De Dødes tjern

This was very well made, atmospheric and pretty intelligent. There was something slightly otherworldly about the rural setting, draped in "night as day" lighting, reflections on the water giving life to the titular lake. It would have worked as a pre-"Bay of Blood" slasher setting, but went in a pleasingly different direction, melding myth and reality quite effectively. There was some nice character work here, which really helped me become invested. Worth a look.

More of a mystery thriller than a horror, but it's a very good one. The characters are all interesting in their own ways and the film wastes no time in setting up the intrigue. It's fun watching them interact and unravel the plot while the fear of death hangs over them. The ending explanation is very much of its time, in a way I don't like, but at least the narrative resolution is good.

Very pleasantly surprising. Who would expect a Norwegian psycho-thriller from 1958 to be intelligent, witty and actually creepy? I found this to be genuinely engaging, and the characters are really well written which isn't something you find in Norwegian film too often. Kolstad's character is great for comic relief midst all the creepiness. 'Apropos pannekaker - skal vi stå her hele natta!?' Recommended to any Norwegian if only to show them that not all Norwegian films are crap.

I wonder if this highly effective, very creepy and underrated flick was an influence on Sam Rami when he made The Evil Dead. On Shudder currently which has a fantastic folk horror section.

Okay Movie

Truly excellent, which is the last thing I expected when I popped it in for “easy” “viewing”. I’m going to continue the search for the earliest cabin in the woods horror, but thus far, take a bow, Norway. It’s a tale of murder and madness and a cast of kooky characters all going mildly crazy by a lake lit by moonlight and set to a soundtrack of ghosts howling in despair. I wish I had enough friends to fill in this kind of macabre menagerie for my own weekend of occult shenanigans.