Get Away
by Hope Madden
It’s not a terribly unique set up. A carful of travelers stops off just before their destination and the surly local, upon hearing of their destination, warns them. They mustn’t go! It is doom!
Well, that’s not exactly the message. What the surly diner owner tells Richard (Nick Frost, who also writes), Susan (Aisling Bea) and their kids Jessie (Maisie Ayers) and Sam (Sebastian Croft) is that Svälta is not a tourist destination and that the Swedish islanders will be especially unwelcoming during this, their sacred celebration.
Pish posh, they’ve rented an Airbnb. They’ll take the last ferry, face the incredibly unwelcoming islanders, and find their way to the cozy little cottage where their host Mats (Eero Milonof, Border) lost his mother by beheading about 10 years ago.
Says Jessie, “My phone’s got no signal.”
Responds her brother, “Of course it hasn’t. We’ve come on holiday to a Swedish horror film.”
Even though Get Away quickly veers into Wicker Man territory by way of Midsommar, director Steffan Haars has already established the darkly humorous vibe that will permeate the film. But this is not a horror spoof as much as it is a retooling of genre tropes meant to keep you on your toes.
Frost and Bea make for a fun duo, a dorky pair just trying to have a nice holiday and keep their kids from getting too bored. Milonof delivers an unsettling villainous vibe, as is his way, but the comic elements here allow him to flex a new muscle.
Ayres and Croft steal scenes as a pair of teens ironically commenting on everything around them, their lofty adolescent mockery of anything and everything often serving for some well-placed comedy. Ayers even gets a couple of moments of emotional honesty, which she nails.
The film’s never frightening, but it does get bloody. The island population and all they’re planning feels a bit undercooked and the red herring is forgettable, but the core cast is having enough fun to keep the film upbeat and entertaining. With some well-placed Iron Maiden and an odd cover of the old Toto Coelo tune “I Eat Cannibals,” the soundtrack keeps you intrigued as well.
