Strandvaskaren (2004)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

Director:

Mikael Håfström

Writers:

Mikael Håfström (writer)
Vasa (writer)

Release Date:

15 October 2004 (Sweden)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Plot:

Hundred years ago, three students at the Hellestads Boarding School were brutally slaughtered, the murderer...

Plot Keywords:

Boarding School | Suicide | Murder | Fetus | Escaped Mental Patient

Cast

Rebecka Hemse	...	Sara
Jesper Salén	...	Felix
Jenny Ulving	...	Therese
Peter Eggers	...	Leo
Daniel Larsson	...	Måns
Rebecca Ferguson	...	Amanda (as Rebecka Ferguson)
Anders Ekborg	...	Thomas
Kjell Bergqvist	...	Peder Weine
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anders Ahlbom	...	Vaktmästare Bengt
Tommy Andersson	...	Pappan
Sasa Bjurling	...	Rebecka
Aalma Duran	...	Rebecca som barn
Magnus Ehrner	...	Läkare 2
Stig Engström	...	Professor Ek
Patrick Gillenhammar	...	Felix som barn
Erik Hultqvist	...	Markus
Kerstin Steinbach	...	Rektor Laila
Oskar Thunberg	...	Läkare 1
Bojan Westin	...	Anna-Lisa
Frans Wiklund	...	Yngve

Also Known As:

Drowning Ghost (International: English title)

Runtime:

Brazil:100 min | Argentina:100 min

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Filmhusateljéerna, Filmhuset, Svenska Filminstitutet, Gärdet, Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden

Company:

Greta Film AB

Trivia:

Jesper Salén was badly cut beneath his right eye after got hit by one of the propellers of an engine to a motorboat. He was rushed to the hospital but was able to re-shoot the scene the next day.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Sara and Therese are chased through the house and crash in to the drain pipe, Therese's top changes from red to blue and back again.

Swedish Conventional Slash Movie

The traditional Hellestad Boarding School is celebrating its centenary, and the students are planning a big party. However, there is a dark legend about a brutal murder of three students by a local farm a hundred years ago. The killer drowned in a lake nearby and his body has been not found. One year ago, the disturbed intern Rebecka (Sasa Bjurling) committed suicide during the anniversary speech of the arrogant dean, and her deranged father escaped from the mental institution where he was lodged. The student Sara (Rebecka Hence) is preparing a composition about the tragic legend, and finds new evidences compromising the name of a traditional local family and top contributor of Hellestad. Meanwhile, two new arrivals, Leo (Peter Eggers) and Felix (Jesper Salén), become close to Sara and her roommate Therese (Jenny Ulving), and students and staffs are vanishing in the place.

My expectation with "Strandvaskaren" were the highest possible, based on the name of director Mikael Håfström. His cruel "Ondskan" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338309/usercomments-45) is a stunning movie; indeed, it is a psychological study of violence taking place also in a boarding school. Unfortunately, the disappointing "Strandvaskaren" is nothing but a conventional slash movie, with no originality, and using the same clichés of many American productions. Anyway, I like this type of predictable movie as entertainment and my vote is six.

Tiotle (Brazil): "A Maldição do Lago" ("The Curse of the Lake")