The Innocents

The Scandinavians are on a roll lately with horror films. Before I watched, The Innocents (2021), I was very much impressed with The Hatching (2022). Both Scandinavian films bring new creative ideas to horror that I very much appreciate given how derivative horror is today. I feel some of the most creative ideas in horror during the last twenty years have come from foreign countries with new ideas. In the age of streaming movies from all over the world within seconds, it is a delight to watch these films that might never have been seen stateside. The Innocents (2021) is about a group of local Nordic children, two of which have gradually developed psychokinesis and mental suggestive powers. The first is a very special autistic girl by the name of Anna. She is a very gentle docile soul who lost her ability to talk early in her childhood. She has a sister by the name of Ida. Anna and another gentle and lovable little girl named Aisha develop a close friendship. Aisha and Anna can communicate telepathically. Then there is Ben, a boy that seems very friendly. He becomes a playmate with Anna's sister Ida. They hit it off very well. Ben shows Ida the neat tricks he can do with his mind and Ida is enthralled by Ben's tricks. He even tries to teach her to do the same. But as the film progresses, Ida sees disturbing things in Ben. Ben's actions become ominous as he becomes more aggressive. The story is heartbreaking because the director really got me to love these kids. Anna, Aisha, Ida and Ben. We get to know their parents. Then a serious of tragedy evens begin to happen and the story turns more ominous. For me, this is what true horror is. When you grow to love the characters and the unimaginable happens that shoot chills up the spine. The dread that something terrible will happen to the characters you love. This is a good horror film. It isn't a jump scare film. These Scandinavians films really do have a good story behind them like a good horror book will have. Horror isn't someone getting an arrow in the eye if you don't care for them. That's the typical cheap horror tropes that many horror films use because it's a lot harder to write a good story that make you fall in love with the characters. The Innocents and the writer/director know you must care about these children to be shocked by what happens to them. This film is a class act.

What a sick, dumb movie with no depth. Just stupid humans being cruel to each other and to animals. Expected much more. It's senseless and a waste of the money the production has cost. Maybe the producers thought they're creating a strange masterpiece but honestly there is nothing special or outstanding about this poor movie. In fact there is nothing philosophical or on some level deep about it. For me it was waste of time and I regret having seen this awful piece. Can't understand why this has won so many prices and awards. (Btw: there should be a warning at the beginning that it contains serious cruelty against animals)

This movie does not deserve to be watched. There is severe cruelty in it. The young girl in the movie is a little tyrant and decides that it's okay to put glass in her older I sisters shoe who has autisim. She also decides it's okay to pinch her skin, cause she figures her sister can't feel it it anyways.. Then her and a boy decide they are going to go up to the top of an apartment building and throw a cat down to see if it lands on its feet. The cats legs are broken and so the girl and boy decide to step on the cats head and crush its skull. This happens within the first 1/2hr of the movie. I had to turn it off. I can handle some pretty messed up stuff, but this is too much. So if anyone is thinking about watching this movie, I STRONGLY advise against it.

Drenched in dark, dreadful & foreboding atmosphere and steered by terrific performances from its young cast, The Innocents (De uskyldige) is slow, patient & measured in its approach but the tension & terror it invokes from its ominous build-up & gradually intensifying drama is unnerving & unsettling in suffocating doses, and ranks amongst the most gripping, absorbing & disturbing examples of its kind. Written & directed by Eskil Vogt, the premise takes its time to set up and character introductions are proper yet there is this feeling of uneasy apprehension that pervades the air & is perceivable from early moments. And it only heightens as the plot progresses once what started as four kids exploring their mysterious powers takes a dangerous turn. And from thereon, the picture has our attention within its grasp. Assisting the story in sustaining its chilling vibe & disquieting tone is the menacing camerawork, brooding score, slow-burn pace & sudden violence while the young actors play their respective parts with deft composure and are highly convincing in their roles. Their credible input is a vital ingredient that makes this drama work and these children navigate & articulate all the required emotions with surprising authenticity. Overall, The Innocents addresses themes of friendship, loneliness, morality, cruelty, curiosity & loss of innocence through the bonding they forge and the hidden powers they discover in each other's presence. Unrelenting in its mood & smothering in its intensity, this Norwegian chiller is as uncomfortable as it is uncanny, never allows the suspense to leave the room and concludes with a haunting finale that lingers long after the credits roll.

This is a terrible film, I don't understand the good ratings at all, just because it is so boring doesn't mean it is good. There's animal cruelty and this is unacceptable. STUPID.

Original enough, fine acting, well shot, well cut. I have absolute no complains. If you're looking for a slow burn unconventional horror movie in 2021, this is it.

I think this movie is the 'Magnum Opus' of the director, Nordic cinema and Drama/Thriller genre. It's been a long time since I've seen a movie where every single frame serves a purpose. The movie, which peaked with the metaphor of 'Tabula Rasa', deserves to be watched over and over again.

This movie does so many things right that it's hard to nitpick the things that it does wrong. The acting is absolutely awe-inspiring (especially that of the little boy), and even the adults play their parts to perfection. It was literally like watching a documentary on TV, watching families and children interact with each other in such a natural way. You don't really see this type of cinema all the time, and the effortlessness of the cast dynamic really made everything about this movie shine. But with all the glowing praise I have, it's the subject matter that was really disturbing for me. I know some kids are born rotten and there is nothing much you can do for them but watch them grow to be rotten adults, but the stuff these kids do is beyond deplorable. I mean, do children really do these things and what kind of parents are raising these little monsters? It was horrifying to see little kids being as awful as I know they can be, and the stellar performances only served to bring this home in a much more direct way. Honestly, the most horrifying thing about this movie were the actual children. I wish the creative team went a little further with the powers aspect of the film, I wish they would have spread out the abilities a little more as I thought the boy having the "most" power really limited the film (while he wasn't exactly the most powerful), and I wish the SFX was more dynamic, but what we got was serviceable and really did a great job bringing the whole film together. I was pleasantly surprised by this film and while it was a little on the long side, I enjoyed every minute of it. Certainly not a film for everyone, and if you dislike children like I do you will find a lot of distasteful stuff. But if you enjoy good cinema, you can learn to grit your teeth and endure monster children and you will find a very stellar film.

Wow, damn. What a way to end this year of horror. Absolutely loved this. Great performances, good direction, creepy kids, bloody, scary, unafraid to shock. A bit too slow but I feel that was absolutely necessary for this story.

-1 as movie script needed more elements for its long 2 hours run . Good cast , mostly good direction, good cinematography. Some will think this movie is crap but lover of europeen movies will probably like it a lot, i did. Just dont expect much with horror expostion, special effects. Very reccomended wt subtitles, not many lines of dialogues.