Vikaren (2007)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Ole Bornedal

Writers:

Ole Bornedal (screenplay)
Henrik Prip (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 June 2007 (Denmark)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Plot:

6th Grade gets a new substitute teacher. She wants to train the class for an international competition in Paris...

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Substitute Teacher | Little Sister | Evil Teacher | Ball

Awards:

2 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Paprika Steen	...	Ulla Harms
Ulrich Thomsen	...	Jesper Osböll
Jonas Wandschneider	...	Carl
Nikolaj Falkenberg-Klok	...	Phillip
Emma Juel Justesen	...	Rikke
Mollie Maria Gilmartin	...	Lotte
Josephine Gents	...	Camilla (as Josephine Wormslew Gents)
Emma Claudia Søndergaard	...	Laura
Jakob Fals Nygaard	...	Albert
Andreas Gram Nielsen	...	Tobias
Mathias Peter Kjær	...	Malthe
Sonja Richter	...	Maria
Peter Hesse Overgaard	...	Skoleinspektør Maele
Henrik Prip	...	Psykolog Claus
Olivia Stenderup Garre	...	Sofie

Also Known As:

The Substitute (International: English title) (promotional title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:PG | USA:R | Sweden:11 | Denmark:11

Filming Locations:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Company:

Thura Film

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The earth globe seen from space in the beginning and the end of the film is falsely mirrored.

Movie Connections:

Remade as The Substitute (2011)

Soundtrack:

Sov Sødt Barn Lille

Fun Danish sci-fi/horror kiddie flick

Be forewarned...when I say "kiddie flick" I mean it has lots of kids in it, it's not FOR the kiddies, by any means. Unless you like 'em to have lots of nightmares.

A substitute teacher is introduced to a class of Danish schoolchildren, and her name is Ulla. Her methods seem a bit unorthodox, as in, she ridicules the children and treats them like dirt. But, she's all sweetness to the parents so they think she's wonderful, and the kids can't seem to get through to their parents that there's something very wrong with Ulla.

Carl is a young boy who has lost his mother in a car accident,and he's the first to discover that Ulla is not what she seems, but since he's kind of the class weirdo and outcast because he's wrapped up in his own problems & trauma following the accident, his classmates are reluctant to believe him. But eventually, they do begin to believe him and they spy on Ulla and find that her house contains some pretty strange stuff, all of which is gone when they tell their parents and they all just show up there for a visit.

Now, the class is slated to go on a field trip and that's to Paris, so it's said, but the kids don't believe that. Carl's dad is along for the trip though because he's become rather smitten with Ulla and doesn't believe what Carl tries to tell him, even though Ulla has revealed her true self to Carl at dinner one night, very briefly but enough to scare the crap out of him. Anyway, the kids do try to escape but Ulla is very powerful & yet, she's not quite a match for Carl.

Overall, this is a fun film and yet a bit creepy at times. The kids are enjoyable, not irritating, and the parents are spot on in their inability to believe the "fantastic" tales their kids are trying to tell them about their new teacher. The effects are fairly minimal but what there is works well.

Definitely an enjoyable & entertaining film. Rue Morgue said this was the best of the lot of the "Ghost House" films recently released, and since I've seen a couple clunkers, I guess I can just stop here.

8 out of 10.