Murk

In a psychological thriller you only get real tension if there are options. The problem with Danish thriller Murk is that there are very few options throughout and, as a result, the tension evaporates quickly rather than building to any sort of climax. What is there is promising, but I think the plot needed a few more characters and twists to make it a good film.

SPOILERS

The film starts off with Jacob and his girlfriend hosting a visit from his wheelchair-using sister Julie and their mother. Gradually we find out that Julie tried to kill herself and was left brain-damaged by the attempt. Then Julie surprises everyone by announcing her intention to marry Anker, who she met on the internet. The family are concerned but happy and the wedding proceeds.

But Julie kills herself on the wedding night. Cutting her wrists in the bath, as Anker slept.

At this point I couldn't see why she would do that, but she'd tried several times before... and who knows the mind of a troubled soul?

We jump forward to Jacob sorting through Julie's possessions. This is nicely done, as he finds many things that remind him of the past (both good and bad times) before making the plot-moving discovery. Anker has left a book behind which contains a memorial to another girl, with the same wording that he requested for Julie's memorial. Jacob is suspicious and starts investigating.

Firstly he finds that Anker has left him a dud phone number. We also learn that Anker has no family and that Jacob's family know almost nothing about him. This is stretching credibility a bit.

And that's how the film continues. Jacob finds more and more evidence that Anker is seeking women on the internet who have survived a suicide attempt. He marries them and kills them on the wedding night. No-one else has noticed this. Jacob doesn't think he can tell anyone.

There are some mild twists. The town of Mørke has a creepy policeman who might be helping Anker... or maybe he is the murderer, somehow. It's possible, but always unlikely. Later it looks like Jacob might be fitted up for one of the murders, but that doesn't run far either.

The ending is the most disappointing part. After a really clichéd villain's explanation of what he's done (including the revelation that there are more victims than Jacob ever thought) Anker drugs Jacob and tries to kill them both. Of course Jacob survives! Just.

The plot lets the film down. Many, many other things are good about it, but overall it just left me tutting.