The most unknown heavy metal band, Impaled Rektum, is trying to make it to the best metal fest all the way in Norway. The band members may be inept in a lot of ways, but their hearts and souls are guiding them to the darkest, bestest place ever.
Written by Juuso Laatio, Aleksi Puranen, Jari Olavi Rantala, and Jukka Vidgren, with Juuso Laatio and Jukka Vidgren directing, Heavy Trip is a metal based comedy about a few guys who don’t fit in and are underdogs trying their best to reach their goal of becoming a legit heavy metal band. They take this idea and add a bunch of funny twists and a plethora of odd characters and make it a film full of heart, soul, metal, and laughs. The way they build the film and create all these characters that are all kinda losers at the very least and complete losers in some cases, and spin that to make them the stars and the people who were against them proven wrong. It’s a typical story, but done in a way that is greatly entertaining.
The film stars Johannes Holopainen as Turo, the lead of the band and the man trying to impress a pretty lady by being a rock star, a metal star. Holopainen plays him with an earnest interest in making it. His take on the character makes him a big goofy at times, but also loveable. Playing the rest of the band are Torstein Bjørklund, Antti Heikkinen, and Ville Hilska, each of them giving fun to watch and funny performances. Add to that Minka Kuustonen as Miia, the love interest and inspiration for the lead. Yes she is lovely, but Kuustonen gives her shape, makes her more than just a pretty girl. She’s a good human and a person who offers inspiration. The cast here is one not everyone will be familiar with, but they are all loveable, unless they are not meant to be, and pull the viewer into the film by making them care.
Heavy Trip is shot with cinematography by Harri Räty who takes the small town in Finland, where the heroes live, and makes it look picturesque and lovely while also feeling like the last place a metal band would want to be. It’s cute, it’s sweet, it’s not what they need, yet it and perhaps because of that, it works great for the story. The way the film is shot shows not just the small town/village perfectly but their road trip and their performances are shown perfectly. These images are edited by Kimmo Taavila who gives them a dynamic that works for the story and the feel of the film. His work on the performance sequence near the end is great and reminiscent of performances shown on concert releases.
Heavy Trip is a fun comedy about a heavy metal band that has pigeon-holed itself in a very specific type of metal that may sound ridiculous, but in which they truly believe. Their rise, or attempt at a rise, from their small town Finland to a major heavy metal fest in Norway is filled with misadventure, animal blood, pepper spray, and laughs. The film is fun the watch, the music heavy as it should be, and the whole thing is a riotous fun package perfect for a Saturday night out.
Cinepocalypse 2018 runs from June 21st until June 28th, 2018