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World Fantastic Cinema

The Unknown

Michael Hjorth

Sweden2000 87min 35mm color

Synopsis

A 2000-acre forest is burned down by a fire of unknown origin. While 5 researchers come to the forest to analyze the cause of a fire, strange happenings occur. The first night when they autopsy an unidentified dead animal, one of the women researchers becomes sick and later, her boyfriend becomes infected while trying to protect her. Struggles happen between the infected and those who are trying not to be infected. The film ends with all five infected researchers heading to the city. Most horror film fans may be familiar with the story line of this film, < The Unknown >. This movie seems to resemble the motifs of the horror films from the '50s had-aliens' attack and infections-but it does not. Low-budget film, with a use of a hand held camera, in a forest, similar to a techinque used in < The Blair Witch Project > which keeps the audience fearful and in suspence. (KANG Sung-ryul)

Diretor

Michael Hjorth

Since 1992 he has been a professional scriptwriter. And since 1995, he has been operating a production company The Väner with Tomas Tivemark and Johan Kindblom. Michael Hjorth debuted with his first feature < The Unknown >. However he is since long well experienced form Swedish Television SVT, from direction but mainly scriptwriting. Hjorth wrote < The Unknown > with writer/actor Tomas Tivemark.