X
- 2022
- Not Rated
- IFC Midnight
- 1 h 57 m
- 2022
- Not Rated
- IFC Midnight
- 1 h 57 m
Summary Four children become friends during the bright Nordic summer. Out of sight of the adults, they discover they have hidden powers. While exploring their newfound abilities in the nearby forests and playgrounds, their innocent play takes a dark turn and strange things begin to happen.
Directed By: Eskil Vogt
Written By: Eskil Vogt
- 2022
- Not Rated
- IFC Midnight
- 1 h 57 m
- 2022
- Not Rated
- IFC Midnight
- 1 h 57 m
The Innocents
79
7.5
Where to Watch
Summary Four children become friends during the bright Nordic summer. Out of sight of the adults, they discover they have hidden powers. While exploring their newfound abilities in the nearby forests and playgrounds, their innocent play takes a dark turn and strange things begin to happen.
Directed By: Eskil Vogt
Written By: Eskil Vogt
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 24 Critic Reviews
79
88% Positive
21 Reviews
21 Reviews
13% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 24 Critic Reviews
79
88% Positive
21 Reviews
21 Reviews
13% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The Innocents is a nightmare unfolding in cold, clear daylight.
Vogt, with his second feature, has crafted a disturbing and original heart-pounder all his own, uncommonly attuned to the perspective of unsocialized prepubescents: how their feelings work, what their minds process, and why their worst moments may bring catharsis to them, but can look terrifyingly wrong to us.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 30 User Ratings
7.5
83% Positive
25 Ratings
25 Ratings
13% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
3% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 30 User Ratings
7.5
83% Positive
25 Ratings
25 Ratings
13% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
3% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
This film makes American films look like a joke. I wish I was kidding. From the very first to the very last scene, I was watching with wide open eyes and a level of immersion that could be classified as hypnosis. I’m not sure if I’ve ever experienced something like this before. I think I should stop watching movies now. Nothing can beat this.
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The child’s perspective on the story means that the film is unquestioning when it comes to the sources of the psychic powers, neatly sidestepping the need for exposition. In a child’s mind, magic is real, black magic painfully so.
The pace of this gorgeously shot Norwegian pseudo-fable will be a roadblock for some, but give Vogt a chance. Storytelling rewards are bountiful once The Innocents executes its conflicts well above the expected maturities of players on screen.
Vogt brings out the ugliness of childhood (the shallow empathy, the lashing out, the selfishness, the curiosity about the disgusting) and ramps it up with endless malice that slowly builds to horrific action. It's the anti-jump scare, with a sickening catharsis that what you think is coming does, indeed, come to pass.
Childhood is hard, and childhood grudges run harder. The Innocents pulls no punches in turning that fact into horror.
The Innocents adopts a slasher-esque vibe that, however airlessly aestheticized, feels lurid for the sake of being lurid.
This gets my first 10 of the year. This film was thoroughly enjoyable once you realized what it was, and made the decision to appreciate it, and the directors decision to treat his audience with respect. It's a case study of the horrors of childhood, first blushes of autonomous socialization, discovery, and power imbalances. This is a horror film without a single jump cut. This was a smart, crafted, and wonderful movie. I highly recommend it.
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'The Innocents' is a disturbing horror thriller that slowly crawls into you. Norse filmmakers sure know how to shock people with their twisted everyday-life stories. Eskil Vogt — can't you believe it's the same guy that co-wrote 'The Worst Person in the World'? — reminds us how cruel children's world can be. Loss of innocence, the notions of right and wrong at a very young age, and how parents sometimes are unaware of what their kids are passing through in their micro-environments are explored here. Vogt, of course, encompasses everything into a violent tale of morbid curiosity and malice. The fantastic element never goes off the rails despite some very graphic moments. Maybe it's not as profound as something like 'Let the Right One in,' but it will leave you with a very uncomfortable feeling.
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(Mauro Lanari)
Marginalized, abandoned young kids, neglected by their parents, some are more aggressive than others, one is sadistic. They conflict with each other: a heterodestructive variant of the lyrics of "Jeremy" and its 3rd video clip, the uncensored one directed by Pellington? A tribute to "Carrie" (De Palma 1976) or a childish version of Xavier and Memento, where even here masculinity is toxic and ESP are the prerogative of two little girls, one of whom is paradoxically autistic? My preference still goes to the abundant 5 minutes of that 1992 Pearl Jam song.
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Production Company
Mer Film,
Zentropa International Sweden,
Snowglobe Films,
Bufo,
Don't Look Now,
Film i Väst,
Logical Pictures,
Zefyr Media Fund,
Yleisradio (YLE),
Danmarks Radio (DR),
Norsk Filminstitutt,
Det Danske Filminstitut,
Finnish Film Foundation,
Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI),
Nordisk Film & TV-Fond,
Eurimages,
Protagonist Pictures
Release Date May 13, 2022
Duration 1 h 57 m
Rating Not Rated
Awards
Amanda Awards, Norway
• 4 Wins & 10 Nominations
Göteborg Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 3 Nominations
Ravenheart Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
