I had a good feeling about The Trip, the latest Netflix-produced horror-comedy. I don’t know why but it just gave off good vibes. And everything about it was screaming just another subpar Netflix blunder. You had the familiar plot, overused setting, and just general outlook of the whole thing. Despite all this, I just dove straight into it and what happened next was that the movie was over. Yes, time just flew by as I was having a great time. Finally, I checked who wrote and directed this sleeper and it was none other than motherfucking Tommy Wirkola! Tommy Wirkola of his Dead Snow and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters fame!
The first thing you’re going to notice about The Trip or I Onde Dager is the quality of the dialogue. We will be following a married couple going through a rough patch and all the little comments are going to seem familiar. At least they did to me. Intelligent and witty, the script is just the tip of the iceberg here. This first part reminded me of The Ref or Home Sweet Hell, although they are quite tame compared to The Trip. I have to tell you as little as possible about the story because I want you to have the same experience as I did. Granted, the story is a bit predictable, especially if you’re a fan of the genre but still.
Life sometimes doesn’t turn out the way you wanted it to. Lars wanted to be a big shot director but is currently working on soap operas. And his wife Lisa, an unemployed actress can’t even land a role. As their marriage is slowly dissolving, drowning in petty bickering and financial troubles, they decide to go to their vacation cabin. Overlooking a lake, it’s the perfect place to chill and relax. However, this is not what’s going to happen this weekend.
Same as with every fucking Scandinavian movie, nature is just mind-blowing. Lush forests, pristine lakes, and just the general vibe of the place makes you want to vacation or even live there. You can feel that cold, brisk and clean air filling your lungs as you do whatever the fuck you would do there. The Trip features excellent cinematography with really visceral and at times, nasty special effects. I mean, there will be a lot of gore here. And just when you think okay, I guess they actually ran out of gore, old Tommy the Cat is going to bring some more.
The atmosphere is pretty cheerful and entertaining apart from one particular scene that felt out of place. You will recognize it as soon as it starts. Of course, the cast was phenomenal. I expected nothing less from Noomi Rapace and Aksel Hennie. Overall, The Trip isn’t the most streamlined horror-comedy out there. They could have trimmed the fat losing about 20 mins of running time but that’s just a personal preference. Finally, if you’re looking for similar movies check out Burying the Ex and Bloody Hell.
Director: Tommy Wirkola
Writers: Tommy Wirkola, Nick Ball, John Niven
Cast: Noomi Rapace, Aksel Hennie, Atle Antonsen, Christian Rubeck, André Eriksen, Stig Frode Henriksen
Fun Facts: Noomi Rapace also starred in Tommy Wirkola’s last movie What Happened to Monday.
Rating:
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13109952/