Each October, the Unsung Horrors podcast does a month of themed movies. This year, they will once again host a fundraiser for Best Friends, which works to save the lives of cats and dogs across America, giving pets second chances and providing them with happy homes.
Today’s theme: Sweden
Swedish director and co-writer Joakim Ersgård—alongside his brother and co-writer Patrik Ersgård—decided to bring haunted-house horror to the quiet, picturesque Swedish countryside with The Visitors (originally released as Besökarna).
Frank (Kjell Bergqvist) has it all: a thriving career, a loving wife named Sara (Lena Endre), two cute kids and a gorgeous dream home nestled deep in the Swedish landscape. I would not be writing about this movie if it stayed this perfectly normal. As always, the real horror is Frank losing his job and starting to drink. Then the supernatural starts small—creaky noises at night, subtle drafts and a persistent, eerie force that keeps peeling the wallpaper off the walls no matter how many times Frank pastes it back up. Frank becomes obsessed with finding out what is wrong with the house. Enter Allan Swanson (Johannes Brost), a gadget-toting ghost hunter brought in to inspect the property.
When Allan’s high-tech paranormal experiment goes horrifically wrong—costing him his life—Frank realizes he isn’t dealing with bad plaster or drafty pipes. Something ancient and malevolent lurks in the attic’s sealed-off room, and Frank must face the entity alone before it consumes his family.
The brothers Ersgård would later make Invisible: The Chronicles of Benjamin Knight and Mandroid for Full Moon.
Also: I only watched this because the poster made me think of Ghosthouse.
