★★★★☆
Noomi Rapace, the original Swedish Lisbeth Salander and still the definitive girl with the dragon tattoo, has struggled to find characters of comparable power in her Hollywood offerings (see the desultory Dead Man Down, Rupture, The Drop). It’s poignant, then, that this Nordic thriller knows exactly how to maximise her talents by casting her as a taciturn Icelandic farmer who discovers that her prize ewe has given birth to . . . To say more would be a whopping spoiler for one of the most original, and bizarre, fright flicks of recent years. It’s a film of stunning vistas, slow-building tension (hints of Hereditary) and laugh-out-loud visual gags — the sight of a young lamb in a blue bomber jacket (don’t ask) sent me into paroxysms. The director, Valdimar Johannsson, treats the admittedly ridiculous material with a convincing, deadpan seriousness and is supported at every step by his star performer on impeccable form.
15, 107min
In cinemas
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