Click to view the trailer. VIDEO: Bright Fame Pictures
Backwood Madness is a horror fantasy unlike anything seen before in this country. It exemplifies what dedicated souls and the craft of cinema can accomplish. Jussi Huhtala’s music transports you to another dimension and the actors deliver some of the most intimate and horrifying scenes yet in the realm of Finnish folklore.
I am talking with a young actress who, about 66 minutes ago, stabbed a troll in the throat.
“It was me in that scene. I saw the complete work for the first time in the cinema tonight. First row! I really felt the action from my seat. I also noticed how many close-up shots there were in the movie. This was a good thing.”
The actress introduces herself as Enni Ojutkangas, originally from the northern city of Rovaniemi. She lived in Helsinki before moving to Oulu, another northern city, with her husband. She doesn’t mention her CV, but IMDb reveals it’s long and impressive.
Ojutkangas takes a gulp of water while others at the guest afterparty at the Irish bar Molly Malone’s on Wednesday night in Helsinki sip sparkling wine.
Ojutkangas has a soft, tender voice. She is about a head shorter than the journalist, which, on a subconscious level, adds more interest to the scene where she slays one of the ugliest beasts you could imagine encountering in the darkness of the Finnish forest. This ugly troll, drooling after easy prey, never saw it coming.
At Malone’s, she wonders what the journalist thinks about the movie: Backwood Madness. I mumble something about the gripping music and hazy scenes, agreeing that the close-up shots bring the movie close to you.
Later, the deadline looming before the premiere on Friday, my analysis has found its final being.
Backwood Madness is one of the most original Finnish movies to date. It combines artful cinema with gore/slasher/horror—all wrapped in a plot that has an underlying motive to move the viewer emotionally.
The story is about wars that could be avoided. It’s about the environment. It’s about suspense, such as, will the chainsaw activate the pull cord this time.
Backwood Madness, I was told, by Veera W. Vilo (Free Skate, (Pri)sons), an actress in the movie and a representative of the movie’s distribution company, Bright Fame Pictures, took 11 years to complete, and it took the director, Ari Savonen, to the brink of madness—even sickness.
“People involved in this movie are ambitious and perfectionists. The actors alone were willing to endure endless hours in mud and paint and make-up,” Vilo said.
Perkeletto! Did I tell you about the plot exactly? Is it a good movie? (FANTASTIC!)
The clock is ticking … let’s see … the music by composer Jussi Huhtala (check his IMDb resume, as there are too many good titles to list here) holds everything together. The continuous excitement of exotic instruments, strings and heavy drums perfectly synced with the action adds to the mesmerizing experience.
In fact, you could probably reimagine the film in your mind with the soundtrack alone in the darkness of your room.
If you play video games, slay trolls, or indulge in role-playing action, Backwood Madness is likely to energize your night, week and month.
Or if you just enjoy fine and original Finnish films—this time about rural Finns seeking justice among nixies, trolls and goblins—if you enjoy a story about good and evil; a film about God and Devil, about Finnish folklore, then Backwood Madness is tailored for you as it was for me.
‘Backwood Madness’ premieres in cinemas on August 22.
