Summary: Traumatised by a series of losses in her life the recently divorced Caroline (Lanna Olsson) finds herself suddenly living in a strange apartment alienated from everything she once took for granted. Surrounded by peculiar neighbours and with disturbing, inexplicable events increasing in frequency, Caroline struggles to make sense of her new circumstances. Is her mental illness getting the best of her? Is she just struggling to adapt to living alone? Or is there something more sinister at hand?

Year: 2015

Australian Cinema Release Date: TBA

Australian DVD Release Date: TBA

Country: Sweden

Director: Christian Hallman

Screenwriter: Christian Hallman, Mans F.G. Tunberg

Cast: Norah Andeson (My Jansson), Karin Bertling (Vera Brandt), Boel Larsson (Elsa Ullman), Harald Leander (Frank Mandel), Alida Morberg (Emma Trelkovski), Lanna Olsson (Caroline Menard), Rafael Pettersson (Johan Steiner), Linnea Pihl (The Girl)

Runtime: 81 mins

Classification: CTC

 

OUR SENSORIA REVIEWS & RATINGS:

 

David Griffiths:

The Scandinavian film industry has delivered some brilliantly hard edged movies over the past few years – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Let The Right One In spring straight to mind – and now horror fans are about to start raving about the release of a brand new film from Sweden with Sensoria certainly deserving to be described as one of the horror films of the years.

Directed by first time feature film director Christian Hallman (who is mainly known for his involvement with several film festivals across Europe) Sensoria is the kind of film that keeps you guessing while you are watching it and then stays with you for a long time after the final credits have rolled. Hallman sets up so many David Lynch like characters in the apartment building that when things first start happening to Caroline you can’t help but wonder is it the strange bossy lady, the blind man who quickly learns way too much about Caroline or the creepy Steiner who has date-rapist written all over him. About the last thing you actually expect is the twist that Hallman delivers, a twist that is so good that Sensoria deserves to be put into the truly memorable horror films category.

Sensoria really does show that Christian Hallman is a director to watch over the years. While many carry on about the fact that films like The Conjuring or Insidious have you on the edge of your seat, the weak amount of suspense that those films generate is nothing compared to what Hallman manages to create with Sensoria. Even better is the fact that he manages to do it without falling into that whole found-footage genre or having to rely on blood and gore to do what he wants to do… and that is send some chills down the spine of the audience.

Teaming up with Hallman here is cinematographer Janssen Herr who also helps give Sensoria the look and feel that makes it so special. Very few filmmaking teams in the world can make a simple thing like water dripping from a tap so eerie, but that is something that these two manage eerily well. Together Hallman and Herr actually make the apartment building a character in itself and at times you are left wondering whether it is the actual building that is the horror that is taunting Caroline.

Sensoria also allows some acting talent to burst onto the scenes as well. Lanna Olsson really reveals herself as an actress with great range as she plays the traumatised Caroline very well. Whether it be a suspenseful moment in a bath tub, a freaky encounter with a neighbour or even a dramatic scene in which she pours her heartache out to her best friend Olsson’s range allows her to never fall below par. She is also well supported by child actress, Norah Anderson who writes herself into horror film folklore and steals a lot of the scenes that she is performing in.

While it may have flown under the radar for many horror fans Sensoria is a film that needs to be checked out. Christian Hallman reveals himself as a horror director with a big future ahead of him while the films mash of Scandinavian horror and J-horror creepiness makes it a complete stand-out.

 

 

Average Subculture Rating (out of 5): 

 

IMDB Rating:

 

Other Subculture Entertainment Sensoria reviews: Nil

Trailer: