will see things coming. So while this far away from perfect, it can be a nice/decent night in movie to watch. Expect nothing more and you'll be entertained as well

Don't trust the negative reviews. This is a well written, nicely shot and well directed indie horror movie. It has an engaging story ("It's about family, and that's what's important."), it doesn't waste time on unnecessary events or dialogue. The fat has been trimmed and it's a slick zombie flick.

The only reason it's not as famous as Pedo-Wood's big budget flicks is that the entire budget was used to make it look good and not on advertising. It's also a lot smarter than most US horror flicks. And if you watch this in 2020, you will laugh at all the coincidences and the pure irony because it's almost prophetic.

See, now this is a movie that makes me proud of being a Dane! This is the third zombie movie that I have seen, but the previous two were low budget movies made by amateurs, whereas "Sorgenfri" (aka "What We Become") is a movie of proper budget and with proper acting talents.

I am glad that Denmark finally made it to the zombie world map with a movie that actually is worthwhile being remembered for. And director Bo Mikkelsen really managed to secure a good position on the map with his handling of "Sorgenfri".

What starts out as a fairly slow-paced movie, actually turned out to be rather interesting and thrilling. So stick with it, even through the slow and semi-dull first third of the movie or so. It is all part of the director's plan to build up the movie. Personally I think it took the movie a bit too long to get up in gear. But once it did, it was worth the wait.

A small rural community becomes plagued by a mysterious disease, which seems to spread like a wildfire. With the military moving in and placing the town under heavy quarantine, the citizens become prisoners in their own homes. And during confinement they can only listen to the newsfeeds to get information about the disease that is ravaging their town. However, things are being kept in the dark, but things can't stay buried forever...

The story in "Sorgenfri" was a good one, once the movie picked up in pace. And it is a story-driven and character-driven movie, although spiced up with occasional action. There isn't really much gore and zombie effects, come to think of it. But director Bo Mikkelsen managed to more than make up for that with clever storytelling and presentation of the story visually.

They had some good actors on the cast list, and I must admit that I was more than surprised to see Troels Lyby in a movie such as this. But he really stepped up and surprised me with his delivery of performance in a zombie movie.

"Sorgenfri" is a movie well-worth watching if you enjoy zombie movies, and don't mind it not being a movie with a standard English audio. "Sorgenfri" was a surprise to me, and I am glad that I happened to find it and got a chance to watch it.

Hopefully there will be a sequel to it, because it does leave the audience with a sense of something more is to come.

No spoilers. Right off the top I'll say it was pretty decent little film... Didn't care for the clip from the climax that plays during the opening credits. Don't understand why the director felt the need to share that 50 seconds with the audience. Maybe a Danish thing.

Did very much like the camera work and shot selection used by the director, felt right there pretty much, in the scene. Felt personal, worked pretty well throughout. And they spend the first 10 minutes just getting to know the characters a little. Does it well enough to point out their character flaws without having to rub your nose in them. Showed real patience given it's only a 90-minute film, and no CGI so they focused on their characters and the story, which worked. Also thought they over did the lighting. Mostly shot indoors and at night so darker would have worked better.

However as the story progresses and the pace picks up the cast lags. The characters are a bit too subdued/lethargic as their world becomes unhinged with their survival increasingly in doubt. They should have been wired when instead they looked and acted a bit stoned. For people on the edge of the abyss they certainly lacked for nervous conversation. Think really scared people would have talked more.

As often happens in this genre the writer mistakenly believes the characters must make bad/stupid decisions for things to happen. Myself I never like watching stupid people. Prefer when the situation forces the characters to respond rather than vice versa. Have some of each here. Did not care for the climax much or for the ending, expected more, characters deserved a better ending.

All said not a bad little film, pretty good actually. Obviously a small budget but think it worked in their favor, worth a watch

Seriously, how can anyone be into this, calling it better, original, a nice surprise? It has the same moves, gestures, look like any other zombie movie done with a smaller budget.

I got bored out of my mind waiting for something to happen, hoping for a twist, a better ending, anything that would remotely make me feel better about spending time in front of What We Become, but nothing came. The movie is as predictable as possible, from head to toes, bringing nothing new whatsoever, and don't tell me it focuses more on the reactions of the people and not so much on zombies, cause I've seen that too, and way better also.

I won't recommend this one, tho I usually like the non Hollywood productions, as I find them bold, cruel and raw. But here I kinda knew nothing would develop and all it takes is around 30 min for you to realize it too. So if you wanna drop an eye on this one, do it at your own peril.

Cheers!

"What We Become" (2016) is a competent, serviceable Danish horror film that nevertheless could have been better. (The film's original title was "Sorgenfri.") It's capably written, nicely filmed, and well performed by its actors, and there is genuine suspense once its zombies are allowed to run amok.

The trouble is, that takes far too long. Like America's "Viral" (2016), this is a zombie movie that spends so much effort on its setup that there is little time left for enough payoff.

This is another thoughtful apocalyptic monster movie that pays a great deal of attention to the media and military response to the emerging crisis. (And it's creepily effective the way this is told exclusively from the point of view of a Danish suburb's residents.) It will hold your attention as a kind of "slow burn" horror film — it reminded me a little of the first season of AMC's "Fear the Walking Dead." Ultimately, however, the zombies get too little screen time. And that's a shame, because what we do see as a horrifying, tragic climax is actually very well executed.

Overall, I'd rate this a 7 out of 10.

What is wrong in 90% of zombie movies, what makes them SO bad usually? Running zombies, faster-than-eye-super-beast zombies, bad make up day zombies, CGI zombies. Here the crappy zombies simply are not the problem, though it has to be said, they're not that interesting either.

Sure, this one's got really nothing much to add to the sub-genre of zombie movies. But it manages to focus for a good deal on the characters and flesh them out discreetly far better than many other horror movies do. Enough to make them feel familiar, like people we all know.

Trying not to watch this as a zombie movie might actually help the movie. It focuses in the first half on the tension between the state and the small societies, families, and relationships. One could claim the focus is like from the opening of the Dawn of the Dead but with reversed roles - the main characters are not armed military here, they're unarmed naive civilians, and the military isn't any more sympathetic to them as it is towards the unknown viral threat. Also, like in the Dawn (...) the story line setting changes drastically after the first act, but... what could have been a commentary on how dangerous a thing a sudden power vacuum can be, the direction seem to stubbornly now... run towards the typical run of the mill modern zombie movie to please or embarrass the wide zombie sub-genre audiences. Depends completely on how you like your horror and how you watch movies. The latter half even comes with jump scares to add to the predictable remains of the plot. Which is a shame. There's also an afterwards added possibly optimistic ending that clearly contradicts an earlier scene and doesn't play well to the atmosphere.

The sound design is about as good as you can get, though there's no memorable OST. A zombie movie simply should not be released without a memorable OST, we owe that to Fabio Frizzi and Claudio SImonetti & Goblin.

I a massive fan of the Z genre, this at best mediocre. But be honest nothing new to the genre. The story( was there even a story )? lacks build up. Some decisions that just werent logical. However it wasnt crazy bad. I reccomend watching, just dont expect a revelotionary zombie movie.

Sorgenfri took me by surprise - in the best possible way. I walked in with relatively low expectations, but left thinking that this might be THE zombie movie I have always waited for. It might be my favourite to date.

It's definitely up to par with The Walking Dead in many ways, just more thrilling and horror-like. It really got under my skin and made me feel very... alive!

The special effects were great. The locations, settings and moods felt very realistic. Character development and dialogue was satisfying. The sounds were oh-so creepy.

All in all this is a very well made movie. Which happens to be a zombie movie set in a small town in Denmark. I never in my life thought I would see those two sentences in the same paragraph, but here we are.

Big kudos for having the vision and will to make this happen. I highly salute the team behind this effort and recommend it to all zombie fans. Count me in for Sorgenfri 2.

I never write reviews, but this time I really had to write something. Stay away from this piece of junk. An absolutely horrible movie full of flaws, idiots and randomness.

01/28/2019 Watched this movie waiting for the hordes of blood thirsty Zombies - They never showed up? I guess maybe Americans on the TWD killed them all? ... or maybe they couldn't get a straight through train to Denmark? Either way the few that did show up in this movie didn't scare me one little bit, not bite. I watched to many episodes of TWD I guess? 6 stars is for the Danish effort, not how good the movie was and who doesn't "Love Man Eating Zombies"? Expect little and hopefully you'll get more out of this movie than I did? Bon Appetit

No spoilers. Thriller/Horror Plot: Family in Denmark quarantined at home as a virus spreads through town turning neighbors to zombies. Screenplay/Story: Right off the top I'll say it was pretty decent little film... And they spend the first 10 minutes letting you get to know the characters a bit. Does it well enough to point out their flaws without rubbing your nose in them. The writer showed real patience given it's only a 90-minute film, and no CGI so they focus on the characters and the story, which worked. Direction: Didn't care for the clip that plays during the opening credits. Don't understand why the director felt the need to share that 50 seconds with the audience. Maybe a Danish thing. Did very much like the camera work and shot selection used by the director, felt right there pretty much, in the scene, all the time. Felt personal, worked pretty well throughout. Did they go way over with the lighting. Mostly shot indoors and at night so needed some shadows or dim lighting. Would have worked better especially as everything outside the front door goes south. However as the story progresses and the pace picks up the cast gets kinda gets detached. The characters are a bit too subdued/lethargic as the world outside becomes unhinged with their survival increasingly in doubt. They should have been totally wired when instead they looked and acted a bit stoned. For people on the edge of the abyss they certainly lacked for nervous conversation. Think really frightened people would have talked more. As often happens in this genre the writer mistakenly believes the characters must make bad/stupid decisions for things to happen. I never like watching stupid people. Prefer when the situation forces a respond rather than vice versa. Have some of each here. Climax: Did not care for the climax or for the ending, expected more and characters deserved better. All said not a bad little film, pretty good actually. Obviously a small budget but think it worked in their favor, worth a watch

A lot of movies have stupid people as characters, but this one may claim the title. Could barely stand to watch these amazingly stupid people with no common sense whatsoever. Just terrible characters that all deserved to be killed.

Its a slow phase start of the outbreak kind of Movie. But the atmosphere is good n the Movie is well done. Keep you on the dege,wondering whats gonna happend next. It only realy pick up speed in the last part of it were alot happends. I realy liked the Movie and i have seen it more than once now. I realy wish they would do a sequel to it that continue were the first end. Maby that help tie up few lose end to were the virus came from and how widespread it is n so on. Thumbs up from me

Wasn't terrible, but did fail to have any sort of kick to it.

Danish zombies have a lot of similarities to American ones, albeit with a lower budget and a lot fewer guns. In summary, Denmark seems ill prepared; their weaponry includes a knife, baseball bat and a shovel.