Wither (film)

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Wither
Directed bySonny Laguna
Tommy Wiklund
Written bySonny Laguna
David Liljeblad
Tommy Wiklund
Produced byDavid Liljeblad
Tommy Wiklund
StarringPatrik Almkvist
Lisa Henni
Johannes Brost
Patrick Saxe
Amanda Renberg
Max Wallmo[1]
CinematographyTommy Wiklund
Edited byDavid Liljeblad
Tommy Wiklund
Music bySamir El Alaoui
Production
company
Stockholm Syndrome Film
Distributed byNjutafilms
Artsplotation
NonStop Entertainment
Release date
  • 2012 (2012) (Sweden)
Running time
95 minutes
CountrySweden
LanguageSwedish
Budget300. 000 SEK
Box office460. 000 SEK

Wither (Swedish: Vittra) is a Swedish 2012 horror film directed by Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund, who wrote and produced the film along with David Liljeblad. It is based on the 1981 horror film The Evil Dead by Sam Raimi.[2] The plot follows a group of young Swedes who travel to an abandoned cabin over the weekend. The cabin turns out to be the home of a Vittra, and the friends have to fight for their lives, aided by the hunter Gunnar (Johannes Brost).

The film was marketed as the first Swedish zombie film shown in cinemas and was incorrectly stated by several Swedish newspapers as being the first Swedish zombie film. The first Swedish zombie film is Terror i Rock 'n' Roll Önsjön from 2001.[2]

Vittra

The creature that was portrayed in the film is a Vittra, a creature from the Swedish folklore that is believed to live underground. The belief in Vittror (plural form) predates the introduction of Christianity in Scandinavia. The word "Vittra" (which also is the Swedish word for "wither" hence the English title) is derived from the Norse word "Vættr", which is also used as an umbrella term for creatures similar to the Vittra. A Vittra is essentially a nature spirit and one of the animistic elements of

the Norse religion. Vättern
is believed by some to possibly be named after the Vættr, which would mean the original name meant something along the lines of "lake of the Vættr".

Plot

The hunter Gunnar is looking for his daughter Lisa. He finds her lying on the ground being eaten alive by his wife. Gunnar shoots his wife twice in the head, killing her. The opening titles include rough sketches, showing the history of the Vættr.

The young couple Albin and Ida are planning a weekend trip to a remote cabin with Ida's brother, Simon, and a couple of friends. The group drive to a remote woodland area and are forced to walk the last bit. While walking to the cabin, the group notices Gunnar watching them from a cliff and the aggressive Simon shouts him off. The group finds the cabin locked, contrary to the information given by Albin's father, Olof. While Albin tries to pick the lock on the front door, his friend Marcus finds an open window on the backside and talks Marie into climbing in to scare the others. Marie climbs in and goes into the basement to investigate, finding an axe. She does not notice an earth-like creature watching her from the shadows.

The group finally gets into the cabin and is scared by Marie's sudden appearance. She does not seem to be well. While the others install themselves on the ground floor, Ida's

point-blank
gun blast.

Albin returns but realises Ida is undead too. Ida is somehow able to remember Albin and hesitates in attacking him. After much hesitation, Albin kills her by dropping a heavy shelf on her. Albin cries over his loses, but suddenly there is movement beneath the floorboards. The Vættr herself ascends from the basement and inspects the devastation. However, Albin closes his eyes and turns off the lights, rendering the ancient and fragile creature powerless. Albin drops the fridge on the Vættr, crushing it. Albin then leaves the cabin, now having become the "new Gunnar".

Cast

Voice acting veteran Fredrik Dolk and Swedish exploitation star A.R. Hellquist had roles as policemen, but both were cut from the film. Hellquist still makes a small, uncredited appearance as the voice of the police Albin talks to over the phone.

Response

The film was met with very polarised reviews. Aftonbladet gave the film a 1-star score,[4] while Expressen's Ronny Svensson praised the film's atmosphere and musical score, urging viewers to not see it alone and gave the film a 4/5 score.[5] Some Swedish newspapers criticised the film for not having irony, which the critics of Nordic Fantasy, while remaining critical to the film, thought that complaint was absurd.[6]

FEARnet's reviewer thought the film was decent but was very critical to the lack of originality.[13] Cookie N Screen's reviewer also commented that the film met her expectations for an Evil Dead remake, unlike the actual remake. The reviewer felt parts were tedious and over the top but ended up enjoying the film as whole.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Screamfest LA 2013 Exclusive: Olivier Beguin Talks US Premiere of Chimères; See the Trailer". 14 October 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Wither". 19 May 2015.
  3. ^ "Wither (2012) - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
  4. ^ "Vittra: Amatörmässig stöld". 10 August 2013.
  5. ^ ""Vittra"".
  6. ^ "Review: Wither". 16 August 2013.
  7. ^ ""WITHER" (Movie Review) | FANGORIA®". www.fangoria.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-23.
  8. ^ "The Horror Movie Massacre: 'WITHER' REVIEW". www.thehorrormoviemassacre.com. Archived from the original on 2012-12-11.
  9. ^ "Unknown".[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "Lund 2012 Review: WITHER Bolstered By Bloody Good Violence! | Twitch". twitchfilm.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-08.
  11. ^ "Wither (2012, DVD Review)". Archived from the original on 2014-04-27. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  12. ^ "Wither - HorrorTalk". www.horrortalk.com. Archived from the original on 2013-07-25.
  13. ^ "Horror | SYFY WIRE".
  14. ^ "Wither :: cookienscreenuk". www.cookienscreen.net. Archived from the original on 2013-10-12.
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