Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

isabelcsilva This movie is very good, but I think it's a bit disgusting. The actors' work is fantastic. It shows us real problems like domestic and school violence. I always tried to find a way to defend the Ponti because I believed that what he did was to suffer at home. When he became vigilant, this task became much easier.

WakenPayne Hmm...I Have Seen A Couple Of Swedish Films So Far, After Being Blown Away By Both Ingmar Bergman's "Seventh Seal" & Tomas Alfredson's "Let The Right One In" And After Completely Giving Up On "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" I Decided To Watch A Swedish Film That Was Up For An Oscar(How The Seventh Seal And Let The Right One In Didn't Win An Oscar Is Beyond Me).Erik Is An Outlaw At His School, He Is Known For Being - As Described By His Teachers - "Evil", His Mother Sends Him Off To Boarding School Suspecting That Will Be What His Step-Father Will Want, When He Gets There He Finds Out That The Older Kids Pick On The Younger Kids, He Takes A Stand Resulting In An Incredible Climax.The Thing That Appealed To Me Is The Fact That This Kid Had One Chance Or He Would've Thrown His Life Away And He Spent It Trying To Fix Up The Boarding School. Another Thing Is The Fact That According To The Author Besides A Few Minor Changes Everything Was True, Kinda Makes Me Regret Complaining About My Schools.This Isn't Exactly The Fantastic Love Story Of "Let The Right One In" Nor Is It The Philosophical Brilliance Of "The Seventh Seal" But It Is A Film Worth Watching.

TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews This is an exploration of physical abuse and its effects, and as such, rather unpleasant and brutal, not to mention occasionally disgusting(with that said, I wouldn't call it gratuitous). Averting your eyes here and there are likely to be the only times you look away from the screen. I haven't read the book, but it sounds like this includes as much as it could, and is a solid adaptation. With it being the most read novel in Sweden, I wouldn't rule out trying to find a translated version. It sounds as if it is a truly personal and intimate work by Gillou, and the entirety is based upon his own experiences. Erik Ponti is a trouble-maker, and after being prevented from finishing his education in the public schools, he has to go to an elitist boarding school. There he finds that they've established a firm hierarchy, a microcosm, a miniature-society where the elder students have little to no limitation of their authority, and they discipline the younger ones... in the name of upholding the rules, of course. If you have no concept of what something like that is like, this may shock you to the point where you will wind up not caring for the film. I can also imagine some refusing to believe that what this shows has occurred; I won't claim that those who do not speak highly of this are necessarily in denial, though I would urge anyone to soul-search and make sure that their reaction is not colored by that. This is very much a psychological portrayal, and the characters are credible. I would say that they aren't all fleshed out, and that there are one-note ones among them. Think of it this way; it is extremely difficult to forgive those who have directly harmed you, even if you, in theory, understand the causality behind it, and disagree with the term "evil". Jan probably succumbed to that in composing this, as ironic as that is. This builds and maintains thick tension. The acting is amazing for all concerned. There is humor in this, and it can be clever. The conclusion is immensely satisfying; one can hope that it did happen like that in real life, and will, whenever possible. There is a lot of graphic, bloody violence, plenty of disturbing content, a bit of strong language and brief sexuality. The DVD contains a commentary track by the director and writer(in Swedish and un-subbed, so I can't comment on it), an excellent and thoroughly interesting 35 min. interview with author, clips of which is used in the quite informative 24 min. behind the scenes featurette(you can really tell that they all understood the script), three deleted scenes with the option of hearing Håfström, all of these well worth watching, and a trailer for this and ones for two Danish movies. I recommend this to... everyone, really; especially anyone who has had anything similar happen to them; perhaps if you have at all been beaten. 8/10

gradyharp EVIL (Ondskan) is a tough story from the novel by Jan Guillou that in screenwriter Hans Gunnarson's adaptation and Mikael Håfström's direction becomes an intensely interesting while terrifying film about all aspects of evil. It is intelligent, gritty, and transforming simultaneously and has become one of the more powerful coming of age films of this decade. Erik Ponti (Andreas Wilson) is a young high school lad, the son of a 'blind eye' mother and a viciously abusive father, who makes his way through school by fighting. After a particularly dangerous fight Erik is expelled and in order for him to matriculate into a university he is sent to an academy where he encounters the controlling student leader Otto Silverhielm (Gustaf Skarsgård) who quickly informs him that the discipline of the school is left in the hands of the students: the faculty elects to overlook the shenanigans of the students in favor of teaching in a self-imposed vacuum. Erik is assigned a roommate Pierre Tanguy (Henrik Lundström) who is Erik's opposite: Pierre reads and studies and advocates the non-violence of Gandhi while Erik focuses on his athletic prowess in swimming and tries to submerge his pugilistic nature. But as the school year progresses Erik discovers the extreme evil of the students who govern the student body by violent skirmishes and humiliation of the undergrads. Erik becomes a school champion swimmer, a feat that only draws the envy and hate of Otto and his henchmen and 'times in the ring' bring out Erik's fighting responses. He can take care of himself but when the violence turns toward Pierre, his only friend, he gathers the courage to confront the faculty with the student goon squad activities. Erik has broken a cardinal rule: he is attracted to Marja (Linda Zilliacus), the kitchen help, resulting in Marja's losing her job AND she is pregnant with Erik's child. Erik is expelled, returns home to his supportive but copeless mother, has one final fight with his abusive father, and returns to his school to unmask the realities of student activities that shock the faculty. How this change affects Erik and those that he respects and loves brings some surprises to the ending of this film. Andreas Wilson offers a multifaceted performance that reminds this viewer of the young James Dean. He is able to make an essentially negative person into someone about whom we care very much. Likewise, Henrik Lundström molds his character with dignity, humor and honor and is the perfect foil for Wilson's transformation. The cinematography by Peter Mokrosinski and the musical score by Francis Shaw add exactly the right atmosphere for this daring little drama. Highly recommended. Grady Harp