Sauna

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Cast & Crew

Ville Virtanen
Eerik

Tommi Eronen
Knut

Rain Tolk
Rogosin

Sonja Petäjäjärvi
Boy

Kati Outinen
Old Woman

Taisto Reimaluoto
Father

Vilhelmiina Virkkunen
Good Girl

Ismo Kallio
Village Elder

Ivo Kubecka
Monk

Antti-Jussi Annila
Director

Iiro Küttner
Writer

Jesse Fryckman
Producer

Tero Kaukomaa
Producer

Panu Aaltio
Original Music

Henri Blomberg
Cinematographer

Joona Louhivuori
Film Editor

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Critic Reviews for Sauna

Audience Reviews for Sauna

• Oct 12, 2015

  The battle-hardened butcher is going blind. His more compassionate brother sees too much. This movie is essentially a long meditation on guilt. It is dull and heavily symbolic in the sense that people have associated with European cinema since 'The Seventh Seal' but it's also very atmospheric and the visuals are crisply bleak. It's the kind of film that haunts you after it's over, though it will disappoint traditional horror fans looking for money shots and jump-scares. A bleak and nihilistic trek towards inevitable damnation.
  

  Charles B Super Reviewer
• Aug 27, 2011

  I'm a sucker for moody hauting movies and I might be a bit too kind on this one, but everything here is done superbly. The acting, the amoral choices, the creepy mythology and situations. Just lacks a bit on delivering more historical insight and mythology. Very much like Valhalla Rising, with everything that movie had, refined and not so vague. And that damn ending creeped the living shit out of me, props for that too.
  Francisco G Super Reviewer
• Aug 25, 2010

  Hmm. Someone's going to need to explain this movie to me. Is there a boogeymonster that's so well-known in Finnish (Russian?) folklore that its presence is fully understood and taken for granted? I still have no idea what was attacking these people, how or why. But that's part of what makes it so scary. That and the fact tat the director is a damned inventive manipulative bastard. His clever blend of static and hand-held camera shots
  Emily A Super Reviewer
• Jun 04, 2010

  "Wash your sins" Finnish horror movies come out maybe once in a decade. I can't recall seeing another horror movie from Finland before 'Sauna'. A-J Annila has taken a highly ambitious task on his hands but he doesn't nail it completely. It is the late 16th century and the 25 year lasting war between Sweden/Finkand and Russia has ended. Eerik and Knut are two brothers, part of a border-recognition treaty detachment. On their journey to solve the differences between the two nations, Eerik murders someone at the beginning of the film. After that, 'Sauna' runs completely around the consequences of this tragic event. They come to a town in the middle of nowhere. There is an old sauna... 'Sauna' has an interesting basis but A-J Annila can't completely hold his "strings attached". The beginning of the film makes the story develop nicely but midthrough when the lead characters are torned by sin and guilt, the story just scatters in different directions. I'm not sure if the director was even sure of how he wanted the movie to end? 'Sauna's' strength lies in its psychological horror. It's a good thing that Annila did not include cheap spooky effects. The visual image of the film is also beautiful. There's no doubt that Annila is one of the most talented directors coming from Finland. Ville Virtanen, who has made a long career in Finland, gives a strong performance as Eerik. I was very surprised of his performance as I remember him best as a comedic actor. 'Sauna' had some very good potential but maybe Annila's experience isn't at the level required to make a full feature film? Strongly recommended though to all fans of different kind of horror.
  Jani H Super Reviewer

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