Dawning

Three sisters retreat to a remote cabin, where a stranger arrives. If Bergman had directed a horror film, it might have turned out like this chilling psychological nightmare.

Director
Patrik Syversen
Starring
Kathrine Thorborg Johansen, Silje Storstein, Marte Magnusdotter Solem
Country
Norway
Languages
Norwegian
Subtitles
English
Age limit
K16
Duration
109 min
Keywords
Horror, Family ties, Angst, Female stories

Three sisters retreat to their family’s remote cabin after their youngest sister survives another suicide attempt. As the older sisters try to support her, they receive news of their mother’s death. Believing the youngest to be too fragile to bear the news, they decide to keep their mother’s death from her. However, their attempt to maintain an illusion of normalcy begins to unravel when a mysterious stranger arrives at the cabin asking for help. His appearance sets off a chain of events that grows increasingly unsettling and unpredictable.

Written and directed by Norwegian Patrik Syversen, Dawning is a bold and original hybrid of horror, thriller and chamber drama, in which the shifting genres reflect the unstable emotional landscape of profound grief.

Moving between stark black-and-white and more liberated colour sequences, the film keeps the viewer constantly on edge. Its exploration of trauma and repressed emotions echoes the works of David Lynch, Ingmar Bergman, and Michael Haneke, among others. The use of sound is also remarkable: unsettling soundscapes make ordinary environments seem fundamentally terrifying.

Rauli Karjalainen (translated by Mira Liimatainen)

Screenings

  • Bio Rex Lasipalatsi
    Fri 18.9. at 16.15–18.04
    109 min, 1/5
  • Kinopalatsi 2
    Mon 21.9. at 16.00–17.49
    109 min, 2/5
  • Kino Töölö
    Tue 22.9. at 20.45–22.34
    109 min, 3/5
  • Gilda 1
    Sat 26.9. at 20.30–22.19
    109 min, 4/5
  • Kinopalatsi 5
    Sun 27.9. at 18.00–19.49
    109 min, 5/5
Original name
Demring
Distributor
Norwegian Film Institute
Links

Trailer