Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
There's no "Substitute" for the original language, November 15, 2008
This is a clever horror flick and, for me, is much better than "The Faculty," which it is being compared to here in the other posts. I saw this at a film festival in its original language with subtitles and loved it. Reading the complaints here about the English dubbing reinforces that to truly enjoy this film, watch it in Danish with the subs on.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Entertaining Suspenseful Comedy--3 1/2 Stars, January 20, 2009
Part of the Ghost House Underground series of horror movies, THE SUBSTITUTE isn't a horror movie at all. Instead it's a suspense-filled comedy filmed in Denmark. The movie revolves around a 6th grade boy named Carl (Jonas Wandschneider). Carl was recently involved in a car accident in which he was injured and his mother was killed. Carl and his father, Jesper (Ulrich Thomsen) seem to be getting by, but inside each struggles with the death of their matriarch. At school, Carl's teacher takes a suspended leave of absence and the class is presented with their substitute teacher for the rest of the term, Ms. Ulla (Paprika Steen). Ms. Ulla is a strict disciplinarian who knows which buttons to push to keep students quite and get them upset. She seems capable of reading the students' minds and after a series of bizarre events, Carl and his classmates suspect Ulla isn't who she claims to be and soon discover that she's really an alien bent on world domination. Ulla wants to take the students on a field trip to Paris for what she claims is an opportunity to compete in a prestigious academic competition. The students know otherwise and attempt to convince the adults of what they already know before they leave for the trip and Ulla's plan is set in motion.
THE SUBSTITUTE was directed and co-written by the Ole Bornedal, director of the amazing Russian vampire movie, NIGHTWATCH. Bornedal has a unique talent of making surreal films that aren't just entertaining, but are based in reality, have a moral foundation, and deliver social commentary. NIGHTWATCH is an excellent example of this and, though not as strong a movie, THE SUBSTITUTE is as well. THE SUBSTITUE captivated my attention from the opening scene when a vortex through space opens and a silver sphere crashes to Earth, smashing into a chicken. That scene is hilarious and that dark humor is used throughout the movie. There isn't anything really horrific about the film and the overall mood of the film feels like a teenage mystery story.
My only complaint about the DVD is that the copy I had the film was only available in dubbed English. About 3/4th of the movie the dubbing was okay, not great, but good enough to get by. However, there are moments in the film where the dubbing is atrocious. For instance, I think Carl's sister and the smart girl in his class were dubbed by the same annoying female voice. If you can find a copy of the movie with the original Danish being spoken with subtitles in English, that's the way to watch it.
Overall, THE SUBSTITUE is an enjoyable suspense-comedy with some great visuals (especially considering the low budget of the movie).
The special features on the DVD include a commentary with Ole Bornedal and a trailer gallery of all 8 of the Ghost House Underground movies.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting little movie..., January 13, 2009
The Substitute (original Danish title "Vikaren") is not a HORROR movie, it's a sci-fi movie with small elements of horror mixed in. This is more of a "family" type of sci-fi/horror movie like Lady in White or Stepmonster. The only reason this movie is rated R is because of a few (maybe 2 or 3) instances of the F-word. Otherwise this movie would be totally appropriate for kids probably 10 years old and up. The special effects are pretty cool for what must have been a very small budget, but they did leave me wanting more. We never get a full-on look at what the teacher would look like in her true alien form, (if you have seen the trailer, you've seen the best money shot in the movie) which is disappointing.
As far as the acting goes, the cast really outdoes themselves. The kids are great (think Goonies or Stand By Me) and the woman who plays the teacher does a wonderful job of tackling a difficult role. If you do buy this DVD, however, ONLY watch the subtitled version with the original Danish language. The dubbed English actors do their best, but it sounds like a Japanese Anime English dub the entire way through, i.e. the kids are all dubbed by 30-40 year old women and sound nothing like kids. 2 or 3 of the boys sound like they were dubbed by actual teenage boys but 90% of the kids just sound ridiculous, especially the main character boy's young sister and the token know-it-all girl in the classroom.
So anyway, if you like your "horror" light and breezy with hints of dark comedy and a whole lot of sci-fi thrown in, check this one out. Just remember to stay far, far away from the English dubbed version!!!
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