The Hunters 2: False Trail-Jägarna 2 (2011)

Directed by: Kjell Sundvall | 125 minutes | thriller, crime | Actors: Rolf Lassgård, Peter Stormare, Annika Nordin, Kim Tjernström, Lo Kauppi, Jesper Barkselius, Eero Milonoff, Johan Paulsen, Ellenor Lindgren, Olav Häggmark, Jonas Hedlund, Yngve Dahlberg, Juho Milonoff, Elina Knihtilä, Michael Odhag

‘The Hunters’, or actually ‘Jägarna’ as the official Swedish title is, appeared in 1996. The film was a huge success in its own country at the time, resulting in two Guldbaggen awards (the annual Swedish film awards). More than fifteen years later, the sequel to this very successful thriller appears and we meet the sober detective Erik (Rolf Lassgård) again. When a young woman is murdered in his hometown, Erik, who now works in Stockholm himself, is assigned to the case as a national police officer. Something that he himself is not happy about, he has rather painful memories of his birthplace and is not exactly eager to go back. In the end, he has little choice and upon arrival finds out that the murder is a lot more complicated than initially thought.

Although this is a sequel, the story is also easy to follow without having seen the original. There is regular reference to the first part, in which Erik painfully could not prevent his brother from committing suicide; a past that he can hardly forget, referenced, but during the film you automatically find out what happened in the past.

From the opening scene it is clear that this is a pure thriller. In this beautiful scene we first see a group of hunters walking through a forest and then we suddenly see a badly injured woman who is trying to flee for her life. The camera then zooms all the way out to far above the forest and the fate of the woman is made clear by means of a dry bang. This scene sets the tone and the wonderfully chilly, mysterious atmosphere that is immediately apparent will not go away for the rest of the film. An atmosphere that is slightly reminiscent of ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’, although the latter is a bit darker and more sinister. The music also contributes to the whole atmosphere, especially during an emotional funeral later in the film, it gives you chills.

In addition to the atmosphere, the acting also deserves praise. Rolf Lassgård, who has already won the Guldbaggen award for best actor in his own country, convinces as the extremely sober, almost grumpy detective Erik. You can clearly see him struggling with the past and his many worries. The supporting cast doesn’t disappoint either, and the roles of the deranged prime suspect Jari Lipponen (Eero Milonoff) and the local chief of police named Torsten (played by the highly experienced Peter Stormare) are convincing.

What is less convincing is the tension of the film. ‘The Hunters 2’ becomes more and more of a detective film towards the end. Normally there is nothing wrong with that, were it not for the fact that halfway through the film it is already completely clear who the perpetrator is. So much of the tension is gone. The second part is therefore more of a search for evidence and this search takes more than an hour, which is really too long. Had the tension been maintained for a little longer, we would have been dealing with a real topper here, unfortunately the sting has been taken out of the film too early. This does not alter the fact that ‘The Hunters 2’ has become a very interesting thriller that is definitely recommended, especially because of the wonderful atmosphere.