User Reviews

Psalm 21 is an atypical brooding Swedish drama about childhood trauma and stoic conversations about god which flirts with the possessed demon film. It is a competent slice of euro-horror that shocks as much as it bores.

There are a lot of people in emotional pain in this film, but it is well acted and written enough to not feel exploitative amongst all the Exorcist genre tropes. The genre influence on Psalm 21 feels more like something to get the film sold more than anything else. It is implemented quite well into the actual story of the film and works on a symbolic basis and i'm left thinking why bother? If you're going to use this genre, have a little bit more conviction.

Though the genre tropes are the film's weakest points, in which they feel crowbarred in and are punctuated with cliched music cues and CGI designs, the heavy drama does not fair all that well either.

Psalm 21 is a very confused film. It does not know what it is trying to say and has many tone jarring scenes moments from a seduction scene to confessions motivated by potential axe murder to a final monologue that leaves the film on a much bewildering note. At least it was consistent.

In conclusion, Psalm 21 has some good moments, but they are cheapened by the film's overall lack of conviction. It pulls back and forth from Exorcist rip off to super serious family drama. It's atypical European genre fare; high lofty ambitions, wonky execution. Everyone will most likely feel confused coming out of this, but if you're looking for a very opaque and mostly unpredictable horror film, then Psalm 21 might be for you.

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.

Psalm 21 is one of those few Swedish horror films that actually are good. It come into the company of The Cellar, Let the Right One In and Frostbite. Psalm 21 had the potential to become the best of them all but loses track.

The first half is scary as s**t, and has an amazing atmosphere. But it soon loses track. The horror is less in focus and the film as a whole suffers a result. The ending should have been cut out. It's way to into pushing it's message down our throats.

The acting is good, but the special effects are silly at times taking away much of the horror in the second part of the movie.

In Stockholm, the priest Henrik Horneus (Jonas Malmsjö) is beloved by his parish flock, and in his sermon, he frequently mentions the Psalm 21 that is the favorite of his father and also priest Gabriel (Per Ragnar) that lives in Hammerdal.

Henrik has relationship problems with his son Jesper that lives with his mother Elsie (Gunvor Pontén) and is spending his birthday with him. When Jesper is ready to go home with his mother, Henrik's girlfriend Karolina (Julia Dufvenius) receives a phone call from the coroner of Hammerdal telling that his estranged father has been found drowned in the Dead Lake. Henrik decides to drive alone in the middle of the night to his father's hometown to attend the funeral and learn what has happened to him.

Out of the blue, a person appears on the dark road and Henrik runs over her. Henrik pulls the car over but he does not see anybody on the road. Henrik returns to the car but it does not start, so he walks to a small farm to ask for help. He sees lights in the barn and he sees a blond little girl. When he talks to her, she transforms into an evil creature. Hentik runs to the house and he meets a weird family that lodges him.

Henrik has scary nightmares and daydreams and fells like he is trapped in hell. He learns that his father was murdered and dumped in the lake. Further, he has already been buried and sooner Hemrik finds the truth about Gabriel. When Henrik returns to his parish, he questions the nonexistence of hell declared by the Swedish Church in 1983.

"Psalm 21" is a messy Swedish horror film that has a promising beginning but becomes boring and senseless. The screenplay is absolutely confused and there are scenes without explanation. For example, why Henrik is seduced and has sex with the demon-girl in the barn? His offensive final speech to his flock seems also to be out of the context and gives the sensation that Henrik is deranged or possessed. If Henrik has learned the truth, he should be more careful and prepare his congregation to embrace the new ideas. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Salmo 21" ("Psalm 21")

#may contain spoilers# I just watched this movie last night and to tell the truth i didn't expect much since there are very few Swedish films worth seeing. But this one actually surprised me, in a very bad way.

The first thing that hit me was the dialogue and this is one of my major problems with Swedish films in general. Not one person in this entire country speaks this way, all the dialogue feels very forced and clinical. Not to mention the fact the movie is supposed to take place in the northern part of the country yet everyone talks in dialect that is used in our capital.

Plotwise there isn't anything even remotely original about it either, its a pretty basic ghost story(although you could argue that there are no ghosts at all) with a few twists that doesn't make any sense at all and an ending that just serves the directors wish to make his views on religion crystal clear.

As far as the horror elements go it is also very lacking, basically they're just Ringu inspired ghosts(one scene is almost copy/pasted right out of Ringu 1) and considering how scary the deep woods in northern Sweden can actually be at night they completely messed up by not taking advantage of that.

To sum up, this movie isn't worth your time or money. The acting is bellow average but with a script like this im not sure you can blame the actors. Add to this a nonsensical plot and the sub-par horror elements you will only be wasting your time.

Even though a horror movie, with some strong scenes, it is not just that; I believe it is the director's personal journey to (re)discover his faith.

First the good parts: I loved the acting. Especially, Mr. Jonas Malmsjö is great, almost as if he is on stage. He succeeds in giving a tragic dimension to the priest who is obviously a tormented person; the viewer feels deep sympathy for him, almost from the first minute and you keep watching the film, because you care for father Henrik. I am also happy I had the chance I saw him and Mr. Björn Bengtsson in another work (I have "met" them in The Last Kingdom and I also enjoyed their performances).

Moreover, some scenes were frightening and atmospheric.

Some dialogues were very strong. I kept in my mind the conversation between father Henrik and Olle, where they exchanging verses from the Bible while talking about revenge versus love.

The last scene where we listen to a child reading the beautiful Psalm 148.

The negative parts of the film were the story plots that I still try to understand. For example, why did the father of the family continued to accept father Gabriel in his house after he found out the truth? The sermon, in the end of the film, seemed out of place. I mean how the events we watched inspired the priest to talk about judgement and crusaders (!) and he decided to step down from being a priest? It just seemed to me it was the director he wanted to make crystal clear his religious views (but there was nothing new there, at least for me, because I know God is love and forgiveness; I keep listening to the priests in my church repeating it).

To sum up: an interesting film with very good acting, not the typical horror movie, so I wouldn't expect everyone to like it. As I said, it looks like the director's personal quest for his faith and God and I really wish him a happy ending to this quest.

I felt compelled to write a review of this movie. This movie actually has a lot of heart and there is more to it than most seem to think.

It is, at it's base, somewhat of a horror movie. There also exist thoughtful undertones that force you to think. Not in a who-done-it kind of way. It's far more cerebral.

If you watch this movie as a character exploration and don't sit impatiently waiting for the next scare, you will begin to see a man dealing with his tortured spirit. I found it moving in several instances.

Highly recommended!!!

If you expect a horror movie with some supernatural conclusion you will be disappointed. This is not a horror movie at all, it is a psychological drama about guilt, manipulation, fanaticism, power, lies and abuse. The horror elements are only to show the battle inside the young priest and how he tries to solve his relationship to this monster of a father. The father is the real horror here. And I loved it, that they choose an actor who can´t look and act more innocent and trustworthy. I enjoyed it a lot and the conclusion was not completely out of the blue but still satisfying. I recommend it strongly.