Konferensen

Eine ziemlich unterhaltsame schwedische Komödie mit nicht besonders sympathischen, aber in der Handlung ausreichend funktionierenden Figuren. Und mit Morden, die – trotz des Fehlens einer Horrorsatmosphäre im Film – mit unverhältnismäßiger Brutalität überraschen. Ich lobe den Ansatz, dass der Film die ersten Massaker der Nebenfiguren nicht zeigt und sie dynamisch in fröhliche Momente der Hauptfiguren schneidet. Ihre Beseitigung wird dann detaillierter gezeigt, was zumindest ein Konzept einer „Slasher-Steigerung“ bildet. Und der allerletzte Mord ist regelrecht ein Genuss. Für ihn gibt es solide drei Sterne. (23.10.2023)

Von dieser Art von Filmen kann man nie genug haben und ich glaube nicht, dass ich jemals satt werde. Das Grundschema ist immer noch sehr einfach und immer noch dasselbe, aber am Beispiel von diesem Film kann man die Unterschiede zu amerikanischen Konzepten sehen. Die Schweden haben die Ökologie hinzugefügt. Ich würde den Film fast schon als Umwelthorror bezeichnen. Ich mochte den absurden und schwarzen Humor, ich lache immer noch über den Spruch, dass der Koch irgendwann zurückkommen muss, wir hätten schon vor einer Stunde zu Abend essen sollen. Ein tolles Halloween-Erlebnis. (29.10.2023)

Solid Swedish flick! Surprise came where you least expected it. I knew next to nothing about The Conference, so I went into the film ignorant, and I have to say that after all the boring and exhausted variations on the slasher genre, satisfaction finally came in almost every aspect. The story is about a team building do in the Swedish woods where things go wrong and an unwelcome guest is waiting. I appreciate the fact that we don't have a bunch of teenagers here, but normal adults, which is relatively rare in the genre, and it made the whole thing feel like it could easily happen. There's a ton of characters to slaughter (I don't even remember seeing such a bodycount in a slasher!). I really liked that with so many people, each murder is original, creative and fun (again, hats off). The killer isn't immortal and he gets beat up pretty bad too, which is great. I liked that he uses the setting to his advantage and you can't deny his ingenuity. He uses just about every conceivable murder weapon imaginable, which again I applaud. The murders are both bloody and decently brutal (some could have been more, but with so many you can forgive a lot). The hot-tub with the lawnmower probably leads the way for me, and the head stitching was decently nasty too. The occasional dark humour works here too, the dialogue between the characters isn't bad and the excellent craftsmanship is to be commended. Great music that adds to the tension, great cinematography and a lot of fun The editing gives it all a nice touch. I don't know why, but while watching it I was a little reminded of my favorite Cold Prey, also by the Scandinavians, and the style of the killer and the execution of the murders seemed very similar. I don't really have any major complaints, I had a great time (If it had more gore I'd go for a full rating on without a second thought). A place in the Top 10 will definitely not pass The Conference by this year. 8/10. (17.10.2023)

The plot is certainly nothing ground-breaking, it follows a template, unsurprisingly, as far as the identity and motivation of the villain and the development of the relationships between the characters are concerned. But it fills the “comedy slasher” box pretty much perfectly for me. It invites comparison to Totally Killer, released a week ago, and from that, Seminar comes out as “Totally Winner”. It has sufficiently fleshed out characters and fine chemistry between them, a high body-count and gritty and varied kills. I also enjoyed the directorial creativity, with the wit often coming not just from the dialogue, but also from the framing or editing. It's well done. Probably the most enjoyable genre surprise of the year (admittedly, there weren't many). (13.10.2023)