Director: David-Jan Bronsgeest
Year: 2025
Country: Netherlands
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
After the death of their friend, several others in her friend group find themselves constantly stalked by a local serial killer thought to be an urban legend in the community, and when its connection to a true crime podcast is revealed must find a way to stop the rampage.
Review:
On the whole, this was a fairly enjoyable and likable feature. One of the better elements here is the seemingly enjoyable storyline that manages to tie several intriguing elements together into a fun whole. The main backstory about the killer being someone who used to terrorize the community years earlier and whose spree is now being retold in a sensationalized true-crime podcast that the rest of the group is invested in makes for a great modernized take on the traditional serial killer fable from the past. Updating it to include some more current technologies, but including the same beats and principles, since it allows for the retelling of the incidents as well as the means of getting into his head, which gives everything here an enjoyable touch. With this going on alongside the rest of the girls’ lives as they try to make sense of their friend's passing and the connection to what’s going on with the stories, the film features a rather impressive storyline at play here.
When it comes time for the stalking scenes to take place, this becomes an immensely impressive genre feature, as this becomes far more brutal and intense than expected. That comes about quite heavily from the use of supernatural tendencies that allow this to go all out with the haunting scenes to denote his presence coming for the group, with stellar scenes including the killer stalking a victim in a laundromat using the podcast narration to announce what he’s going to do next, auditory whispers only the victim can hear as she’s being stalked in the house, or a fantastic sequence at a bowling alley that includes several intriguing bits of paranormal taunts that make for a genuine chilling sequence. The kills as a result are quite messy and graphic, again capitalizing nicely on his supernatural strength and power, as the way they play out brings the stalking setups into account as well. These end up coming together for quite a lot to like here.
There are a few issues here that hold it back. The main drawback to be had with the film is the fact that there’s such a weird discrepancy with the way they seemingly interact with the podcast. Once the backstory is revealed about what happened with the group and why they’re being targeted, the implications gathered from it make the obsession with listening to the podcast feel rather weird and bizarre. It would be for them to be involved in listening to it. This makes very little sense as to why they would be interested in the series, considering what happened, and it never comes up why they would. The other issue here is the lackluster final confrontation that doesn’t have much in the way of thrills or tension due to falling into cliches involving the troubled mother and her desire to protect her son and coming to grips with the situation as it spirals out of control, which is enough to lower this one somewhat.
Overview: ****/5
A wholly enjoyable and brutal Dutch slasher, this one manages quite a lot to like in most regards, as the few minor drawbacks aren’t in the slightest bit detrimental to hold this down. Those with an appreciation for this style of genre effort, are curious about it, or those who are curious about the subject matter will have a lot to like, while most others out there should heed caution.
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