I read the book(as well as just about everything else by Dennis that I've gotten my hands on, and, more to the point, eyes pointed towards) before seeing the film, and enjoyed it as I tend to with his writings, so I will be drawing comparisons between the two. While this is not a flawless adaptation(and if you have to go with one or the other, this would not be my choice), it is definitely worth watching for us who seek out his work, and much more satisfying than Backstabbed, the other effort by DJ and Martin Schmidt. Almost everything about this is in varying degrees... including how closely translated the novel(which, I understand, was published at the same time as this was released, with Jürgensen doing it and the script, rather than it being something of his that someone picked up and turned into a movie... I'm not complaining, I was delighted by both) is, which is at times a curse(as it can come off forced), sometimes a blessing(a lot of it really works, I'm not sure I agree with the taking out of all that was so... although there are *clear* moments where what was herein surpassed the text). Let's talk acting; not everyone nails it. Andersson, as Inga, is by far, in my opinion, the one that comes the closest and feels the most genuine, and almost all of the time that has her on-screen is better for it. Bille, as Kenneth, also almost gets it right, at many points. Oksen does pretty good. In the other end of the spectrum, sadly, is Jensen. I like him, I do, but he just does not sell it, I never really believed he was Taus(perhaps he spoke too much... a little joke for the Danish readers...yes, it *was* a joke); I don't know if he's just too far from that type in general, but here, he comes off much more like his character in The Lost Spring(maybe he was still stuck on that?). I personally don't care for how Augusta was done... she looked far more like a mental patient than what I pictured from her description by Dennis, and I didn't always buy her as scared of everything(meanwhile, some of the eye-stuff... great!). Bo Larsen is fine, he's just... well, twice as old as his character seems to be supposed to be. The effects aren't all magnificent, but there are some absolutely excellent ones in there, and really not that many downright poor ones... if really any at all. The direction is mixed... I don't know how wise one particular decision made was, that again differs from DJ's words(I'll take this opportunity to point out that I'm actually *not* just blindly proposing that everything be taken from there and put up on the screen, they are different mediums and what works in one does not in the other, and this does have things that are not in the other, which are *spot-on*), which may count as a spoiler, so I'm not saying it here, but you'll find out from viewing(and hey, if not, feel free to ask me). However, I cannot claim that this didn't make me jump, every single time it tried to(and this wasn't my first viewing), and the ending, whilst admittedly abrupt, was marvelously effective. The cinematography and editing are masterful at select instances. The weirdness and wondering what exactly *is* going on is stronger in, yeah... but it does come across here, and is engaging(as is the feature as a whole). If you're into Dennis Jürgensen and his stuff, I would not hesitate to place this on your "must watch" list immediately. The DVD has a five-six minutes long interview with both him and Martin, and it's not bad at all. It's also got a commentary track, which is quite informational and a listen that is unlikely to disappoint. I recommend this to anyone who fits into aforementioned group, and those who are otherwise interested in this... for the actors, the genre of horror or Schmidt. 7/10
