CULT HERO OF THE MONTH
NORWEGIAN TOMMY WIRKOLA, of the Dead Snow Nazi-zombie movies, delivers a farcical, gruesome, Scandi-noir shaggy-dog tale with a Coen brothers feel in The Trip . Bickering couple Lars (Aksel Hennie) and Lisa (Noomi Rapace) — Swedes who’ve relocated to Norway and faltered in showbiz careers — retreat to a remote cabin where each plans to murder the other… only to have their crime scene invaded by three escaped convicts (Atle Antonsen, Christian Rubeck, André Eriksen) who make their bad day worse, prompting more and more extreme behaviour. It begins with icy, witty marital discord — Hennie and Rapace are hilariously vicious over Scrabble — then gets into broad black comedy, with bloody, transgressive material (other bodily discharges also feature) and several hilarious reversals of fortune. Funniest line (in context): “Over to you, Queer Dave.”