SYNOPSICS
Psalm 21 (2009) is a Swedish movie. Fredrik Hiller has directed this movie. Jonas Malmsjö,Oliver Åström,Robin Åström,Lena B. Eriksson are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2009. Psalm 21 (2009) is considered one of the best Horror,Thriller movie in India and around the world.
In Stockholm, the priest Henrik Horneus is beloved by his parish flock, and in his sermon, he frequently mentions the Psalm 21 that is the favorite of his father and also priest Gabriel that lives in Hammerdal. Henrik has relationship problems with his son, Jesper that lives with his mother and Henrik's former wife, Suzanne. Jesper is spending his birthday with Henrik. When Jesper is ready to go home with his mother, Henrik's girlfriend Karolina receives a phone call from the coroner of Hammerdal telling that his estranged father has been found drowned in the Dead Lake. Henrik decides to drive alone in the middle of the night to his father's hometown to attend the funeral and learn what has happened to him. Out of the blue, a person appears on the dark road and Henrik runs over her. Henrik pulls the car over but he does not see anybody on the road. Henrik returns to the car but it does not start, so he walks to a small farm to ask for help. He sees lights in the barn and he sees a ...
Psalm 21 (2009) Reviews
Not bad at all
Why does this movie have such low rating? It's definitely worth a lot more. First this is a horror movie. If you expect Oscar winning dialog, well you are watching the wrong type of movie. If you expect every little detail to be correct or that they don't speak the correct dialect for that part of Sweden, don't watch it. All movies have mistakes let's not forget that. Now let's look at what we have here. It's quite a basic set up for a horror movie, no real surprises there. The acting is over all good to very good. The main actor is on the verge of overacting from time to time especially in the beginning but he pulls it together. The storyline isn't hard to follow, but you have to pay attention though. For a horror movie it's actually quite good. Compared to a lot of "horror" movies out there this is actually one of the better ones in the last few years. If you like the American style "everything is explained to you so a 5 year old can understand" this might be to tough for you. If you like the Asian style "the movie is over and nothing is explained and you have to guess and try to puzzle it together for hours", this might be to easy for you. This mixes both of those and finds a nice middelground of storytelling. There's so many really awful horror movies that has gotten way better rating so I'm surprised that this doesn't have at least 6/10. Intentionally I haven't summed up the plot or written any "spoilers". Others have already done that and I really want you to give this movie a fair chance without giving anything away.
Messy Swedish Horror Film
In Stockholm, the priest Henrik Horneus (Jonas Malmsjö) is beloved by his parish flock, and in his sermon, he frequently mentions the Psalm 21 that is the favorite of his father and also priest Gabriel (Per Ragnar) that lives in Hammerdal. Henrik has relationship problems with his son Jesper that lives with his mother Elsie (Gunvor Pontén) and is spending his birthday with him. When Jesper is ready to go home with his mother, Henrik's girlfriend Karolina (Julia Dufvenius) receives a phone call from the coroner of Hammerdal telling that his estranged father has been found drowned in the Dead Lake. Henrik decides to drive alone in the middle of the night to his father's hometown to attend the funeral and learn what has happened to him. Out of the blue, a person appears on the dark road and Henrik runs over her. Henrik pulls the car over but he does not see anybody on the road. Henrik returns to the car but it does not start, so he walks to a small farm to ask for help. He sees lights in the barn and he sees a blond little girl. When he talks to her, she transforms into an evil creature. Hentik runs to the house and he meets a weird family that lodges him. Henrik has scary nightmares and daydreams and fells like he is trapped in hell. He learns that his father was murdered and dumped in the lake. Further, he has already been buried and sooner Hemrik finds the truth about Gabriel. When Henrik returns to his parish, he questions the nonexistence of hell declared by the Swedish Church in 1983. "Psalm 21" is a messy Swedish horror film that has a promising beginning but becomes boring and senseless. The screenplay is absolutely confused and there are scenes without explanation. For example, why Henrik is seduced and has sex with the demon-girl in the barn? His offensive final speech to his flock seems also to be out of the context and gives the sensation that Henrik is deranged or possessed. If Henrik has learned the truth, he should be more careful and prepare his congregation to embrace the new ideas. My vote is four. Title (Brazil): "Salmo 21" ("Psalm 21")
My first impression thoughts
Saw this one yesterday at a filmfestival in Lund. The script itself wasn't anything out of the ordinary (I won't spoil it, but you know the drill), you follow a person going to the middle of nowhere because something happened to someone close to him and during the story remembers frightening stuff. The acting was the good part of the film, especially Jonas Malmsjö who was close to being over the top but never reached it, it was a good balance he held almost all the way through. The supporting actors where mostly good, though they didn't all the time have the best material to work with, but during the better parts they shined. Especially well did Per Ragnar (Låt den rätte komma in) who even though only had a minor roll got good material and also made the best out of it. I need to see this movie a second time to reflect on my first thoughts but I think I will stand by my review without any alterations after a second viewing.
Something more than just a horror flick
I felt compelled to write a review of this movie. This movie actually has a lot of heart and there is more to it than most seem to think. It is, at it's base, somewhat of a horror movie. There also exist thoughtful undertones that force you to think. Not in a who-done-it kind of way. It's far more cerebral. If you watch this movie as a character exploration and don't sit impatiently waiting for the next scare, you will begin to see a man dealing with his tortured spirit. I found it moving in several instances. Highly recommended!!!
criticism towards religion
I was a bit afraid to watch another flick in the 'horror collection' series. But luckily this one did deliver the goods. The use of the camera was well done and they even washed the colours to add the creepiness toward this flick. Although the effects were CGI it didn't bother me at all because the used CGI to change faces just like they do in Asian flicks. This is also a perfect example that you can make a good horror without blood. But this movie delivers even more. Due the fact that it concerns religion it also add something special towards religion. They included many questions about religion and some will say this is blasphemy but if you think about it you must agree. In Belgium they had serious problems with priests that misused children on a sexual base. And that's what this flick is about on some parts. The acting was really good I must say. Especially the younger priest Henrik Horneus (Jonas Malmsjö) did a good job. It's funny that the director Fredrik Hiller chose to add male nudity in it when having sex with a young girl. And for being his first effort into direction he really knew his stuff, the way of editing delivered an extra touch to sometimes some arty shots. He even wrote this flick, but we all knew him as the Frisian Leader in Beowolf (2007). This was really a nice surprise coming out of Sweden. I won't recommend it to gorehounds but if you can dig Asian horrors or horrors about religion then this is one for you and do listen to the preaching at the end, it will make you think... Gore 0/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 3/5 Story 4/5 Comedy 0/5