Title: Autumn Blood
Director: Markus Blunder
Cast: Sophie Lowe, Peter Stormare, Gustaf Skarsgard, Samuel Vauramo, Maximilian Harnisch
Running time: 100 minutes; Rated R
On VOD and iTunes and in-theaters on September 19th
In the mountains above a remote Austrian village, a brother and sister become orphans when their mother dies. A 16 year old girl (Sophie Lowe) and her 10 year old brother (Maximilian Harnisch) live off the land and only depend on each other. A few people begin to notice that the children are now alone, and a trio of hunters brutally rapes the girl. When a social services worker is called to the town, the trio drive back up to the mountain to eliminate their threat. The children who know the mountains better than their pursuers take matters in their own hands to make sure they pay for their sins.
The Good: The film relies solely on lush scenery and acting, as there is very little dialogue.
The Bad: It’s basically a silent film with child rape. Sophie Lowe’s character is described as a “free spirit” that strips naked by a lush waterfall and just hangs out spread eagle on a rock until some skeezy guy approaches and rapes her. Then he tells his two friends (or brothers, I dunno since nobody f-ing speaks in this movie) and they go up to her house and rape her again right in front of the brother. By having her strip all the time, it’s almost as if the filmmakers are implying that she’s asking for it. Not cool.
Apparently the little boy hasn’t spoken since he witnessed the mayor (Peter Stormare) murder their father when the kids were very young….but nobody else speaks either. The sister tells him to run, reads a passage from a book over her mother’s body and says hello to the guy at the post office. Then there’s supposedly some unrequited love story involving the mayor and the kid’s mom that we don’t realize until later when the kids come out of this okay. That would’ve been nice to know so we don’t hate the mayor throughout the entire film. I mean sure he’s a bastard for killing their dad, but you feel bad for him…kinda.
I haven’t been this uncomfortable watching a movie since the time I watched Basic Instinct with my dad. Did I mention there’s child rape? Whee. The family will love it.
Total Rating: D
Reviewed by: JM Willis
