Vikaren (2007)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

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:

3 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
Sofie Gråbøl	...	Carls Mor
Cecilia Zwick-Nash	...	Phillip's Mor (as Cecilia Zwick Nash)
Niels Anders Thorn	...	Phillip's Far
Vibeke Hastrup	...	Albert's Mor
Lars Bom	...	Albert's Far
Joy-Maria Frederiksen	...	Lotte's Mor
Jørgen Bing	...	Lotte's Far
Mette Kolding	...	Camilla's Mor
Peter Oliver Hansen	...	Camilla's Far
Helle Dolleris	...	Tobias' Mor
Peter Aude	...	Tobias' Far
Ulf Pilgaard	...	Undervisningsminister
Hans Holtegaard	...	Hønsefarmeren
Holger Juul Hansen	...	Fortæller (voice)
Signe Kjærgaard Jensen	...	Klasse Elev
Gaia Sien Christoffersen	...	Klasse Elev
Sarah Charlotte Bjørn	...	Klasse Elev
Nikita Beensimon Rossing	...	Klasse Elev
Pernille Holt	...	Klasse Elev
Andreas Buchtrup Andersen	...	Klasse Elev
Oskar Emil Prip	...	Klasse Elev
Gustav Meiling Madsen	...	Klasse Elev
Thomas Bugge Visholm	...	Klasse Elev
Malthe Frøkjær Rubbås	...	Klasse Elev (as Malthe Frøkjær-Rubbås)
Benjamin Thorup Arnfred	...	Klasse Elev (as Benjamin Arnfred Thorup)
Kurt Strand	...	Kurt Strand
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Larsen	...	Signes far (uncredited)
Dave Mallow	...	The Headmaster (uncredited)
Lars Mogelberg	...	Police Officer (uncredited)

Directed by
Ole Bornedal

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ole Bornedal		screenplay
Henrik Prip		screenplay

Produced by
Michael Obel	....	producer

Original Music by
Marco Beltrami

Cinematography by
Dan Laustsen		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Thomas Krag

Production Design by
Marie í Dali

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Eigil Jacobsen	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Thomas Greve	....	props
Magnus Kasting	....	set dresser
Christoffer Krustrup	....	prop runner

Sound Department
Nino Jacobsen	....	sound re-recording mixer
Nino Jacobsen	....	supervising sound editor
Roar Skau Olsen	....	sound recordist

Visual Effects by
Sam Bassett	....	digital compositor
Troels Hoe	....	digital compositor
Michael Holm	....	digital compositor
James Hunt	....	animator
Kasper Jansen	....	senior 3D artist
Morten Kjær Jensen	....	animator
Patrick O'Casey	....	digital compositor
Daniel Silwerfeldt	....	visual effects supervisor
Daniel Thuresson	....	digital compositor

Camera and Electrical Department
Erik Aavatsmark	....	still photographer
Christopher Bonnor	....	clapper loader
Jesper Find	....	first assistant camera
Ian Hansen	....	director of photography: second unit
Karsten Jacobsen	....	pro-Steadicam operator
Jimmy Leavens	....	key grip: second unit
Josef Lopez	....	lighting technician
Katrín Björk Sævarsdóttir	....	clapper loader

Editorial Department
Henrik Bloch-Hansen	....	assistant editor
Tina Dradrach	....	post-production coordinator
Michael Frank Nielsen	....	film color timer

Music Department
William Boston	....	orchestrator
Peter Juul Kristensen	....	scoring engineer
Peter Juul Kristensen	....	scoring mixer
Jørgen Lauritsen	....	music recording producer
Jørgen Lauritsen	....	music supervisor
Jørgen Lauritsen	....	orchestrator
Thomas Lester	....	music editor
Dana Niu	....	orchestrator
Marcus Trumpp	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Henrik Bergqvist	....	extras coordinator
Mads Kjær Christoffersen	....	location scout
Magnus Thorstholm Jensen	....	runner
Liv Lynge	....	post technical coordinator

Production Companies

• Thura Film

Distributors

• Ghosthouse Underground (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Grindstone Entertainment Group

Special Effects

• Radar Film

Other Companies

• Location Sound Öresund  sound equipment provided by
• Panavision UK  camera equipment provided by

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:

Next Century

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.