REVIEW-ECHO

So why is it with the thousands of titles available on netflix streaming i often find it hard to find decent movies to watch? too many times i just give up and end watch some stupid horror film from Australia about killer crocodiles or a giant snake-ugh. i am more into psychological thrillers than slasher type films. they seem a bit more cerebral and less one dimensional. i had seen this movie listed before but at  first i over looked it for a couple of reasons. first the title, ECHO? is it a fucking dolphin movie? is it going to be heart warming? spare me. secondly the cover art does not help much, three disembodied heads staring out at me, why? also you would have to had watched the movie to figure out that those are waves at the top.Anyway, i ended up watching it because it was from Denmark and i am a big fan of Scandinavian films and it stars Kim Bodnia who was in two of the kick ass Copenhagen drug dealer movies -PUSHER and PUSHER II. I am glad i gave ECHO a shot because it ended up being a first rate,deeply strange,creepy, little(only 80 minutes-awesome) film. it was the first feature from Anders Morgenthaler who had previously only been know as an illustrator. He shows a special skill at creating atmosphere and tension out of small details and silence. the story is this: a father and a son on holiday in the countryside. it does not take you long to realize that something is not right. The father is starting to have weird visions of other people being in the house and starts to have flashbacks about his traumatic childhood while his son likes to carry around a loaded gun. you know that this is not going to end well. later we find out that the father kidnapped the son and is wanted by the police. there are several "black swan" moments where you wonder if things are happening for real or if he is going crazy. i really liked this movie because it did not rely on gore or shock value. there is no bogeyman. no monster. it is just a simple story told in an unconventional way. it wasn't scary but the creepy factor was high.