Psalm 21
Psalm 21
| 22 September 2009 (USA)
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Henrik is a young father who lives in Stockholm, constantly plagued by nightmares with his deceased mother. One day, he receives the news that his father, father, who lives in a remote village, it is drowned and died. The circumstances of drowning are mysterious. Henrik travels to the village to investigate the cause of his death. To find out more about the drowning and on his father, the door to the unknown and open. Shadows of the past emerge, returning to this world for one reason only: revenge.

Reviews
Nigel P

In Stockholm, Henrik (Jonas Malmsjö) is a popular priest whose good relationship with his congregation sadly doesn't stretch into his home life, which is awkward to say the least. On hearing of his father's death, he drives through the night – against the wishes of his girlfriend – to his father's hometown. On the way, he knocks down a woman whose body then disappears.He takes lodgings with a very strange family and sees a little girl in the barn outside. The girl transforms into a CGI demon and vanishes. Then he meets other people who transform into CGI demons, including a teenage girl who appears to seduce him in the barn before assuming the appearance of his mother (I think) before transforming into another CGI demon.This continues for the film's running time and it soon becomes an impenetrable tangle of intensely acted, beautifully directed set-pieces and flashbacks, most of which appear to be designed to force Henrik into believing in the existence in Hell – something he has always previously denied.The repetition and occasional absurdity of the effects cease to have any real effect after a while, especially as such moments are never really explained. It actually becomes an annoyance that such talent is wasted here – why take the time to perfect these shots and effects if they are just lost in a story that continually makes no sense? The ending sees Henrik conducting a sermon to a full congregation (including his son, with whom it seems relations have at last improved) denouncing religion and his faith as an elitist fiction. The implication is that he has lost his mind, and his faith in religion, but gained the acceptance of his wayward family. Very odd.

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SpannersGerm669

Judging by the low score and less than impressive discussions on IMDb, i went into Psalm 21 expecting a disaster, but in the end what i got was the complete opposite! Comparing this to the Scandinavian standard, this Swedish horror film doesn't really keep it company, but on its own ,its a generic horror film idea, mixed in with a soul searching look into the destruction that religion can bring. Brilliant cinematography, along with solid performances in the acting department, make Psalm 21 appear to be a well executed movie. Unfortunately, my biggest problem with the movie was the repetitive horror set pieces, which allows the audience time to desensitize themselves to what is happening, due to the frequency of scares. Having said that, thankfully Psalm 21 saves itself by the thought provoking material, underneath the generic surface!

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trashgang

I was a bit afraid to watch another flick in the 'horror collection' series. But luckily this one did deliver the goods. The use of the camera was well done and they even washed the colours to add the creepiness toward this flick. Although the effects were CGI it didn't bother me at all because the used CGI to change faces just like they do in Asian flicks. This is also a perfect example that you can make a good horror without blood. But this movie delivers even more. Due the fact that it concerns religion it also add something special towards religion. They included many questions about religion and some will say this is blasphemy but if you think about it you must agree. In Belgium they had serious problems with priests that misused children on a sexual base. And that's what this flick is about on some parts. The acting was really good I must say. Especially the younger priest Henrik Horneus (Jonas Malmsjö) did a good job. It's funny that the director Fredrik Hiller chose to add male nudity in it when having sex with a young girl. And for being his first effort into direction he really knew his stuff, the way of editing delivered an extra touch to sometimes some arty shots. He even wrote this flick, but we all knew him as the Frisian Leader in Beowolf (2007).This was really a nice surprise coming out of Sweden. I won't recommend it to gorehounds but if you can dig Asian horrors or horrors about religion then this is one for you and do listen to the preaching at the end, it will make you think...Gore 0/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 3/5 Story 4/5 Comedy 0/5

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John Friedman

A fairly good attempt of venturing into the genre of modern Asian horror, although, with a Scandinavian touch to it. In the story line, we follow when a young priest battles his personal stand point alongside with the modern theology, involving the issue that hell does not exist! However, he will soon experience the contrary when he visits the village where his father recently died.The move contains some chilling scenes when normal people transforms into demon like characters. These special effects are regurgitated throughout the movie, which, in the end loses its supposed scariness.Due to this, my drowsy eyes gains control and the only thing that is occupying my mind is the need of a good night rest. That night, I slept like a baby!

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