There is Fear on THE BURNING SEA

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming from director John Andreas Andersen and Magnet comes the story of the continual need for oil and the dangers created from getting it with THE BURNING SEA.

It is 2019 and in the Norwegian Sea there are platforms spreading over the water that are drilling for oil. Since its beginning in 1969, it has been successful in the original plan. Sophia (Kristine Thorp) and fellow researcher Arthur (Rolf Larsen) created a underwater robotic camera that help search for the missing and check wreckage.

Sophia has a mixture of business and relationship as boyfriend Stian (Henrik Bjelland) and his young son Odin (Nils Olsen). Stian works on platforms but supports Sophia’s work and loves having her as part of his life. When one of the platforms collapse, Sophia and Arthur are brought in to look for survivors, instead they discover a crack in the ocean floor.

When going through the footage they collected, it is clear that the crack is connected, and all of the platforms are in danger. More frightening is that Stian is on one of those rigs. Sophia reaches out to William Lie (Bjorn Floberg) who is in the operations room watching everything to tell him what she has discovered, and that boyfriend Stian is on one of the rigs.

Not seeming interested and refusing to help Stian, Sophia takes matters into her own hands. Arthur agrees to go as well as they make their way to the platform and learn that Lie made a decision that means they are in the path of death.

They now face what is in front of them and what is to come!

Thorp as Sophia is well aware of the dangers of the rigs out in the ocean. Keeping her research on technology that can help in different ways is her focus. That gives her a break from knowing the potential of what could happen to boyfriend Stian. Once the worst begins to happen, Sophia jumps into action and Thorp gives her character what it takes to save lives and bring at least one person home to his son.

Bjelland as Stian knows a few things for sure, he loves his son Odin, loves Sophia and loves his job. He has his priorities straight and, when it comes to saving lives, he jumps into action. Bjelland’s character is not splashy, but he is heroic and that is everything. Olsen as Odin is just as strong as his father as this young actor gives the feeling of strength and hope.

Floberg as Lie is the man making the decisions and it seems he is doing what is best for himself rather than the good of the people on the rigs. Sophia does not see him as an ally at all since Lie has been secretive and shady from the beginning. Floberg does a good job at keeping the audience wondering if he has the same compassion as everyone around him.

Other cast include Anders Christiansen as Navy, Anneke von der Lippe as Gunn, Christoffer Staib as Steina, Ane Skumsvoll as Berit, Cengiz Al as Jaswinder, Renate Hellerud as Renate, and Arild Sondre Sekse as Martin.

Magnet Releasing is a part of Magnolia Pictures that specializes in films from the vanguard of horror, action, comedy, and Asian cinema. It is also the home of classics like Tomas Alfredson’s LET THE RIGHT ON IN, Ti West’s THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL, Andre Ovredal’s TROLLHUNTER, Neil Marshall’s sword and sandals bloodbath CENTURION and Tony Jaa’s ONG BAK trilogy. Recent released include the terrifying anthologies V/H/S and V/H/S/2, Xan Cassavettes’ stylish vampire film KISS OF THE DAMNED, and the sci-fi thriller THE LAST DAYS ON MARS. Upcoming films include Ti West’s THE SACRAMENT and to find out more of what is to come please visit www.magnetreleasingfilms.com.

Norwegian director John Andreas Andersen worked on another one of my favorite disaster films with THE QUAKE. Andersen is making a name for himself in this genre with good story telling followed with sharp cinematography.

THE BURNING SEA is suspense but with a story about what happened to a country and the year long after affects of this disaster. There is an understandable story here because it has truth in it that environmentalists continually warn of.

The film does not sugar coat anything in its telling and the cinematographer shows that. Andersen gives us a beginning story of when the rigs came to be and a shoot straight into 2019 and the effects of fifty-year drilling. The action sequences are powerful and large in scope, at least that is what my 75” television shows and it is perfection for a disaster film fan such as myself.

A mixture of truth and consequences are everything in THE BURNING SEA and it is also an action ride from beginning to end.

In the end – the sea has its own plan!

 

THE QUAKE Will Rattle Nerves!

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres from director John Andreas Andersen and Magnolia Pictures comes the story of a family trying to recover from one tragedy only to face THE QUAKE.

Kristian Elkjord (Kristoffer Joner) is still reeling from the wave that hit Geiranger three years past and it has caused him to stay away from wife Idun (Ane Dahl Torp), son Sondre (Jonas Hoff Oftebro) and daughter Julia (Edith Haagenrud-Sande). Idun has returned to work at a hotel in Oslo yet still wishes Kristian would return home.

Keeping his family at bay is easy when Julia visits her father and sees the wall of people her father feels he could have saved. Kristian becomes curious when a geologist colleague speaks out about what is happening under the city of Oslo. When he dies in the Oslofjord tunnel, Kristian can’t help but get involved in finding out why, especially when he suspects a natural disaster coming.

Gathering up the research, Marit Lindhblom (Kathrine Thorborg Johansen) sees Kristian’s reaction and begins to take him seriously. It isn’t long before he tries to get the attention of former colleague Johannes Loberg (Stig R. Amdam) to convince him that a quake is coming.

Everyone thinks that Kristian is reliving the fear of what happened before – they have no idea what’s to come!

Joner as Kristian is a man who is completely out of control with suspicion and sadness. He doesn’t want to believe that he is the flag waver of disaster but the evidence of the quake proves otherwise. I’m thrilled that Joner once again has taken up the role of Kristian because no one else could have made this story flow from one disaster to another. He may not say allot but when he does…pay attention!

Torp as Idun also returns as a woman who is trying to raise her children while Kristian figures out where he wants to be. It is easy to forget that she also is trying to keep the trauma of the wave in perspective but it’s there right below the surface.

Oftebro as Sondre is grown up and in college and hasn’t given up on his father. Letting things flow as they are going to, he is happy to see his father when he does show up! As THE WAVE focused on Sondre, this time it is Haagenrud-Sande as Julia that takes up a bit of screen time. Wanting her father back home, Julia makes the effort to show that he is loved and missed. It is when the quake hits that she once again experiences the trauma of mother nature.

Johansen as Marit isn’t all that interested in the research about the ground below Oslo, but when Kristian shows up she gets interested pretty quick. Although, I’m sure dangling off a 30 story building wasn’t in her plans. Amdam as Johannes wants to believe his friend about the quake but he is a man of proof and he’s about to get an earth rattling ton of it.

It is no secret to anyone that I am a huge fan of disaster films and not just because of the disaster (although sometimes its pretty epic stuff). I like the films also for the human aspect of it all, watching characters develop into the choices they make. Is there anything new here? Not really, although I did hope the actual ‘quake’ would be more of a shake up instead of a few moments of rattle. When the actual quake does appear the earth isn’t taking any prisoners that’s for sure.

I also truly loved that the original cast family came back together to once again go through something traumatic. There is a moment (no spoilers here folks) that I was totally jaw dropped and am still not happy about but that’s to be expected. You can’t crack and roll the earth with an outcome that’s good for all.

Director Andersen gives us the human emotion of Kristian and his family and never lets us forget for a second that they survived something pretty horrific in THE WAVE. Bringing back the original cast brings the viewer in quickly to the story. Now with THE QUAKE he challenges the same family one more time with an ending that had to be.

So if you are ready to join the family once again, may I suggest you prepare yourself for THE QUAKE.

In the end – the signs are there!