Sisu: Road to Revenge (2025)

"Tremendous, Gory, Action-Packed Entertainment"

Following its UK cinema release late last year, Finnish writer-director Jalmari Helander's sequel to his own 2023 SISU which I reviewed here is getting a digital release from Sony. You don't need to have seen the first film to enjoy this one though, which also begins by making it clear that SISU isn't the name of our protagonist, but rather it's an untranslatable Finnish word that describes white-knuckle determination despite all hope being lost. And, like the first film, that's pretty much what you get for the next 90 minutes, although arguably better.

It's 1946 and World War II is over. Unfortunately Finland has seceded part of its border to Russia, which means the house belonging to living Nazi-killing legend Aatami (a returning Jorma Tommila) is now 120 km away from the Finnish border. Never one to let such a trifling matter get in his way, he dismantles the entire house, loads it onto a lorry and sets off for Finland.

Meanwhile, Stephen Lang's Yeagor Dragunov is being set up by the script (by way of dialogue from an equally excellent, equally villainous turn from Richard Brake) as the baddest of baddies, who killed our hero's children with a shovel "to save on bullets". His mission? To stop and detain our hero at all costs.

And that's it for setup. The rest of the film is one long series of encounters between the good guy and the baddies, heavily influenced by silent cinema in general and Buster Keaton in particular, George Miller's MAD MAX movies (especially THE ROAD WARRIOR) and Warner Bros. cartoons. In fact SISU: ROAD TO REVENGE could be considered a feature length live action Road Runner movie par excellence, and if you like (and especially if you love) any of the above you're going to have a terrific time with this. There's a brilliant bit with a truck and a jaw-dropping laugh out loud sequence with a tank, culminating in an extended climax on a train which is as funny and tension-filled as it is explosively satisfying.

And now the housekeeping. First of all Aatami has a dog and I know some of you will be wondering so: It does not die.

Second, I'd normally post the trailer here but SISU: ROAD TO REVENGE has been given an extra boost to its publicity by having a tie-in burger created for it, so if you fancy eating one while watching the film (they haven't sent me the Sisu Stack for review - yet - but I can certainly vouch for the film) here are the details:

Jalmari Helander's SISU: ROAD TO REVENGE is out on Digital from Sony and is available to Buy or Rent at home now

Delivery Run (2024)

"Like DUEL with a Snow Plough...a Bit"

After its UK premiere at last year's Grimmfest, director (and co-writer) Joey Palmroos' Minnesota-set (and Finland-filmed) chase movie is getting a digital release through Plaion Films.

Lee (Alexander Arnold) is a hopeless loser. He owes a lot of money to a lot of people and has lost a lot more of it in a card game. He wants to buy a food truck to start his own business but will likely never raise the $18999 needed to buy it at the rate he's going. 

He is working as a delivery driver during a Minnesota winter where there's been heavy snowfall. An altercation with a snow plough driver results in a chase he eventually manages to escape from. Meanwhile the police are searching for two hikers who have gone missing. Could one of Lee's food deliveries possibly bring together the narrative plot threads of the missing hikers and the maniacal snow plough driver?

It's easy to see what kind of film DELIVERY RUN wants to be (basically Spielberg's DUEL in the snow) and it deserves praise for trying to achieve that on a low budget (with some obvious model shots near the end that render a climax that should be explosive into something altogether more charming). Its biggest problem is the central character of Lee who just isn't developed sufficiently from his initial 'idiot loser' persona to make us care enough about him by the time it really matters. Arnold is okay in the role, coming across as somewhere between Joel David Moore and a cut price Justin Long, both of whom might have been able to better engender audience sympathy.

That said, the chase sequences are fun and suspenseful, and full marks are due to composer Tuomas Kantelinen whose full-blooded music score makes it feel we're watching a much bigger movie than we actually are. If you're undemanding and fancy watching a chase between a snow plough and a car on frozen roads DELIVERY RUN should pass the time nicely. Here's a trailer:

DELIVERY RUN is out on digital platforms from Plaion Films on Monday 6th October 2025

Another Day to Live Through (2023)

"Weird Art House 1970s-style EuroHorror - Hooray!"

You can probably already guess that ANOTHER DAY TO LIVE THROUGH is going to get a hearty recommendation from me. It's another horror film from Finland, coming hot on the heels of THE KNOCKING and GOOD BOY, both of which premiered at Frightfest recently, and both of which are also highly recommended. While THE KNOCKING was very much a folk horror tale, and GOOD BOY felt like 50 SHADES OF GRAY done Inside No.9-style, ANOTHER DAY TO LIVE THROUGH feels like a good Jess Franco film. 

If you're not familiar with the director's work that doesn't matter, and may in fact count to this film's benefit as Mr Franco's filmography is certainly chequered. But when he's at his best his movies are dreamlike, thought-provoking, nebulous head trips. They don't necessarily make sense and you likely need to be in a certain frame of mind to appreciate them, but if you are you'll have an experience you'll never forget. And that's what we have here.

ANOTHER DAY TO LIVE THROUGH is the story of Satu (Lene Kqiku), a young woman hiking through forestland when she meets the much older Lauri (Timo Torikka) who directs her to the cabin she is seeking. The next thing she knows she is waking up in bed with Lauri attending her, with no memory of how she got there. The longer she stays in the cabin the more time seems to be distorting and folding in on itself. Sidney Salkow's 1964 THE LAST MAN ON EARTH plays constantly on the television in the lounge, and eventually Satu ends up parroting dialogue from it. Lauri seems to drift in and out of her reality as the days blur one into another. She sometimes eats breakfast on the cabin's veranda while the dead body of someone lies just beyond the cabin's steps.

Eventually all the pieces fall into place. Or do they? That in essence is the appeal (and likely also the turn off for some) of writer-director Peter Simmons' film, because by the end you'll be asking all sorts of questions, ruminating on all sorts of possibilities and, if you've been in what can best be described as a 'Jess Franco state of mind' you'll be wanting to watch it again. Finland is having a great year in horror and this is another unexpected surprise, and a must-see if you love weird art-house fractured narrative 1970s-style EuroHorror. Just ignore the British poster which seems to be suggesting that it's some dull generic slasher movie.

ANOTHER DAY TO LIVE THROUGH is something far more interesting altogether. Here's the trailer:

Peter Simmons' ANOTHER DAY TO LIVE THROUGH is out on digital from Reel 2 Reel Films on Monday 11th September 2023

Sisu (2023)

 

"If John Wick Fought in World War II"

After its cinema release a little while ago SISU, a blood-drenched action-packed war movie from Finland, gets a digital release from Sony.

SISU isn't a person, by the way. From the off we are told (and again later on in case we didn't catch it) that 'sisu' is an untranslatable Finnish word that describes white-knuckle determination despite all hope being lost. Which is pretty much what the following 90 minutes delivers.

It's 1944 and the Nazis are under instruction to clear out of Finland. Aatami (Jorma Tommila) has turned his back on the war and ekes out an existence in the wilderness as a gold prospector. But that's not going to be for much longer because one day he strikes it rich. 

Unfortunately, having dug a large quantity of gold out of the ground and packed it in his saddlebags, he runs straight into a Nazi military convoy headed out of the country. The soldiers know they are losing the war, and may well face execution for their crimes. Aatami's gold just might provide a means of escape. All they have to do is take it from him, which proves to be rather more difficult that they could ever have anticipated.

SISU feels like a cross between JOHN WICK and RAMBO, but with a much older but no less resourceful and resilient central character. Like both of those action heroes, Aatami has a past, which the Nazis discover too late, and after many of their number have already been despatched by knife, machine gun, and even a few mines thrown through the air for good measure. It's all ridiculous but utterly entertaining stuff, with some gorgeous landscapes as a backdrop. If seeing Nazis being blown to pieces for the best part of 90 minutes is your thing (and if not why not) then SISU is just the ticket. Here's the trailer:

SISU is out on digital to buy or rent from Sony on Monday 10th July 2023

Heavy Trip (2019)

“Heavy Metal Comedy From Finland That Gets Funnier & Funnier”

The latest entry in a somewhat unlikely subgenre of cinema - one that includes THIS IS SPINAL TAP (1984), DEATHGASM (2015) and on TV The Comic Strip’s BAD NEWS TOUR (1983), gets a digital release from Sparky Films.

Turo (Johannes Holopainen) is the lead singer in a heavy metal band in the tiny Finnish town where he lives. The band have been ‘rehearsing’ for twelve years but have never played a gig. When an accident at lead guitarist Lotvonen’s reindeer slaughtering plant gives him an idea for a riff, the boys finally have their first demo track.

A chance visit to the reindeer plant by a Norwegian heavy metal festival impresario means the band get the chance to pass on the tape. Soon they are being hailed as celebrities by the townsfolk, even though plans for them to play at the festival are still up in the air (not that anyone but Turo knows that).

They come up with a name (Impaled Rectum), take a band promo shot (I’ll leave you to find out how) and everything is looking up. Until, that is, they actually have to perform in front of an audience.

An utterly charming, endearing, and most important of all, frequently hilarious comedy that gets crazier and more outrageous as incident is allowed to pile on incident, HEAVY TRIP has been likened to Rob Reiner’s classic SPINAL TAP but it some ways it’s a funnier, tighter, and much more economical version of John Landis’ THE BLUES BROTHERS (which even gets referenced in the dialogue), most obviously in the way the climax builds and builds.

It looks as if HEAVY TRIP is only getting a digital release in the UK but I hope someone, somewhere puts out a disc with a gag reel as extras, and perhaps even a commentary track from directors Juuso Laatio and Jukka Vidgren. I’d love to know if all those track titles quoted and bands referenced are real. As to if the creative talents behind this are metalheads it's almost impossible to believe they’re not and like SPINAL TAP, I certainly hope fans of metal take this with the knowing affection I’m sure its intended to convey. 

Charming, endearing, and very, very funny, HEAVY TRIP is highly likely to be one of the comedy highlights of the year.

HEAVY TRIP is out on digital download from Sparky Films from Monday 5th August 2019

Rendel (2019)

"All a Bit Grimmer than Marvel"

Jesse Haaja's dark superhero movie gets a release from 4Digital Media.

The evil VALA corporation has launched an untested vaccine called Nh25 into the market by bribing or killing everyone who has tried to stop it. But someone is trying to stop them, or at least stop the widespread availability of the drug by killing off the members of one of the underworld gangs responsible for its distribution.

Born from the very drug he's trying to stop, black-masked (or is it a mask?) Rendel is hacking and blasting his way through the men who made his and other people's lives hell. When VALA recruits a group of mercenaries to get rid of Rendel for good, it leads to the kind of violence only a reasonable-sized budget can do justice to.

The world wasn't exactly crying out for a superhero movie from Finland, but here's RENDEL anyway, and as these things go it's not bad. It's certainly a lot darker than its US counterparts, with the titular character much more of a killing machine and the emphasis of the movie on the scuzzy lowlife milieu in which he operates rather than brightly coloured costumes and witty dialogue. 

4Digital Media offers the options of the movie in its original language with subtitles, but there's also an English dub that's...interesting to listen to, but if you want to experience the film as it was intended stick with the subtitles.

RENDEL is out on Monday 25th February 2019 on DVD, VOD and digital download