The Trip (I Onde Dager) (Movie Review)

Screened as a part of the 2021 Fantastic Fest

For The Trip, director Tommy Wirkola (Dead Snow, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters) returns to his home country for a Norwegian language black comedy starring Noomi Rapace and Aksel Hennie. The two play Lisa and Lars, a dysfunctional couple heading out of the city to spend some time at a remote cabin in the woods that was built by Lars's father. Lars is a failed filmmaker who is miserable not only because his marriage has lost its spark, but also because the only work he can find is directing cheesy soap operas. We’re introduced to him as he repeatedly tells everyone who will listen that he and Lisa are going away to their cabin and, despite his wishes, she’s insisting on taking a very dangerous hike. He’s also stocking up on supplies for the weekend; such as a hammer and a hacksaw and rope. Very subtle, Lars.

Lisa is also feeling stuck in her career as a struggling actress who is best known for a role in an erectile dysfunction commercial. She has some plans of her own for the weekend that involves an accident on a hunting excursion that won’t end well for Lars. Before either of them can execute their planned executions, though, they’ll have to deal with the Nazi, the rapist, and the murderer who have escaped from prison and think the cabin would be a perfect place to lay low for a while.

The Trip is a pitch black comedy that slowly ratchets up the violence and nastiness from a light domestic satire of a squabbling husband and wife to a Coen Brothers level of inept criminal hijinks to a fairly splattery conclusion. It occupies some weird territory between Ted Demme’s 90s Dennis-Leary-holds-a-bickering-couple-hostage comedy The Ref and Michael Haneke’s soul-destroying-gaze-into-the-abyss horror thriller Funny Games. Thankfully it leans more into the comedy than the all too real threat of violence and sexual assault that hangs over the movie once the escaped convicts enter the picture. While it never quite gets as grim or off-putting as it teases, it does escalate to a degree that might be surprising based on the dark but lighthearted domestic comedy of the opening.

Rapace and Hennie have a lot of fun in their roles and do a great job of playing despicable people who never quite lose touch of their charm and humanity. The Trip's greatest flaw is its pacing and length at nearly two hours, which is a bit baggy for a film that begs for a tighter focus. The structure of the film follows a pattern where a new character will pop up out of nowhere, and then the film will immediately rewind a few days to fill in that character’s backstory up to the present. It’s a fun trick, but for a film that delights so much in adding new twists and wrinkles throughout, putting the brakes on the forward momentum of the story so many times tends to slow down the narrative's propulsion more than necessary.

The Trip hits Netflix on October 15 and has all the makings of a potential sleeper hit that will please fans of Wirkola’s past horror and dark fantasy comedies. It might even be able to pick up a more mainstream audience who can hang with the dark themes and gore. They might end up going places and seeing things they weren’t expecting, but, hey, it’s right there in the title.