There’s nothing worse than sitting through a movie to suddenly realize the director is wasting your time. “Autumn Blood” has a very interesting premise with great potential that oddly enough feels like a premise that could only warrant a one hour movie. So director Markus Blunder literally pads the run time a slew of montages involving picturesque looks at our character’s surroundings and their home life. The attempt is to counteract the horrific violence off of the gorgeous scenic landscapes, except it’s all plainly obvious that the story is paper thin and doesn’t present much moral quandaries.
Sophie Lowe is merely “The Girl,” a mostly silent young woman who is immensely beautiful and incredibly sexy, and seems to almost be punished for existing due to circumstances beyond her control. She’s the unfortunate tool in what seems like a long boiling resentment that occurred before she was old enough to walk, and she suffers. Much like Camille Keaton in “I Spit on Your Grave,” her immense sexual appeal is also a cause for predators to pounce on her and victimize her. The Girl lives with her mother and brother in the mountains and travels in to her small town for supplies, only to be gawked at by three local brothers.
Peter Stormare is once again wasted as a supporting player, portraying the Mayor of the town who almost seems to allow the criminal activity to ensue. One day while swimming at the local lake, the girl is raped by one of the trio of brothers, and they return to victimize her again when they learn of the death of their mother. Now that the children are orphaned, a local social worker is coming to see them, and the brothers are convinced they have to murder the girl and her brother to prevent the word about their rapes from being reported. Most of the actual plot progression and forward motion of events don’t actually occur until the final half hour of the film. It takes a good long time for any of the events to unfold, and for any clear resolution to be laid for the audience.
Any sense of foreshadowing is nowhere to be found and the plays on morality and standing by while allowing evil to thrive is lost in a tidal wave of needless silence and endless splashes of mountains and forests. I’m not one who believes the dialogue is essential to a good film, but some dialogue would have worked wonders for “Autumn Blood.” Its pacing is glacial, and its storyline is left mostly to assumption by the viewers with repeated shots that symbolize a back story, but one never fully fleshed out or explained. “Autumn Blood” is wasted potential. It could have used its rich photography to accompany a rich narrative and complex characters. Instead it’s a one note and tedious thriller with a misogynist undertone that couldn’t salvage an attempted dramatic “poetic justice” finale.