Rage: Midsummer's Eve (2015) User Reviews

Rage Midsummer's Eve: Below average but not entirely bad

[Platypuschow · 4/10 · 30 November 2018]

The oddly titled Rage: Midsummer's Eve isn't a bad movie it's just overwhelmingly flawed.

It tells the usual cliched tale of a group of friends who go to stay in cabin away from civilization, because that always goes well!

Arguably the sub-genre would be considered slasher and it certainly has it's own identity. Partially due to the incredible Finnish metal soundtrack, partially because considering its budget for the most part it looks quite good.

The trouble is regarding that budget whenever something happens it shows, the counter measures they use to disguise the minimal funds simply don't work.

Set in Finland it's a pretty film that could have been good if only it wasn't devoid of budget. I'm not an elitist and support independent cinema (It tends to be better in fact) but never overshoot. If you can't afford to make the best of a script because of financial limitations then simply don't make the movie at all.

Could have been good, but the end product simply isn't. Nice try though all things considered.

The Good:

Great metal soundtrack

Has character

The Bad:

Audio balancing could have been better

Some character logic defies logic

Stock scream

Lack of budget shows

Crummy antagonist

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Kids > Partner

Doesn't matter where you are in the world, drinking from a can on the streets looks trashy

Mustard, sausage and vodka sounds like a party

Unfortunately Pointless

[onlythusfar · 3/10 · 19 March 2015]

I'm not a friend or relative of the film makers, as I suspect, that the writers of all these positive reviews must be. Either that, or a random group of people with poor taste, just happened to come upon this film. I'm just writing this review to let you know, that this movie is very poor, 2/3's of it being just an extended chase scene, which finally ends with . . . nothing. The actors and the camera work are adequate, the little bit of music is passable; however, the non-existent plot simply consisting of the characters perpetually running through the woods, with no pay-off, is tiring, and ultimately very disappointing. A child could have easily dreamed this up. I just wanted to warn you.

probably not the worst off all movies i've ever watched, but still pretty bad...

[Uwinator · 3/10 · 18 March 2015]

I'm gonna try to be brief - and what I have to say most likely contains a spoiler or two. This movie was bad. Pretty bad. Not bad in a potential cult-status-kind-of-way but seriously bad. The acting was sub-mediocre, the actors seemed impassive and except for the occasional standard-scare-scene there was no arc of suspense whatsoever.

The "culprit" of the movie was never explained, it might be a cannibal-Mowgli, some kind of yeti, a zombie, a sect, an ordinary serial killer, aliens... well, it might be just about everything. And that's a bad thing. The only thing it makes you wonder about, is, what they were even thinking when making this film.

Spoiler: Furthermore, the decisions the characters made were even more illogical than in the average cheap horror-flick. For instance, there's this woman that lost her entire family to the rapist-cannibal-demon-Mowgli, and who leads them to her shelter. In the night, she wakes up totally confused, crying, babbling about "what the main characters did do her family" and threatening them with a knife. Yea, you could probably overwhelm her and wait for her to calm down and regain her senses. Or you overwhelm her and stab her with her own knife. In the Stomach. Relentlessly about 25 times. That makes a hell of a lot of sense. Not.

If this movie had been a project by filmography-students in their first semester, I would've probably given it a 6/10 - for managing to fill 90 minutes without condescending to XXX-scenes. But the way it is, it's just bad entertainment.

Awful Movie - Don't bother wasting your time.g

[dspence100 · 1/10 · 23 March 2015]

All I can say about this movie, from the start to the finish, is that watching paint dry has more suspense, horror and better use of ones time,The story structure was, at best, simple and plainly predictable. The acting, I presume it was amateur actors, was pretty awful as well, staggered, poorly scripted and had no emotion of feeling of any kind. The so-called horror was 1 out of 10........lets just used some red paint to depict the horror. This film I would never watch again and I would advise anybody else to give this awful movie a miss. If a wooden spoon had to be given, this film would certainly earn such a prize. Don't bother wasting your time with this awful production.

Yet another cliché, generic horror film.

[rprince-832-6294 · 4/10 · 24 March 2015]

-Rage: Midsummer's Eve (2015) movie review: -I am going to make this quick. Rage: Midsummer's Eve is a generic horror film about a group of young adults who go to a creepy house and there's death and bad things and stuff.

-The story has been done to death, -The film took forever to start and didn't pick up that much until the last third.

-None of the acting is anything better than any other film like this.

-The characters were all horror stereotypes minus the black guy.

-I did not pay attention to the music because none of it stood out to me.

-Nothing else in this film is original or better than cliché in any way. Therefore, Rage: Midsummer's Eve is not worth seeing. Ever.

One of the worst Horror movies I have had the displeasure of seeing

[thatguywhobuysstuff · 1/10 · 15 September 2015]

I'm not even sure where to begin with reviewing this film. I made an account on IMDb just so I could purposely warn others to stay far far away. Nothing about it was "okay". Everything was sub sub sub sub sub (sub) par.

The acting was terrible. It seems the director thought it would be a good idea to mix people from different nationalities so the viewer wasn't really sure if it was terrible acting or if the accents were just throwing the viewer off. Spoiler: It was terrible acting. Maybe it suffered from a poor script, but the actors didn't ever portray any emotion. When someone from the group dies they continue a long like nothing has happened; no tears, no screaming. Just a lot of running.... In fact in the scene where Jussi dies Hannah is seen smirking as she is running away (what? why?).

The cinematography was terrible. It never once showed anything interesting other than tress and people running. In the one scene where Hannah is in the barn, you see her looking through a peephole and seeing the "creature". She then gasps and runs away. What did she see? Spoiler: You'll never know because the director decided not to show it.

And what is the creature you may ask? WHO KNOWS! Is it a person? It is a yeti? Is it possessed? Is it a serial killer? Why is he killing people? THINGS YOU WILL NEVER KNOW. The only clue to knowing anything about this film is the description given by the director "American and British friends studying in Finland decide to take up an offer to travel to the Arctic Circle and experience the mysterious, pagan celebration of Midsummer's Eve." This description alone tells than the whole film.

I could go on and on about all the other terrible things that happened in this film; but I've already wasted more time on this film than I've wanted to.

I hope Tii Ricks find another career path because direction is just not in the cards for her. Everything about this film is just SO BAD. The character decisions, the dialogue, the plot. NOTHING EVER HAPPENS. I've always thought people were dramatic when they would say "I want the last two hours of my life back", but I've finally come across a film that has made me feel that way.

Also all of the good reviews for this film are fake. They are either family members, cast & crew members or friends. No one with any taste in film would give this anything greater than a 1 or 2. Hope whoever spent the 1.3 million to make this has a lot more money in the bank; they won't be getting any of that back. What a waste.

Avoid at all costs. If you want to see a film about bad actors, irrational people and no plot line then this is the film for you. Even then you'll probably still be disappointed. The poop factor of this film cannot be expressed enough.

Looks like a film school project to me. Nothing to see here

[ernesti · 1/10 · 20 July 2015]

A small budget horror film from an unknown female director is something that is not often heard of. It may be even unique but the sad thing is that the film wasn't good and it looks quite amateurish. I can't believe it took over one million dollar to make it when it looks like that it was made with no money at all.

One third of it had passed and yet nothing had happened. Nothing engaging. Too much time is used for useless scenes with really bad dialogue and yet every character is just as distant as they were the first time you saw them. I had enough after a half an hour and quit watching it. It has nothing to give, no story nothing really interesting that hadn't been made before. So why was it made? Today's technology make it possible to shoot films like this too easily. As a film school project this would be outstanding and still very tacky but no it's supposed to be a real movie.

A real treat!

[c342 · 6 March 2015]

I am a big fan of horror, action and scary movie. I watched Rage: Midsummer's Eve (2015) and wasn't disappointed! I highly recommend it. Right from the very start, my eyes were frozen to the screen. I couldn't take my eyes off of it.

I enjoyed the plot of this film. The script contains many clever "so that's what that was about!" moments, and the twists are much more complicated and scary than you would expect in a horror sequel.

The acting was on point. Johnny Sachon and Michael Vardian were extremely impressive in their respective performance. I was blown away at how beautifully done it was: the camera work, the acting, the story, it all took me by surprise. Technically, it is very crafty. You won't suspect it coming.

In general, "Rage: Midsummer's Eve" possesses a professionalism not often seen in the genre; most horror films go for cheap across the board from the budget to the talent to the thrills. The film is distinct in terms of story. Not an ounce of it can be perceived as immature or hollow. What a rare treat!

The fear of unknown is the best kind of horror there is

[zznoble80 · 8/10 · 7 March 2015]

For me the point of horror films has always been the fear of unknown or something which you cannot control. Several other films has done it for me, and Rage: Midsummer's Eve is also one of those films. Whereas Michael Myers is explained to viewers as using "talk to me like I am four years old" method there are films which you never really know why you have to be afraid or who is threading you. And that is awesome! Tii Ricks has created a roller coaster kind of horror experience which starts from a little push - the easy and joyful, excited feeling in the beginning of the ride - and once you get to the peak point of it, you just realise that all you can do is to hold on and go with the flow. The Director of Photography for Rage is Lawrence Dolkart whom has previously shot music videos for example for Marilyn Manson and Stone Temple Pilots. This really shows in a film.

Scandi Horror

[jeffthemaneli · 7/10 · 5 April 2015]

I am a huge fan of Scandianvian films and for me this was no exception. I was waiting for it to be more gore and bloody but then I got the point that it allows one to use their imagination and own interpretation of what is actually happening to the five wanderers in the woods. I aim to give good an and not so good feedback on all films I see. This film is no exception. I really enjoyed the way the film was shot and thought that the actors were pretty good, even though a few of the scandi actors could have tried to pronounce in some scenes some words a bit more clear but that is no biggie. I think the director took a good and gutsy move by shooting a horror that focuses on events happening in daylight, and it worked fine for me. Yeah there was a bit too much running, but it felt like it keep the claustrophobic feel going. I really felt like this flick had a good feel to it. Yes there were a lot of clichés but realized that it was kind of the point after reading an interview on the film. I have no problem recommending this and in the end I think it was good to see something that was different to the cliché torments in the dark. Thumbs up from me and look forward to what this director brings next. Rock on Scandiland!!!

Great horror flick!

[novoselac · 9/10 · 7 March 2015]

For me always comes as a surprise that a female director is a director of a horror movie. Somehow I am bound to stereotypically relate them to more romantic accomplishments (not that a horror movie can't be romantic :-)). Tii Ricks did a great hob here and I enjoyed watching her work. I am neither really acquainted with actors in this movie but they are solid in their roles. Story is somewhat typical, some guys went too far, where no one can help them, and someone/something is chasing them. But script makes sense and I didn't find any "holes" in it.

There are decent scares that put me on the edge of my seat a couple of times and special effects/makeup is also good. I am not sure whether to call this movie a low-budget, because $1.3 million is not low at all, and when watching it you can't really feel they cut expenses anywhere. All in all, high recommendation!

New approach to Cabin Horror Films

[draclaw · 7/10 · 8 March 2015]

The movie was released on Video On Demand this week Friday the 6th of March, 2015.

I found this film when a friend sent me a link to the trailer and from there I went to the films official website. From there I rented the film and decided to watch it since I was snowed in at my mom's house and bored out of my mind.

The film is set in the Finnish Arctic Cirle and although it has a very generic set up of a group of friends taking a trip into the wilderness of the Nordic regions of the country, I have to say the set up did not annoy me. The shots where very beautifully done and having a set of new and fresh actors made it interesting to watch.

I am more of gore fan and usually get annoyed about psychological horror flicks, but I have to say the director did a pretty good job in keeping the intensity and horror, as the entire film is shot during daylight. The director's idea was to make a horror film during the Nordic Midsummer when the sun does not set for a period of almost 2 weeks in the summer. This I found to be a very cool set up. I hope to see more films being approached in this kind of manner; meaning coming up with new ways to set up the horror in horror.

I liked it and I wish it could have been a bit longer. There a few things that I was hoping to see more of but other than that Rage - Midsummer's Eve is a definite film to watch. It has a fresh feel to it and since it's a Finnish and American co-production I think there is a good balance of both world's. So good job Ricks and look forward to seeing more.

Exotic horror!

[johannasmith89 · 9/10 · 11 March 2015]

The idea of making horror movie in broad daylight is great! And when you add that all this is happening in Finland (where I'd love to visit) the movie really makes difference. I've heard a lot nice things about Lapland and the white nights during summer time.

The places in the film are really authentic and scary. The production design is just amazing. And it was nice to see new and talented actors. I liked that the main character is female. Holly Georgia does great as Hannah.

I recommend this film for all horror fans. And also those who are interested in Finland!

I liked it

[AmyBarns20 · 9/10 · 6 March 2015]

Arctic Circle and the midnight sun are quite exciting matters when it comes to being exotic and different. American-Finnish director, Tii Ricks (who's a chick by the way) takes a traditional "let's go the a cabin and wait until something terrible happens" to a new level. Not only do I want to visit Finland now, but I also made a decision never to visit any summer cottage anywhere. Ever. No matter where it is. The acting is on great level. You can definitely tell who's from Scandinavia and who isn't but that's kinda the whole point I guess. If you liked films such as Blair Witch Project or Friday the 13th this should be a perfect little scare package for you.

Beautiful horror with traditional scares

[mayjason · 8/10 · 8 March 2015]

The Arctic Circle based Rage: Midsummer's Eve looks like any other, high production value horror film made in a America. But this isn't shot in the US and it isn't a traditional American horror film. Set in the Finnish Arctic Circle the film starts up with the traditional set up five people leaving on the holiday. This time it isn't a bunch of high school students traveling to a lake house to meet their destiny, but a bunch of adults and highly educated people whom decide to take a trip to the Finnish countryside to celebrate Midsummer's Eve: An old festival to celebrate the longest day of the year, Summer Solstice. They even make a nice joke regarding the traditional set up of a summer cottage right by the lake.

The director, cinematographer and basically the whole camera crew are American and British so the film looks like any American horror would look like.

The actors, whom are all doing their biggest roles so far on this one, do a nice job. There is no "scream your lungs out" kind of reactions, or people crying hysterically to make things look more scary. The directing and the acting makes sure that people will keep their eyes on the screen, and the scares and the tension will keep you alarmed through out the film.