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A familiar premise initially unfolds in Get Away, a collaborative effort realized by Dutch director Steffen Haars alongside writer, producer, and star Nick Frost. In short, Anglophones travel to Sweden with the hopes of enmeshing themselves in a reclusive co*mune and observing one of their secret rituals. Whether or not Haars and Frost intended to draw inspiration from Ari Aster’s hugely popular horror film Midsommar, the parallels are evident. Admittedly, though, Get Away unravels into a chaotic lampoon of genre tropes and conventions, eventually diverting almost entirely from its Swedish folk focus. While the performances are rooted in co*edic tact, the film’s thematic interests are co*pletely scattershot, leading to an overwhelmingly uneven tone. 

On their journey to the remote (and entirely fictitious) Swedish island of Svalta, the British Smith family almost immediately encounters a fervent warning from a local cafe owner to stay away from the place if they know what’s good for them. But nothing can dissuade patriarch Richard (Frost) and wife Susan (Aisling Bea), who booked a charming “B&B” in anticipation of observing the island’s traditional Karantän ceremony. Reluctantly in tow are their teenage children, snide vegan Sam (Sebastian Croft) and Daria-esque misanthrope Jessie (Maisie Ayres). Upon their arrival, the locals are outwardly hostile, with one even going so far as to lick Susan’s face in the hopes that it would drive the buttoned-up Brits away. The only somewhat acco*modating figure is the creepily aloof Matts (a delightfully repellent Eero Milonoff), who booked their rental in the first place in spite of the overt pushback from his co*munity. 

In true British fashion, the bitter discontent of the native population doesn’t dissuade the Smiths from enjoying their vacation to the fullest. They take in the natural splendor of their surroundings and settle into Matts’ property as if it were their own. What’s perplexing is that the filmmakers seem to insist that it’s the Swedes who are entirely in the wrong here, not those who are clearly imposing on a reclusive co*mune. Per the press notes, Frost asserts that Get Away “is a middle finger to those who make others feel unwelco*e.” Perhaps he forgot the backstory he baked into his own script, one which involves British armed forces starving the island population until they had to resort to cannibalizing their own dead. Although the locals do indeed plot a grisly fate for the Smiths, it’s hard to fully embrace the latter’s right to thrive when their presence on Svalta hardly seems necessary. 

There is an element of this absurdity that is surely supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, but a tonal discordance at the heart of Get Away prevents these winks from being effectively co*municated. If this were merely a lighthearted riff on Midsommar and its cultural legacy, it may have hewed closer to Frost’s Edgar Wright projects, like Shaun Of The Dead or Hot Fuzz, where the humor stems from a uniquely British perspective on global genre trends. However, Get Away morphs into an entirely different film during its third act, one which, again, co*pletely dissipates any fondness audiences may have developed for its central nuclear family. Despite this confounding plot turn, the ensemble is always entertaining as they drolly deliver their lines. Even when the tables turn, their relationships feel nuanced and natural, a feat considering the otherwise flimsy storyline. Norwegian-Finnish actress Anitta Suikkari is another standout, playing elder island-dweller Klara, the ringleader behind a sadistic plot to eliminate the Smiths. 

Though it provokes the occasional chuckle, Get Away doesn’t feel fully formed as a venture into the genres of horror or co*edy, let alone a deft co*bination of both. Threads concerning psychose*ual surveillance, cross-dressing, cannibalism, and state-sanctioned murder sprees are never elaborated upon, resulting in a film that feels half-baked and unfocused. With the recent news that the Wayans brothers will be returning to the Scary Movie franchise, there’s hope yet that we’ll get a raunchily apt co*mentary on the past decade of horror trends. In the meantime, Get Away at least succeeds in keeping viewers constantly guessing as to what will happen next.

Director: Steffen Haars

Writer: Nick Frost

Stars: Nick Frost, Aisling Bea, Maisie Ayres, Sebastian Croft, Anitta Suikkari, Eero Milonoff

Release date: December 6, 2024