Sitges 2024: ‘Get Away’ Review
Stars: Nick Frost, Aisling Bea, Sebastian Croft, Maisie Ayres, Eero Milonoff | Written by Nick Frost | Directed by Steffen Haars
Nick Frost scripts and stars in this holiday-gone-wrong comedy-horror, directed by Steffen Haars (New Kids Turbo). Originally known as Svalta, Get Away has a jet-black sense of humour and a fun sting in its tail.
Get Away begins with a British family – dad Richard (Frost), Irish mum Susan (Aisling Bea) and late-teen kids Sam (Sebastian Croft) and Jessie (Maisie Ayres) – driving through the Swedish countryside, on their way to a holiday they’ve booked on a remote island. Along the way, they are repeatedly warned that visiting the island is a terrible idea, not least because of less-than-friendly locals and an annual celebration they will be performing that revolves around the island’s bloody history, in which the British played a grisly part.
Sure enough, the family are immediately made to feel unwelcome, but their Air B&B host (Eero Milonoff) insists the locals are just bullies and encourages them to stay. However, things quickly take a dark turn, and if the islanders themselves aren’t bad enough, it also appears that there might be a serial killer on the loose.
Frost’s script does a great job of building tension, in part because the family are so-so busy bickering with each other that they are more or less oblivious to how bad things are getting. On a similar note, Milonoff’s character is helpful to the family and initially seems like an ally against the hostile islanders, but it’s also revealed early on to the audience that he’s a bit of a wrong’un and might present his own type of threat.
Without giving too much away, this is the sort of film where the surprises are part of the fun, and it would be churlish to go into any more detail at this point. Suffice it to say that there are a number of enjoyable twists, and the less you know going in, the better.
As for the performances, Frost is terrific as Richard, and he sparks great comic chemistry with Aisling Bea – their cringe-inducing habit of calling each other “Mummy” and “Daddy” (mortifying their children in the process) one of several great running gags. Indeed, the script excels in that department, as there are a number of very funny callbacks (to lines of dialogue and other bits of business) scattered throughout, to satisfying effect.
Aside from a few early teases, the script deliberately withholds the expected violence and gore until the third act, ratcheting up the tension nicely in the process. As a result, when the red stuff does start flowing, it’s pretty full on, with a number of enjoyably gloopy bits.
On top of that, Get Away makes strong use of its picturesque location (the island is played by Tampere, in Finland), courtesy of Joris Kerbosch’s striking cinematography. There’s also a pitch perfect score by Hybrid (Mike and Charlotte Truman), which adds considerably to the film’s atmosphere.
The main problem with the film is that certain aspects of the plot (including two significant characters) are underdeveloped, and it ultimately leaves too many unanswered questions. Still, it’s an enjoyable horror romp if you don’t think about it too much afterwards, and it will definitely have you thinking twice about booking that remote holiday location.
*** 3/5
Get Away screened at this year’s Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival.
