Rift

"Rökkur"/"Rift" (Iceland 2017) This is a pretty well crafted psychological thriller that will keep you guessing right up to the end (and beyond!). Months after their relationship has ended, Gunnar is awakened at 3:03am by his ex-boyfriend, Einar. His message is cryptic, "Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night and get the feeling that something is with you? Or someone?". He is calling from his family's remote cabin...and Gunnar is sufficiently worried to get dressed, hop in his car, and drive all night to get there ASAP. From this point on NOTHING is what it seems! The acting is very good, the stark scenery of the Icelandic countryside is chilling, and the storytelling is creepy as hell.....I'm just not quite sure exactly what happened. LOL. I have some theories, but if you watch this one -- I will be interested to hear your thoughts on just what this film is about. Many reviews have called it "Hitchcockian" -- but I've never seen an entire Hitchcock film to say if that is true or not....but it sounds good on paper. ;) [4/5]

This is a superb thriller for those like me who enjoy brainteasers. I'll have to watch the story again to try to decipher some clues (mysterious red car, Einar's red coat, the little lad's red shirt)--these bright colours.contrasting with the greys of the often sombre, chilly landscape. The moods were intense, and something eerie was happening yet I couldn't grasp fully what is was. Is Gunnar sometimes dreaming? This kept my interest during the slow parts as I studied the meaning and nuances of the characters' broken relationship. So yes, the film is cerebral and forces the watcher to think. Thank goodness it wasn't another movie about gay men struggling with their sexuality. Nor was it chatty and noisy with banal dialogue that tells rather than SHOWS what the characters are feeling--and thankfully there are no "divas" or other such cliche stereotypes, And the cinematography is splendid. Yes, I highly recommend "Rift to film lovers who like to be.mentally challenged whilst also being entertained. Well done.

I went into this not knowing what to expect. Is it a slasher? Ghost story? Psychological thriller? Home invasion? I ended up finding out it's a slow mystery. The movie runs a little too long but the characters are interesting and the movie had a decent plot and for that I give it 6 stars. Not bad at all, good, just not great. The actors performances were great though. It's unique to find LGBTQ mysteries so see it for yourself if this subject interests you.

This film just couldn't decide what it wanted to be. Was it a love story, a drama, a horror film or a slasher movie? Honestly, it was really stupid. Someone knocks on the door in the middle of the night. On the third time of knocking, Gunnar opens immediately and there's no one there. No one's running away, no one came to murder the lads.

Dire warnings abound. The neighbour warns of burglaries, the petrol station girl warns about hitch hikers, the neighbour again suddenly remembers to warn about an eccentric farmer. All through, Gunnar and Einar are working through their relationship breakdown and their memories, some painful. This might have been an interesting film if it had simply followed that path. For a start it would have been thirty minutes shorter once all the supernatural stuff was taken out.

I lost count of how many times the hoary old device was employed of having someone rush across the frame in front of the camera while the lead's back was turned and he was looking for the person. It didn't make me jump the first time and I was getting fed up on the sixth or seventh occasion. On other occasions it was worse. People being chased disappeared and then were seen fleetingly at the corner of a house, disappearing. So the chase began again, only to have another glimpse of the figure rushing round a corner or vanishing into a doorway.

Absurd coincidences abound, Gunnar finds Einar's phone in the middle of a lava field after he just happened to stop at that particular spot by the road.

There are occasions when people speak and are visible but aren't really there. It's utterly risible.

This could have been a good two-parter exploring sexuality and break ups. To pace it a bit, a few of the village inhabitants could have been introduced during the narrative. Instead, we got a mishmash of nonsense and genres that was half an hour too long.

Not recommended.

I decided to watch the film because it promised to be a non-mainstream little gem. Considering the boundary conditions (especially the small budget and the short shooting time) I was really amazed by the actors' performances. I had the feeling that they prepared excellently for their parts, while the director knew exactly what to show. The atmosphere is captivating (although a bit cliché and borrowed from countless other drama-horror movies) and the Island landscapes superb (however not really owing to the director but to nature).

All things being the film was very promising, but ended up being very mediocre. The characters do not evolve much, new random personality elements appear without being explained or supported, the story line sucks heavily and the ending is predictable and nonsensical at the same time. Countless questions go by unanswered. For some this is not a problem, since they are simply connected to the heroes' past and are open to interpretation, others, however, are crucial to the story line (like why on earth at a given time one would in the middle of the night get off the car at start wandering in a deserted place) and make the protagonists simply look stupid.

Watch the film if you like National Geographic documentaries, enjoy the sceneries shown and the acting, but switch off any need to explain or even remotely understand the plot.