Danish wonder boy Lars von Trier is the king and this is his Kingdom. I've seen some horror/ghost movies/series, but this is without doubt one of the best! It has everything you'd expect and more. I was expecting this mini-series to be good and it was by all means of the word.
Set at the Dansish national hospital, Rigshospitalet, nicknamed Rige (the Kingdom) a hobby spiritualist and hypochondriac, Drusse, who's been trying to contact spirits for years finally makes contact in the elevator at the hospital with a little girl who's been dead for quite some time. Strange things start to happened at the hospital, but in the living as well as the spiritual world as two of the doctors don't become the best of friends.
This is truly a great series because of a great story. It's captivating and gives you little hints now and then, but nothing conclusive until the end. It let's you think and guess. The characters are great. They are all very different individuals and that makes room for love, hate, comedy, drama and horror. It's not just the ghost story, but the story about the hospital and the people who work there as well. The series takes a rather odd look at medicine, making it all a freak show and making the hospital drama blend in good with the ghost story. You got everything, yet it's not confusing. This is a very well written series that plays on everything it possible can play on and it succeeds. It's a little slow in the beginning, but keeps you coming back and it just get's better and better. It's one of the best written ghost-stories I've ever seen.
The actors are good. There are a lot of very different characters and situations and to make this all go well together is not easy. Without good actors this would be impossible. It's such a nice mix and while their performances every now and then could've been a little better you don't really pay that much attention too it.
How thought hand held camera could possibly be this good. It brings suspense and reality too the series and it looks cool. The composition of the shots are good and the lightning is really good. The mood and feel of the series is really nice. It's well edited, with some really nice jump-cuts. Jumpcuts are usually a no-no in film-making and look bad, but it fits this series very well and the editor makes it look very good. The colors are also nice. A little reddish overall color, just make it more creepy, yet somehow it doesn't seem fake. Rather on the contrary.
The score is nice. The series got a kicking opening sequence with a nice mix of action and occult to it. There aren't that much score and that makes it all more real. The use of other sounds like the contentum to make suspense is really good.
I didn't give this series ten stars because there are some bad effects. Not many, though. There are a couple of bad bluescreen sequences and the title sequence are a little bad, but that's it. It's probably just three or four sequences, but the story kind of makes up for this, so you don't really let it bother you. On the other hand all the other effects are really nicely done and there are nothing too complain about there.
Riget (The Kingdom) is probably the best ghost-story I've seen and one of the best horror movies/series. It's a must see for any fans of this genre and a should-see for anyone else.
Set at the Dansish national hospital, Rigshospitalet, nicknamed Rige (the Kingdom) a hobby spiritualist and hypochondriac, Drusse, who's been trying to contact spirits for years finally makes contact in the elevator at the hospital with a little girl who's been dead for quite some time. Strange things start to happened at the hospital, but in the living as well as the spiritual world as two of the doctors don't become the best of friends.
This is truly a great series because of a great story. It's captivating and gives you little hints now and then, but nothing conclusive until the end. It let's you think and guess. The characters are great. They are all very different individuals and that makes room for love, hate, comedy, drama and horror. It's not just the ghost story, but the story about the hospital and the people who work there as well. The series takes a rather odd look at medicine, making it all a freak show and making the hospital drama blend in good with the ghost story. You got everything, yet it's not confusing. This is a very well written series that plays on everything it possible can play on and it succeeds. It's a little slow in the beginning, but keeps you coming back and it just get's better and better. It's one of the best written ghost-stories I've ever seen.
The actors are good. There are a lot of very different characters and situations and to make this all go well together is not easy. Without good actors this would be impossible. It's such a nice mix and while their performances every now and then could've been a little better you don't really pay that much attention too it.
How thought hand held camera could possibly be this good. It brings suspense and reality too the series and it looks cool. The composition of the shots are good and the lightning is really good. The mood and feel of the series is really nice. It's well edited, with some really nice jump-cuts. Jumpcuts are usually a no-no in film-making and look bad, but it fits this series very well and the editor makes it look very good. The colors are also nice. A little reddish overall color, just make it more creepy, yet somehow it doesn't seem fake. Rather on the contrary.
The score is nice. The series got a kicking opening sequence with a nice mix of action and occult to it. There aren't that much score and that makes it all more real. The use of other sounds like the contentum to make suspense is really good.
I didn't give this series ten stars because there are some bad effects. Not many, though. There are a couple of bad bluescreen sequences and the title sequence are a little bad, but that's it. It's probably just three or four sequences, but the story kind of makes up for this, so you don't really let it bother you. On the other hand all the other effects are really nicely done and there are nothing too complain about there.
Riget (The Kingdom) is probably the best ghost-story I've seen and one of the best horror movies/series. It's a must see for any fans of this genre and a should-see for anyone else.