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“A horror film’s job is to scare you, is to get your pulse going, is to make you scream and yell. It’s to make you be afraid. That’s its main purpose, and creeping you out. And that can be an enjoyable experience.” --- John Carpenter ::::::::::::: MY CRITERIA FOR DISCUSSION ENCOMPASSES THE HORROR GENRE AND BEYOND, SO I USE THE TERM "NIGHTMARE MOVIES". SPOILERS CAN OCCUR WITH OR WITHOUT WARNING. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Sauna

October 21st 2009 23:03
Sauna movie poster
A Finnish-Czech Republic made nightmare that writhes mutely in a paroxysm of anguish, Sauna (2008) is closer to the films of Andrei Tarkovsky than anything Hollywood could ever hope to achieve. Set at the end of the 16th Century in the desolate landscape near the newly-set border of Sweden and Russia it follows the plight of two disparate brothers, psychologically damaged by the horrors of a 25-year war, Knut (Tommi Eronen), an emotionally vulnerable man, and his older volatile brother Eerik (Ville Virtanen) who arrive at a tiny Orthodox village existing within the moist decay of swampland with guilt a plague upon their minds, blackening their souls.

Written by Iiro Küttner, it’s the second feature for director Antti-Jussi Annila, yet it feels like the kind of mature work made much further on in a director’s career. The screenplay is drenched in symbolism, its layers peeling back, yet revealing nothing to the naked eye. Yes, the windows to the soul, these gelatinous surveyors are responsible for harbouring our sins, and as Shakespeare once demanded, “Out vile jelly!”
Sauna Ville Virtanen
Ville Virtanen as Eerik
Sauna deals with the repugnant filth of humanity (Filth was its working title), and the desire to cleanse oneself seems as shallow as the puddles of dirtied water scattered around the village. Is it really as easy to atone for one’s sins by simply entering the sauna the two brothers discover that stands in the middle of the deepest part of the swamp; its dark entrance hiding the unknown horror within? The sauna is older than the village, it’s probably been there forever, or so the locals ponder. But where are all the children? Eerik and Knut are being haunted by the spectre of a human wound, a cruelly abandoned child.
Sauna Tommi Eronen
Tommi Eronen as Knut
This is an existential nightmare for jaded horrorphiles. It makes demands upon the intellect, and doesn’t reward in predictable fashion. One must peer closer, listen harder, and think deeper. The movie gets under the skin, sinks into the soul, and rattles the mind. It’s a meditative descent into historical despair, a tale from history plucked and served as cold revenge for the blasphemous warriors of the wasteland.
Sauna Ville Virtanen
Eerik confronts the sauna
The acting and production values are first rate; the icy, penetrative cinematography captures the landscape in cold blues, blacks, browns and greys, the wardrobe of leather and metal creaks and clangs with authenticity, but it is the unassuming, yet masterful mise-en-scene that shines most darkly, and certainly it is in this studied, yet effortless visual narrative where director Annila seems to be channeling the late Russian poet of cinema I mentioned in the first sentence. There is stillness, a deathly quiet, in the imagery, but also the dialogue (it seems all the sound was entirely post-synch which heightens the detached, other-worldliness of the dense, floating atmosphere).
Sauna Tommi Eronen and Ville Virtanen
Eerik's atonement at the hands of his brother
Sauna is a highly original supernatural horror, unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. It does not yield, nor suffer fools gladly, there is no gore, but trickles of red, a crimson swirls in the river, and then there are rivulets of black; blood as dark and oily as the devil’s faeces. It is a metaphysical nightmare that culminates with Eerik seeking his morally deteriorated brother who has succumbed to the unholy allure of the sauna and its promise of salvation. The tenebrous realm of the unforgiven engulfs him …
Sauna Sonja Petäjäjärvi
Suffer the children


Here's the trailer:


Here's a potent teaser:


Sauna DVD is courtesy of Madman Entertainment, many thanks!

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews
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2 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by JohnDoe

October 22nd 2009 15:12


Film & TV on DVD
Brilliant Review Bryn,

I had only heard of this one a few weeks ago and now your write up leaves me wanting to see it.

Sounds like an excellent exercise in intellectual atmosphere, a mature horror I am sure to appreciate.

Comment by Bryn

October 23rd 2009 01:32


Horrorphile
JD, cheers mate, yes I nurtured this one, channeled the tone and references.

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