SARGAD / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: ANDRES R. RAMOS / SCREENPLAY: SARAH GIERCKSKY / STARRING: SARAH GIERCKSKY, JESPER HELL, XANDER TURIAN, ALICIA HENRIKSSON / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Many familiar elements come together in the Swedish thriller; they may not be entirely successful, but look beyond the low budget trappings and there’s an interesting tale to be told.
Heading back to their hometown to scatter the ashes of their recently departed father, Elina (Giercksky), Lily (Tindra Hedlud), and their mother (Henriksson) are hoping to pay their respects with a quiet weekend. However, after visiting an old neighbour, Elina senses things are not how she remembers them. A chance hook-up with an old friend (Turian) provides her with a little mental escape, but things will soon begin to get very dark for the family. At the scene of the scattering, three local brothers turn up in cheesy masks claiming that they knew the deceased and he owed them money. It gets much more menacing and Elina is stabbed while trying to fend off one of the group. When she comes to, she finds her world torn apart and sets out on a mission of revenge.
There may be a sense of ‘seen it all before’ in Sargad (which translates as Wounded), but there are plenty of curveballs that hold the interest. A smattering of extreme gore – surprisingly well executed for such a fiscally-challenged effort – manages to shock spectacularly; one particular moment will have the eyes of every male watering to say the least. There are elements that could have been explored deeper (the gang’s fixation with their own mother is deeply disturbing) but on the whole, it’s a solid revenge tale.
Sadly, the lack of budget does hamper the overall enjoyment in several ways. The lighting is non-existent in many scenes and the sound design is all over the place. The incidental music is pretty decent, though. These basic elements will no doubt turn off any casual viewer, but if you have a hankering for a slice of foreign indie cinema, you could do much worse than checking it out.
The DVD comes with a music video and a couple of shorts made by the stars of Sargad, Sarah Giercksky and Xander Turian. Giercksky’s screenplay is one of the better elements of the film, so it’s good to see some of her other work and we’re keen to keep an eye on
