During the bright Nordic summer, a group of children reveals their dark and mysterious powers when the adults aren’t looking. In this original and gripping supernatural thriller, playtime takes a dangerous turn.
The prepubescent cast of Eskil Vogt’s “The Innocents” may look adorable, but those children are certainly not innocent. The filmmaker examines childhood through the prism of a horror film; think “Let the Right One In”’s distant cousin. Some may argue it’s gratuitous in its graphic depictions of violence inflicted upon minors by minors, yet the powerful cumulative effect of the feature cannot be denied. Vogt’s vision is uncompromising; he boldly portrays aspects of growing up rarely depicted in cinema — those of raging hormones, flailing emotions, violent thoughts that threaten to materialize. Bravo, then, for having the courage of his convictions.
Little Ida (Rakel Lenora Fløttum) moves into a high-rise apartment, part of a claustrophobic concrete complex enlivened only by the surrounding forest. She’s going through a violent phase, stomping on worms in the nearby pond and pinching her sister Anna (Alva Brynsmo Ramstad), who has a mental illness, to test the limits of her affliction. She also hides glass shards in her shoes in a wince-inducing sequence. Ida soon makes a new friend, Ben (Sam Ashraf), who puts her shenanigans to shame by casually breaking a cat’s neck, not to mention possessing the ability to manipulate objects and people. And then there’s the adorable Aisha (Minna Yasmin Bremseth Asheim), who bonds with Anna and can hear her, think with her, and perhaps even make her speak.
The quartet form an odd pseudo-telepathic bond, wherein Ben promptly surfaces as the villain of the bunch. A brutal, masterfully-executed moment involves Ben’s mother, a frying pan, and boiling water. He can’t seem to control his powers, and folks start to die in increasingly brutal ways. This all leads to an unimaginable tragedy and perhaps one of the most horrific scenes this year so far.
Vogt does not flinch, depicting events with a matter-of-factness of an anthropologist. “The Innocents” immerses its viewer into the mind of a growing child, refusing to shy away from all the anxieties and ugliness that begin to simmer. But this isn’t just another entry in the so-called “elevated horror” sub-genre. Vogt’s film can be viewed as a parable about childhood resentments, the first discovery of the world’s cruelties and kindnesses, and the difference between right and wrong.
Aided by a uniformly naturalistic, tremendous cast of young performers, Vogt, in his second feature, proves to be a master of wringing the maximum tension of each carefully-composed sequence and dipping into something deeply troubling, stirring up subterranean psycho-currents. Do our inhibitions, our demons, our most disturbing desires spawn from unresolved childhood traumas, which can manifest themselves in the subtlest of ways?
The lack of explanation for some of the kids’ atrocious behavior both aids the film and sometimes stalls it. There are no troubled homes; despite the desolation of their location, those are still privileged children, raised well. Early hints are that Ben’s life may be the most arduous of the group, but not enough to justify his consequent behavior. Kids can be monsters, Vogt argues. Simple as that. Whether one goes with its art-film excesses or finds it unjustifiably cruel, they’re bound to walk away from “The Innocents” shaken and unnerved.
In Theaters and On-Demand Friday, May 13th
