Review: Ondskan (Evil) (Dir. Mikael Håfström, 2003), by Natasha Bullen.
Oscar nominated back in 2004, it seemed to be a good idea to delve further into the work of Mikael Håfström, best known for recently directing the horror 1408 in 2007 and thriller Derailed back in 2005. With a blunt title filled to the brim with terror and loathing, Evil is exactly about what it proclaims to be. Yet the film is concerned with much more than just acts of pure malevolence – rather is explores ideas of control, manipulation and, most importantly, intense suffering.
Håfström introduces us to Erik Ponti (Andreas Wilson), a troubled teenager with a tendency towards violence. When him and his gang beat up a fellow student, the Head sees it as the final straw for Erik, and excludes him from the school. However, due to certain circumstances, Erik is allowed a fresh start in the form of Stjärnsberg.
Stjärnsberg is a private boarding school which seems to exude a perfectly welcoming atmosphere, and Erik sees it as an opportunity for new beginnings; determined to change his ways for the better. The school’s system of disciplining its students is left entirely in the hands of the kamratuppfostran, a network of older, upper-class students who virtually run the school, with Otto Silverhielm (Gustaf Skarsgård) as the callous leader. When Erik demonstrates his talent for swimming by smashing the current school record, the senior students seem to welcome him into their elitist circle. All is not as it first appears however, and Erik quickly learns that by making himself so known he has become Silverhielm’s main target in the kamratuppfostran system of violent injustice.
What is of most interest is how Håfström keeps the source of the film’s title, ‘evil’ ambiguous: is it the model of the bully which Erik and then the kamratuppfostran represent? Or is it in fact Erik’s sadistic stepfather with his dark reprimands? In actual fact, it seems Håfström points the finger at the apathetic teachers at Stjärnsberg who know full-well the atrocities that go on under their watch, yet simply stand-by and do nothing. This is an excellent film, and Håfström spares us no niceties in showing us just exactly how vile and cruel human beings can be to each other: indeed, all evil needs to flourish is for no decent men to take a stand.
Out on DVD now.
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