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      Sauna

      2008 1h 23m Horror List
      Reviews 52% Audience Score 1,000+ Ratings In 16th-century Finland, a merciless warrior and his brother encounter vengeful ghosts. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

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      C.H. Newell Father Son Holy Gore Sauna cleverly uses history and religious faith to spin a surreal tale of guilt, sin, and redemption. Rated: 5/5 May 1, 2019 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...one of the most repugnant and flat-out contemptible cinematic experiences to come around in quite some time. Rated: 0/4 Mar 11, 2011 Full Review Bill Gibron PopMatters Similar in style to the brilliant Let the Right One In, this story of blame and belief, terror and trepidation uses an unfamiliar era and event to lay the foundation for one undeniable work of fear. Rated: 3.5/5 Oct 31, 2009 Full Review Matthew Sorrento Film Threat Director AJ Annila bends the tone before our eyes ... We follow his lead and don't give a damn if it all amounts to nonsense. Rated: 3.5/5 Jul 22, 2009 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member Bleak, gritty and grim art/folk/horror which succeeds in the sense of dread it sets out to create, but is otherwise a slow and difficult viewing experience. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Deeply terrifying. This film has stuck with me for years now. If you like existential horro, you can't do much better than this nasty gem. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member I think the movie is about paying for your sins after experiencing a 25 year war. In the end, they reach a probable ghost town (that has the same number of residents that the main character has killed... hence their ghosts?). There is a sauna where supposedly you go in and are able to wash your sins away. But doing so takes your life and the experience isn't pleasant. The main part I don't understand is the final scene...what killed the girl and why did she die? Sorry, this isn't much of a review but its the best I could come up with without writing a book on it. This is a very hard movie to review. It's really easy to review it's technical aspects, but it's very hard to review the plot because it's so ambiguous and open to interpretation. But first off, it should be made clear that if you go into this movie because it's a horror, traditional horror fans will be very upset. It's not that scary, it's extremely slow and you really have to pay attention to every single line in the movie because clues are hidden throughout. But if you go in thinking this is a psychological drama with dark themes, you'll leave impressed. I went in expecting horror, hence came away with only 3*. This will be one of those divisive movies where the people who love it will look down upon those who don't ("just go watch your cheap jump scare filled movies"). As for the technical aspects, the acting and cinematography are both great and they create the creepy environment that gives the film it's darkness. The dark snow covered woods that are so bleak and hopeless really set the tone for this film. They did a great job of creating a 16th century world that's believable for us non-historians. Overall I recommend this to people who like dark slow burn psychological dramas that are very open to interpretation. If you can check off 2-3 of those boxes then this is for you. If you can't, then I suggest skipping this. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review Audience Member A definite highlight of the "folk horror" genre, this film is very unsettling on many levels. Even though I knew where it was going, it kept me interested and wanting to re-watch it. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Audience Member Artfully haunting along the lines of The Hitcher and Blair Witch. Very little dialogue but the acting, cinematography and musical score will send chills through your body. Despite the 50/50 review scores be your own judge and post your opinion. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member The battle-hardened butcher is going blind. His more compassionate brother sees too much. This movie is essentially a long meditation on guilt. It is dull and heavily symbolic in the sense that people have associated with European cinema since 'The Seventh Seal' but it's also very atmospheric and the visuals are crisply bleak. It's the kind of film that haunts you after it's over, though it will disappoint traditional horror fans looking for money shots and jump-scares. A bleak and nihilistic trek towards inevitable damnation. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

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      Sauna

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis In 16th-century Finland, a merciless warrior and his brother encounter vengeful ghosts.
      Director
      Antti-Jussi Annila
      Screenwriter
      Iiro Küttner
      Production Co
      Bronson Club
      Genre
      Horror
      Original Language
      Finnish
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Apr 10, 2017
      Runtime
      1h 23m