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Sauna

Play trailer Poster for Sauna 2008 1h 23m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 4 Reviews 52% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
In 16th-century Finland, a merciless warrior and his brother encounter vengeful ghosts.

Critics Reviews

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C.H. Newell Father Son Holy Gore 05/01/2019
5/5
Sauna cleverly uses history and religious faith to spin a surreal tale of guilt, sin, and redemption. Go to Full Review
David Nusair Reel Film Reviews 03/11/2011
0/4
...one of the most repugnant and flat-out contemptible cinematic experiences to come around in quite some time. Go to Full Review
Bill Gibron PopMatters 10/31/2009
3.5/5
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. Go to Full Review
Matthew Sorrento Film Threat 07/22/2009
3.5/5
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. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Thomas S 11/05/2024 Very bleak. I loved the folk horror aspect. The fact they speak in Finnish. And the fact that it took the spiritual valua Sauna has in Finnish folklore to a whole other level. Like a last judgment. See more @AndyB21 03/16/2022 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. See more 06/23/2020 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. See more 09/16/2018 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. See more 03/08/2017 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. See more 01/28/2017 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. See more Read all reviews
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
Producer
Jesse Fryckman, Tero Kaukomaa
Screenwriter
Iiro Küttner
Production Co
Bronson Club
Genre
Horror
Original Language
Finnish
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 10, 2017
Runtime
1h 23m