The Trip – Review

Opening with a dramatic soap opera scene, a distrusting couple set the scene early as they accuse each other of infidelities and then some. On set, actors and the director Lars (Hennie) discuss follow-up shots, but he is focused on a hiking trip alone in the woods with his wife Lisa (Rapace), which is dangerous! Besides, he has to make sure his own plans are set…

His father Mikkel (Oftebro) is in a retirement home, but only can focus on how much he misses the cabin in the woods, and not Lars’ fairly dark plan about walking with Lisa in the icy and treacherous mountain woods. I guess marriage has become too much for him. But… what is Lisa thinking when it comes to this weekend getaway? Not only that… but there are flashes on the news about three escaped prisoners. What the hell is that all about?

The Trip is an unpredictable dark comedy with a good plot and a well-done script. The two main actors were important anchors for the film as it shifts both in tone and in type of tale. In order to hit comedy and thrilling type horror action so well, it needed the right type of dialogue and acting to pull it off, but it has all it needs here as well as a modest enough runtime. The story is relatively contained to one set, which allows for intimacy and a well utilized cabin in the woods.

A bickering married couple has been seen before, but it’s always nice to have a few new twists on a familiar setup, and The Trip certainly has that. As Rapace and Hennie sink into their married characters, it’s hard not to enjoy their nuance combined with animosity and some sneaky setup. There are hints at romance, but this long-married couple has other and darker plans for each other. Of course, this all gets t-boned by chaos. Anything else past this is just thrilling extra bonus surprise at this point!

A creative script leads the way here, and sound direction helps keep it on track the whole way. It is well acted and does not feature a huge cast or major set needs. The containment does not stifle the story, and the script does not overstay its welcome. Mostly it’s a good time all-around. This was remade in the U.S. later as Over Your Dead Body, but I found some of the situational humor worked better in this version. Still, both are solid.