Sauna (2008)

A tense, highly stylized historical horror film from the Finnish-Chinese kung fu film tradition.
The story unfolds during the late 16th and early 17th centuries within the marshlands bordering Sweden and Russia.
Representatives from both the Swedish and Russian courts embark on a joint expedition intended to establish a definitive border and finally bring a protracted war to an end.
That serves as the basic framework of the plot; I suggest you experience the rest for yourselves. 🙂

While it may not boast a high rating on IMDb, I found myself deeply impressed by the work. It is gripping, features stunning cinematography, offers a compellingly original narrative, and is elevated by dialogues that feel meaningful, almost philosophical in nature.

Trailer

Honestly, if you haven't even seen the flick or know which scene we're talking about, you're just lost. You basically just spoiled it for everyone by pointing out it's from the end of the movie... but that shot was released by the studio as promo material and popped up on every major horror site out there. If the studios aren't sweating it, why should we?

BTW... this was mentioned in the "film from the edge" thread, here's the lowdown...

Sauna (2008)

From award-winning Swedish historical horror director Antti-Juss Annil, the guy behind "Jade Warrior - the first Finnish-Chinese kung fu film." Most people who actually sat through this thing are raving about it—saying the visuals are killer and it manages to be both entertaining and surprisingly "deep." It hit the Sundance Film Festival, and also played at the Telluride Film Festival, Sitges Film Festival, and a few others. Don't expect a theatrical release here in the States, though we can always hold out hope for a DVD drop...



IMDb

Official site

TEASER
TRAILER

PLOT
Quote:

Year 1595 - the long war is finally over. Brothers Knut and Erik - Who are part of The Commission marking The border between Finland and Russia - commit a terrible sin as they leave a young girl to die a horrible death. As the commission crosses the uncharted swamp the girl returns to haunt them, her face pouring endless filth. Weary men find solace from The nameless village and find a sauna - The sauna where all sins are washed away. Seeking forgiveness The brothers step in... STILLS

Everything said so far is spot on—it’s a highly artificial, high-tension, deep-space flick. But its biggest flaw is that after building up all that suspense and keeping you on the edge of your seat for most of the runtime, it just fails to stick the landing with an ending that actually matches the build-up.

The whole sauna motif running through the movie is clearly meant to be some allusion to ritual cleansing or something similar, but I really wish the director had shed more light on that theme instead of just dropping it into a scene and leaving everything hanging.

Plus, the ending itself left me feeling pretty lost; it’s so ambiguous that I can't tell if I should take it literally or as some kind of parable.

I'm afraid this is one of those horror movies that promised a lot and succeeded in creating a genuinely terrifying, tense atmosphere, but—let's be honest—atmosphere alone doesn't make a movie good. It just isn't enough if the other elements fall flat.

Artificial film?

🤔

Do you consider it artistic?

😂

Artificial means fake, not artistic.😉