User reviews

A film based on a true story that can be told in two sentences, and the plot isn't actually even that much based on it. Basically it's a Finnish "slasher" film that isn't scary in any way.

How can that be possible ? In a horror movie the viewer should identify to at least one "victim" character and hope for hes or her (usually her) survival in some way. This movie makes none of the cast feel innocent or likable and twists the plot in so many so unnecessary ways the characters lose all value and become indifferent for the viewer.

It feels like the script was just brainstormed together in a single sitting without any work and all focus put into the set, cinematography, sound and music which are all state of art. In some scenes the actors do fine job but very bad in few - losing completely the credibility of the ongoing -panic- situation, although international audiences might not get this. When the movie ends one just feels empty and cheated - it meant nothing and it left nothing to ponder on.

These are common faults in modern publicly-funded Finnish cinema where tech, music and cinematography are great but driven with lazy writing and recycled boring cast that appears in about every title. Weren't the soviet days already over ?

For those interested in slightly better Finnish slasher horror, Kuutamosonaatti (1988) is something to check out.

I don't know what to say about this one. It's an original approach which is great, but I felt that the execution didn't really work that well. I think the first plot twist should have been the only one and should have happened much later, like...in the last scene.

Even if the production values and the acting are positive things to mention, I don't think the film did something particularly well (except the existence of the first plot twist). The first act was a bit lame and not that exciting (ok, the build-up on these films is always very similar but this wasn't one of the most exciting), then the suspense and slasher elements of the 2nd act run for no more than 10/15 minutes (the best part of the film) and after that we have the 2nd plot twist that doesn't need to exist and it's not that interesting ending on a low note.

So I guess I just didn't "get" LAKE BODOM. Why was it a good idea to go to the isolated site where a group of campers were massacred in the 1960s? To "recreate it"? And if there was an active psycho back then, he'd be in his 70s now...or early 80s? This film just seemed to lurch from one "surprise" to another and instead of show don't tell, the characters sat in the car and explained at great length why they did what they did. I thought the acting was fine, but the character's motivations seemed wildly out of sync with what they were reacting to. And no fault of the filmmakers, but the subtitles (yes, it's subtitled) are pretty bad. What's also interesting is that while the critics love it at RT, with a current score of 100% from 6 critics, audiences only give it a 38%. I'm one of those who is fine with "movie logic" but if you're going to have your psycho appear at the end, he needs some kind of explanation or we're to believe that for no reason whatsoever he hangs out in the woods for 50+ years...just hanging out?

Boring, predictable, unlikable characters, and a film that didn't really know what it wanted to be. Is how I would sum this movie up. It reminded me of Wolf Creek a little. But besides that nothing really good to say about this film unfortunately. Not worth watching. They're better movies out there.

It can be a tricky thing to make a film around actual real-life killings. Daniel Farrands has found that out the hard way. While the film is really its own story entirely, the fact that is refers to the real-life killings at all has probably garnered it some unfair/fair (depending on your point of view) hatred. If you look at it just as a film purely made for entertainment purposes however, it isn't half bad.

I love me some European horror. They aren't afraid to go to the places that the American filmmakers are. This is a film that gets darker and darker as it goes along. It keeps one-upping itself.

There are some jump scares in this movie that have the most ridiculously loud noise accompanying them in relation to the sound mix. It's almost impossible to not get a fright, not so much because the scare is well crafted (it usually isn't) but just because the noise is so unexpectedly loud.

I didn't mind this film. If you go in just looking to be entertained then you'll likely have some fun with it. I can see it being considered insensitive too though and wouldn't argue with anyone trying to make that point. 7/10.

5,1 out of 10 is a disgrace to this film. Well-paced, well-acted, suspenseful and a somewhat original plot (see for yourself) with a few good twists and turns. The very most parts of the film take place in the woods, and the solid nature definitely builds up a true horror atmosphere to the film.

"Lake Bodom" also has this great unsettling "nerve" to it, which reminds me of some of the best classic 80s horror flicks like "Just Before Dawn" and "The Burning".

In my opinion "Lake Bodom" is the best Finnish horror flick out there. Well worth a watch for horror hounds and/or people who appreciate an entertaining, thrilling 85 minute ride!

It pulled reference from our current digital world to freshen the plot line. The cinematography was moody and atmospheric. I found this effective thriller fare.

I had to keep rewinding the movie because I would doze off. It was that bad. The acting was ok but the premise and the whole entire concept makes watching a slug crawling ax cross the ground much more interesting and dramatic.

So, Finnish horror movies are rare. A good Finnish horror movie is next to impossible. This movie is faaaar from good. I do know the Lake Bodom story. I have heard about it since I was a little kid, just like every other Finn born after the mysterious mass killing. Why was this movie even referring to Bodom, because the way it forced the Bodom story into it was weak. I am not a fan of Mikael Gabriel, he's a shitty Finnish rapper, but his acting was decent. So was the rest of the cast. But the plot just didn't work. I was hoping for that "oh my god, this is too horrible!""-moment in the movie and that never came. Thank god I didn't spend any movie seeing this on the big screen.

I guess if there is a tragic accidents or murders, we'll have movies about them. This isn't exactly what happened in Lake Bodom in 1960 and the action in the movie takes place in modern days. This is another attempt at the horror genre to make film with the same plot as almost every other slasher. I was kind of excited to see non-American film from this genre and i was hoping for a cool foreign movie outside of the Hollywood norms and tropes, which i got with movies like "The Martyrs", "High Tension", "Vertigo", "Rec", "Train to Busan" etc, but this is just the Finnish version of "Friday the 13th", just call it "Crystal Lake" and get over with it. If you want to watch new good horror watch "Split" or "Get Out", not this.

My "hopes" were crushed when i got to the plot, which is totally overused and boring. Guess what was the first jump scare! Yeah... their friend popping out of nowhere. Guess what was the second jump scare! Yeah… a tree branch falling. Cliché after cliché after cliché. And don't get me wrong... i don't mind a good old jump scare that much if it's done right, look at movies like "The Conjuring", "Insidious" etc, they're making it the right way. And they put personal drama in one of the characters, which is totally misplaced. The tone is often off and on, at one time we have "suspense" moment, of course the background sounds, should tell you that, because you can't feel a real tension and then we cut back with this stupid backstory, because I guess, we have to give a motive for the group of people being in the woods.

And don't even let me start with the characters... emotionless and flat. If you are making them that way, make them at least a little bit different... but hey, why should we have characters that are not trivial? Jerk - check, slut - check, harassed shy girl - check, dumb decisions made by them - check! Of course the bad acting did not contributed. If you are lost in the forest, one of your friends was brutally murdered and there is probably a serial killer, which is after you... maybe you should panic a little bit, not just walking around, talking for normal day drama. What were the director and the writer thinking? "Hey, we have a twist. Well that makes the movie a whole lot better, right?" Twist, which is very dumb, because in order to try something new, they fail and which is explained 20 minutes. "Why the twist should be shocking and interesting when it can be stupid and not well executed?".

So… the script was poor, the acting sucked, as well as the idea, because it's overused. At least make it over the top fun. I wanted the movie to end after the 20th minute, but i watched it to the end anyway. Boring, lifeless and doll movie that is cliché to it's core. If something distinguishes it from the other indie-slashers is the camera work, which isn't great but it wasn't that bad and this is the best this movie has to offer. If you are bored out of your mind even before the half run time of the movie hasn't passed, something isn't right. 2/10

Some of these reviews are so harsh. I loved this film, and the people I recommended it to did as well. As someone that often picks the ending in the first 15 minutes I loved being totally thrown, and even said a "Oh my god" out loud a few times. Great acting, fabulous script. Overall one of the best horror film I've seen this year - And I watch a lot!

This movie is a perfect example of how a large budget, familiar actors and skillfull videography just cannot replace proper storytelling. It feels a lot like another one of those movies where the scenery shots, music and speechless parts make the whole runtime seem better than it actually is.

With only the plot points, conversations, action and narration Bodom is a mediocre film really in all of the genres it promises to represent. For a comedy, it's not funny. Aside from a few gags and jokes occasionally thrown around here and there it contains almost zero comedic elements to speak of. For a horror title, it does try to deliver some scaryness, altough every horror-focused scene is really straightforward and fails to deliver any actual elements of suprise. As for a thriller, all foreshadowing and tension the movie tries to rise is killed of by the constant fake-jumpscares and mundane interruptions. The film simply tries to hit too many genres at once - resulting to fail in all of them.

Now to its credit, the budget of this film shows in certain scenes where the camera angles, shots and included music give a nice sense of environment. However, even this is too infrequent and it certainly seems like the producers should have dedicated this time and effort to crafting a proper story and characters first. All motives are messy, none of the characters are likeable or relatable and and this misconnection between the viewer and them cause constant questioning of the teenagers actions, reactions and conversations.

Overall, Bodom is not a completely terrible film but does not honestly contain much worth watching. The idea of discussing the historic real events through the film is not very well executed and most rorror film enthusiasts would probably get more out of reading about them on Wikipedia. The movie doesn't really suit it, I recommend skipping this one.

This the worst Finn movie I have ever seen.

Who can make this kind of movie and think "I've done a great jpb!!" is beyond belief!

Like anything in life, or I have come to believe this "ratio", 98% of anything is shite, find the 2% that is worth your time.

This is worth your time. Like tommyknocker's lone review makes note of; there's a creepy tone to this film, rarely seen since Just Before Dawn.

Thinking back, this very well could be paying some homage to JBD...the atmospheres, the droning score, right down to the outro music. It was the first film that came to mind as the credits rolled.

Discussing the topic of the film will only reveal spoilers, but this, not unlike The Windmill Massacre, sheds a lot of light into the world of excellent Nordic horror.

The first half of this film is unimpressive. It's filled with clichés and grossly overused horror movie tactics… like jump scares, strange sounds, filming as if it's the point of view of someone watching, running off into the darkness, etc. It's pretty much EXACTLY what you'd expect from a movie about teens in the woods. At some point… all that changes though. Once the film reaches its climax… It kinda hangs out up there for a minute… you just KEEP getting hit with things you either didn't see coming, or didn't see them coming in that particular way. And by the end you're just like… "Boy that escalated quickly."

However, it drops the ball with character development. You don't really identify with or have any sympathy for these kids. You're just kinda waiting for whatever is gonna come and ruin their little lives. They just weren't that interesting.

Overall I enjoyed this enough to recommend it to horror fans. Full commentary WITH spoilers on YouTube/Twitter @moviebuffchick1

https://youtu.be/YaYzIrO1zNw

Lake Bodom, a serene and picturesque location in Finland, holds a dark and chilling history, providing the perfect setting for a slasher film that blends brutal violence with a dose of dark humor. 'Bodom' takes inspiration from the infamous unsolved murders that occurred at the lake in 1960, crafting a twisted tale that will satisfy horror enthusiasts seeking a gruesome yet entertaining ride.

Director Taneli Mustonen plunges us into the lives of four teenage friends, who, in a daring act of rebellion, decide to camp out at Lake Bodom, a place shrouded in urban legends. This reckless decision sets the stage for a night of terror as the group becomes entangled in a deadly game of cat and mouse with a deranged killer.

The film's opening act is a slow burn, taking its time to introduce the characters and establish their dynamics. We witness the typical teenage angst and romantic tensions, which, while not groundbreaking, serve to build a sense of familiarity before the chaos ensues. The performances are solid, particularly the portrayal of the unhinged and unpredictable killer, who becomes the driving force of the film's latter half.

As the sun sets, the movie shifts gears, transforming into a relentless and visceral slasher experience. The cinematography excels in these moments, capturing the eerie beauty of the forest and the stark brutality of the murders. The gore is abundant and creatively executed, ensuring that even the most desensitized horror fans will squirm in their seats.

'Bodom' also incorporates a healthy dose of dark comedy, providing some much-needed levity amidst the carnage. The humor, while not always hitting the mark, adds a layer of unpredictability, making the film a wild and twisted journey. The script, however, falters in its attempt to weave in a deeper psychological narrative, often feeling like a distraction from the more effective slasher elements.

One of the film's strengths lies in its practical effects, which are impressively realistic, adding to the overall intensity. The killer's weapon of choice, a hammer, becomes a symbol of sheer brutality, and the sound design ensures every blow resonates with the audience.

Despite its strengths, 'Bodom' struggles to find a consistent tone, oscillating between horror and comedy, often within the same scene. This unevenness may leave some viewers feeling detached from the story, especially during the more emotionally charged moments. The film's pacing also falters towards the end, with the climax feeling rushed and leaving some plot threads unresolved.

In conclusion, 'Bodom' is a flawed yet entertaining slasher flick that embraces its bloody roots. While it may not offer groundbreaking storytelling, it delivers on the promise of a gruesome and twisted adventure. With a unique setting and a willingness to push boundaries, the film will undoubtedly find its audience among those who appreciate a good old-fashioned bloodbath.