Another entry in the now firmly established Nordic Noir genre, this is Kjell Sundvall’s extremely belated sequel to his 1996 hit Jägarna (The Hunters) and was released in Sweden as Jägarna 2. Don’t worry if you haven’t seen the original though; False Trail won’t leave you confused as it’s a new story featuring the original’s hero, jaded Stockholm detective Erik Bäckström (Rolf Lassgård), and doesn’t waste too much time retreading the events of the first film.
Bäckström journeys to his hometown in the bleakly beautiful and sparsely populated rural north of Sweden. He’s there to investigate the disappearance of a local woman and suspicions are running wild through the insular (and heavily armed) hunting community. He comes into conflict with feared small-town policeman Torsten (Peter Stormare) who is determined that local oddball Jari (Eero Milonoff) is to blame.
The slow-burning plot is fairly predictable but it’s carried along by the two leads who are exceptional, especially Stormare whose ferocious performance makes you realise how wasted his menacing presence has been playing heavies in Hollywood action movies for the last couple of decades. As with most Nordic Noirs though the real star is the tense, icy atmosphere that False Trail has in spades. The landscape is bleak but undeniably beautiful and shot in the typical wintry soft focus way that the Swedish tourist board would approve of. Of course this is juxtaposed with brutal characterisations and sinister goings on that contradict the outsider’s view of Scandinavia as a peaceful socialist haven.
Critics of Nordic Noir (often Ingmar Bergman fanatics) often argue that the genre simply represents Swedish, and Scandinavian in general, cinema being eradicated by films that try to ape American movies. This is clearly bollocks as although its Hollywood influences are obvious, it’s an exciting genre with a distinctive personality all of its own and False Trail is a textbook, if not particularly groundbreaking, example of how engrossing it can be.
Overall Verdict: A solid and sturdy Nordic Noir that doesn’t do anything new for the fledgling genre but is gripping, immersive and features a terrifying performance from Peter Stormare.
Special Features:
Trailer
Q & A with Rolf Lassgård
Reviewer: Adam Pidgeon