In the stillness of night, a man is trapped between worlds. As darkness closes in and reality blurs, he must confront the Haunters of the Silence.
Many viewers find Experimental Films challenging precisely because of their experimental nature—there are few boundaries, and nearly anything is possible. As both an independent filmmaker and film critic, I have encountered a wide array of films, including many in the Experimental category. Some have been exceptional; others less so. Yet what unites them is a tendency for the director’s vision to stray from conventional logic.
Nightmares are a universal experience. Personally, I have not had one since childhood, but my dreams play out like films: coherent, observed from a third-person perspective, and generally straightforward. In contrast, co-writers and co-directors Tatu Heikkinen and Veleda Thorsson-Heikkinen—a husband-and-wife team—present an Experimental film that often abandons logic entirely. This, in fact, is intentional.
A conventional nightmare, much like a traditional film, follows a recognizable trajectory until we awaken. Here, the nightmare unfolds in a fragmented, chaotic, and elusive manner. This lack of coherence is precisely what makes it unsettling. The film evokes the feeling of being trapped in a liminal space where images and sounds exist without a clear purpose, offering limited comprehension and amplifying the unease.
We are introduced to K (Tatu Heikkinen), a young man grieving the recent loss of his wife. Attempting to return to a semblance of normalcy, his nights are repeatedly interrupted by his exterior security camera detecting movement. An initial sighting of a raccoon seems harmless, but a subsequent disturbance leads him outside, where he encounters a tall, shadowy figure in a fedora and trench coat. Urban legends tie such figures to sleep paralysis, while in Northern Finland and Sámi traditions, the “Stallo” is a malevolent, human-like entity—sometimes akin to a bogeyman.
K soon finds himself immobilized in bed, subjected to an array of surreal and disturbing experiences: racing through the night, stumbling upon a derelict building, becoming trapped in a sewer, and witnessing fleeting visions of his late wife as though she never passed away. A photograph of K as a child, holding a balloon with his father, gradually fades—with the balloon later appearing in his living room, and ultimately, both he and his father vanish from the photo entirely.
As previously mentioned, Experimental Films do not appeal to all tastes. Portions of “Haunters of the Silence” are deliberately cryptic, but the film’s striking visuals and inventive sound design compensate for its narrative opacity. The unconventional storytelling demands that viewers abandon expectations of a linear plot. Written, produced, and directed by Tatu Heikkinen and Veleda Thorsson-Heikkinen, who also portray the central couple, this film invites the audience simply to watch and experience. The visuals can be disorienting, and the sound design occasionally overwhelms, but for those who see it through, “Haunters of the Silence” may well become a new favorite.
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