I don’t think I’ve experienced such unsettled dread in a movie in a long time. This non-Hollywood film wallows in the horror of what would happen if the most cruel beings in the world gained psychic powers: unmonitored children. <shudder>

This Norwegian flick is about a 9 year old girl who is casually cruel to her autistic sister and to small creatures. Her cruelty is only fed by an equally cruel boy she meets. Soon the circle of friends realize they have mysterious psychic abilities. This will not end well.

This film feels like a smash-up of The Florida Project, Chronicle, and Let the Right One In. It’s a slow burn that oozes discomfort, dread, and uncertainty. I don’t think there’s a single traditional scare (or jump scare) in it but I felt more on edge than I have in years. I simply wasn’t sure where the movie was going. Its ratcheting musical score and casual approach to the supernatural (and cruelty) created a continuous feelings of dread. I felt unmoored and disturbed for the full runtime.

I was amazed and impressed by the sheer talent in the filmmaking and in the script. At first, all I could think of was these kids were the worst people in the world to have psychic powers… and the girl was the worst of them all. But as the tension builds and the characters develop, I wanted the girl to have powers. In fact, she needed them. As things got worse, the storytelling reversed my outlook on the main character.

These kid actors are all very impressive. They’ve certainly been asked to act in a reserved and natural way. No showboating here… which results in both believable and disturbing performances.

I thought the film was heading for a more traditional horror movie ending. And we didn’t get it… and I can imagine some might feel betrayed or let down by the resolution, even if it does make sense in context of this film.

I really loved this movie. I loved how on edge it made me feel, how uncertain, how it didn’t provide answers that these kids wouldn’t know themselves. I loved that it made me fear children in a way that almsot no creepy kid movie has (and certainly it’s a stark contrast to the recent Firestarter remake). I had no idea where it was going and/or how hard it would go once it got there. Maybe the ending could have used some punch or maybe it was perfect.

This is a special, very creepy film with a pacing and disinterest in traditional scares that might not appeal to everyone. But it certainly got under my skin in the best possible way.

Score: 95