Red Dot (2021)

In an attempt to heat their relationship, a couple travels to the north of Sweden only to become a target and fight for their survival.

I have to thank my good friend Shiying for suggesting this one to me, and I’m so glad she did. The film’s strong suit is, hands down, the narrative. The script is solid, and its two protagonists, Nadja and David, are totally relatable. Its horror works on two levels: survival against the forces of nature and survival against the forces of unnatural (?) human evil. As the story unfolds, the difference, not that is really needed, is broken down for you so you can reconstruct it yourselves in the end. But, please, for argument’s sake, let me humour you. When we distance ourselves from nature, it is not nature to blame if it does what it has been doing way before we stepped foot on this planet that we ended up looking down on as if we owned it. Then, there is the other threat: us. They detached from nature beings who developed, amongst other things, ideology, philosophy, and politics and used them against one another, as well as… nature.

Leaving my ecological concerns out of the equation, Red Dot steps on these characteristics of ours and very manipulatively deceives you. The twist is well-designed, and the editing, of course, selectively discloses what it requires for you to fall into the trap. The second part of the second act could be easily analysed in terms of how the restricted narrative led to the moment of truth, but that would ruin it for you, so I’m not gonna do it. Watch it and decide for yourselves whether you saw it coming and how ‘smart’ or not you thought it was. My major objection and that’s the only thing I’ll tell you, is that the third act’s harshness would be far more breathtaking if the verbosity levels were dropped, even to zero. But that’s just me.

Have a go at it! It’s well worth it. From beginning to end, Nanna Blondell and Anastasios Soulis lead the way with their incredible performances. What also stands out is Oscar-worthy cinematography. Before everything goes tits up, see how it starts at the petrol station. I initially thought: ‘As if they don’t have enough on their plate, them two… it’s just what they needed.’ And that’s what makes Nadja and David totally relatable, as I said in the beginning. You go somewhere with your boyfriend/girlfriend, and they show up. How would you react? What would you have done differently? How would you cope with the consequences? It is how every good thriller/horror starts…

P.S. Shiying, that’s for you! Thank you, luv!

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Solidarity for all the innocent lives who suffer the atrocities of war!

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