In a Nutshell
Turo is stuck in a small village and the best thing in his life is being the lead vocalist for the amateur metal band Impaled Rektum. He and his bandmates have practised for 12 years without playing a single gig. The guys get a surprise visitor from Norway — the promoter for a huge heavy metal music festival — and decide it’s now or never.
[imdb]http://www.imdb.com/title/tt7220754/[/imdb]
Review
Death growls, droning guitars and battered drums are all cliches that the average Joe would associate with the world of heavy metal. Naturally, you would assume that such cliches would only work solely within the horror genre from a cinematic perspective.
A similar point can be made for Scandinavian cinema. Usually, when you think of it you picture a murder mystery in a small town with a morose atmosphere and an investigation headed up by a troubled detective. Combine these two elements, invert them and you get Heavy Trip.
In a sleepy Finnish village, four young men religiously practice heavy metal in the basement of a reindeer slaughterhouse. Plagued by fear, their frontman has never sought out a gig in the 12 years of the band’s existence. But a chance meeting with a promoter for Norway’s biggest heavy metal festival sets in motion a journey that will change their lives forever.
In a year which has seen the release of Lords of Chaos, a thriller based on the true story of the crimes of Norwegian Black Metal band Mayhem, Heavy Trip plays like the antithesis of this. Taking tropes of the music genre first-time writer/directors Juuso Laatio and Jukka Vidgren cast a wry eye on them all from the band’s grotesquely hilarious name, Impaled Rektum to the theatrical absurdity that comes with the scene.
Right from the start the film almost follows the same formula as a Taika Waititi film (quirks and all), as we follow the films lead Turo (played by Johannes Holopainen) whose dreams of metal domination are fraught with fear and self-doubt as he works day after day as an orderly at a mental institution.
Resented by many of his peers and pining for the affections of a local florist (played with real charm by Minka Kuustonen) in spite of her disapproving father, Turo and his friends find solace in their music.
Most of the film’s charm and humour derive from the band members themselves. From wildman guitarist Lotvonen (played by Samuli Jaski), to the lovable death-defying drummer Junkky (played by Antti Heikkinen) the film imparts a message of being true to yourself and being comfortable with who you are no matter the consequence.
This is exemplified perfectly by the band’s offbeat bass player, Pasi (played by Max Ovaska). As one of the film’s many highlights with an encyclopedic knowledge of all things metal, Pasi embraces his Black metal self donning black and white face paint and renaming himself Xytrax.
With their unique brand of Symphonic post-apocalyptic reindeer-grinding Christ-abusing extreme war pagan Fennoscandian metal, the band hit the road to fulfil their destiny in pursuit of their dream – pursued by the local authorities and local crooner Jouni (played like a slimy version of Daniel O’Donnell with a mean streak by Ville Tiihonen).
Their madcap adventure powers forward with a pitch-perfect pace and it is here where the film kicks it up a notch, playing out like a cross between This Is Spinal Tap and The Blues Brothers.
Despite the escalation of extremely ludicrous (and highly funny) situations on the band’s journey, Laatio and Vidgrennever never forget to retain the film’s pre-established heartfelt sincerity elevating it above most of its American counterparts.
With a perfect balance of heart and comedy, Heavy Trip works brilliantly against convention in what is a very assured debut for Juuso Laatio and Jukka Vidgren. With brilliant performances across the board, in roles both big and small.
Heavy Trip is consistently funny throughout and delivers some hilariously memorable one-liners: “Listen! I love Satan as much as any woman in their 40’s, but you are coming up for interrogation right this moment!”.
Verdict
Brimming with an infectious energy and quirks galore, this wholesome tale of friendship and all things metal is destined for future cult status.
Joe Mc Elroy (BanterFlix)
