Drowning Ghost (2004)

Nice effects though.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Oh come on, this movie ain't bad at all. In fact, it's a slasher flick with an interesting plot, very good acting, a decent score, excellent cinematography, and good direction. Now, where could you find a slasher flick with those characteristics? This one is far better than most American slashers. It has some clichès but it's not as cynical as, for example, "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer", or "Scream". The main plot situation is believed to be the revenge of the drowning ghost but the main problem really is that someone is taking his identity for unknown reasons. Who is behind the murders? What does Rebecca's suicide have to do with the whole situation? Watch "Drowning Ghost" and witness that it isn't what it looks. It's more than just a simple slasher.I must admit that the best feature about the movie is the acting. Rebecka Hemse (Sara) delivers a solid performance. She's firm, brave, intelligent, and beautiful. That's my kind of woman! This girl seriously needs more important roles, she has the talents. The rest of the cats also deliver a good performance and do not make fools out of themselves like in many American slashers. Also, the visuals are great. The cinematography really helps to create the movie's atmosphere. This Swedish exteriors are great. "Drowning Ghost" may not be the best slasher film recently but it's a decent ghost story with slasher tones. I would recommend it for people who are not into violence or gore but still enjoy the slasher formula. This movie will keep you interested for it's plot, beautiful lead character, and some situations that are common in the life of a student.

The traditional Hellestad Boarding School is celebrating its centenary, and the students are planning a big party. However, there is a dark legend about a brutal murder of three students by a local farm a hundred years ago. The killer drowned in a lake nearby and his body has been not found. One year ago, the disturbed intern Rebecka (Sasa Bjurling) committed suicide during the anniversary speech of the arrogant dean, and her deranged father escaped from the mental institution where he was lodged. The student Sara (Rebecka Hence) is preparing a composition about the tragic legend, and finds new evidences compromising the name of a traditional local family and top contributor of Hellestad. Meanwhile, two new arrivals, Leo (Peter Eggers) and Felix (Jesper Salén), become close to Sara and her roommate Therese (Jenny Ulving), and students and staffs are vanishing in the place.My expectation with "Strandvaskaren" were the highest possible, based on the name of director Mikael Håfström. His cruel "Ondskan" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338309/usercomments-45) is a stunning movie; indeed, it is a psychological study of violence taking place also in a boarding school. Unfortunately, the disappointing "Strandvaskaren" is nothing but a conventional slash movie, with no originality, and using the same clichés of many American productions. Anyway, I like this type of predictable movie as entertainment and my vote is six.Tiotle (Brazil): "A Maldição do Lago" ("The Curse of the Lake")

From time to time, one cannot fail to run into bitter disappointments that shake one's faith in all sacred things such as trust, hope, and, in this case, good film-making. Excuse me this rant, but from my earlier experience with this director (Mikael Håfström), I was led to expect a remarkable movie experience: perhaps not necessarily anything as brilliant and insightful as Ondskan, but still something out of ordinary, original and tactful, as European movies aspire to be.All my expectations were flawed, however, completely destroyed and torn to little shreds of contempt. It seems to the movie deliberately sabotaged itself, opting to follow a by now more than exhausted trend of the America-Teen-Slasher which feels ill at ease in a Swedish setting and, in this adaption of what was not a praise-worthy effort to begin it, fail to follow the thriller-by-number with any amount of narrative coherent or scenic competence.The plot is formulaic: a predictable ensemble of characters set in a prestigious college (the building itself having a great potential for being a new Overlook, but, alas, it is completely wasted in this movie) wrapped up with a "mysterious" murder committed a hundred years ago, a pseudo paranormal demonstration, a suicide and an investigation undertaken by the said characters which, by the way, are nothing but one dimensional personality traits, not even stressed enough to be called clichés, one could say they are underdeveloped ideas.Of course, plot twists abound, none of them strike as fresh or even as surprising. Half-ways through, the movie takes a turn and tries to explore some psychological drama, which makes the final work even more flawed and utterly clueless.*****Mild Spoilers*****It should be stressed that nothing rings original in this mess. The ending is so reminiscent of Friday the 13th that it is nothing short of uncanny, a previous scene is a watered down version of something straight out of Seven, and I am quite sure the list could go on.Lovers of gore be warned, this movie has none. It is, however, peopled with silly to borderline intelligent characters who believe that staring and trying to reason with an armed murderer is quite a plausible excuse to get themselves killed.I truly hope that Mikael Håfström will find his way back to brilliance and quit this emulation of American cinema at its worst.

Strandvaskaren is one of the very few Swedish horror movies in existence, this does not make it good in any way. The potential of the movie is fairly good. Old ghoulish folklore can always be used to create a great horror flick, but the director has made some incredible faults. The sounds is bad... The effects are cheesy and bad at best. When a knife cuts someone it usually has blood on it? LOL. The actors does an okay job with a quite bad script. So I really don't have any heavy complaints there.But still its fun to see a Swedish horror movie, I hope that more will be done but this movie was a complete waste of time. I gave it 3/10 and consider it to be almost a to high number.