Directed by: Pal Sletaune
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Kristoffer Joner, Henrik Rafaelsen
MPAA Rating: R
Distributed by: Lionsgate
Release Date: July 24, 2012
Running Time: 96 minutes
Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2 out of 5 stars
Every since her amazing role in the “Dragon Tattoo” trilogy, Noomi Rapace has been blowing up. She has even made a great dent so far in America with “Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows” and the amazing “Prometheus”. This film is Norwegian import brought forward in the US to capitalize on that success. My only real issue is that the film is angled as a horror film but it is a strong psychological thriller. Besides that this film is worth checking out and of course Noomi is fantastic as usual.
Anna and her 8-year-old son move to a new home in order to escape an abusive husband . In order to keep an extra ear out for her son, she buys a baby monitor. But she starts to hear strange noises in the monitor from elsewhere in the building and witness another child being attacked. Anna needs to get to the bottom of this mystery and find out what is real and what isn’t before she loses her sanity and her child.
The film itself takes a slow pace to the finish line but this suspenseful Norwegian film is full of unexpected twists. I love a film that is able to seal the deal with its ending and not fall flat. I liked that fact that this film was released with the original Norwegian audio track. Though I was left rather shocked that that Noomi didn’t record her own dub track, since she has learned English. The special features are lacking lastly only including deleted scenes and a trailer.