MY CALL: Funny, light, well-composed and droll, this British dark comedy turns into a slapstick splatterfest. A good recommendation for a light, popcorn horror for a Friday night. MOVIES LIKE Get Away: For more family vacations gone wrong, try Lowlifes (2024), Boar (2017), or The Hills Have Eyes (1977, 2006)
On a family vacation to Sweden, Richard (Nick Frost; Black Cab, Krazy House, Shaun of the Dead), Susan (Aisling Bea), and their teenage kids Jessie (Maisie Ayres) and Sam (Sebastian Croft; Penny Dreadful) venture to an island with a dark history of imperiled quarantined illness about to celebrate their “quarantine” memorial.
The dry humor kicks off to a lovely, deliberately awkward start as our family interacts with the locals at a Swedish diner with no patience for small talk or vegetarianism. The restaurant owner is the stereotypical harbinger, trying very hard to warn them away from their unsafe decision to visit the island of Svalta. Like any horror movie family, they do not heed the dire warnings.
Glares from the locals are unnaturally exaggerated, playing droll satire on the “unwelcome visitors” trope. As soon as they set foot on the island, the locals scoff at their vacation intentions and demand their departure in the vein of classic folk horror. Things worsen as we learn that Susan’s ancestors are connected to the dark history of Svalta’s quarantine.
Of course, their local host renting out his home is quite creepy. But the other villagers bring the real creep factor. They feel like the subjects of cult activity right away. Villagers in masks bearing torches, dead animals, wooden coffins, and other ominous behaviors all point to a dark fate of our tourists. We wander into a bit of a Vacancy (2007) vibe crossing paths with The Wicker Man (1973). The major event of this Quarantine celebration is a play-like re-enactment, the silliness of which reminds me of The First Thanksgiving from Addams Family Values (1993).
The horror is truly minimal for the first hour. Playing out more as a straight comedy with a dark backdrop, this is more in the vein of Hot Fuzz (2007) than Shaun of the Dead (2004) in the first two acts. But by the third act, things get very bloody very fast. Severed heads and body parts and heads on spikes abound. Frost’s horrible injury at the end of the movie is hilarious and is played for several good laughs.
This was not at all what I expected, and I very much enjoyed it. You won’t talk about this for days, nor will it leave you slack-jawed agog like Hereditary (2018). BUT, for a low stakes Friday night popcorn horror, this was delightful. Next stop is director Steffen Haars’ Krazy House (2024).