The Abyss (2023)

The Abyss (2023) Original title: Avgrunden Not to be confused with Abyss (1989). This is not a remake, nor the same film, nor the same story. Nothing to do with Into the Abyss (2011) either.

For the record, there was an Afgrunden (The Abyss) made in 1910! The film is Danish, silent and lasts 38 minutes. It made Asta Nielsen famous and was censored in the United States for being erotic! In short!

This is a Swedish Netflix disaster movie. There’s no doubt that something is going to happen in Kiruna, the only question is when…A family is faced with the unthinkable when the disaster everyone feared suddenly becomes reality. Frigga who, alongside her risky job as head of security at the Kiruna iron ore mine, is trying to balance her life with her family, a new love and an old boyfriend who won’t let her go. When the ground suddenly begins to shake beneath their feet, the riddle of life no longer matters and the fight to avoid being dragged into the abyss begins.You can’t say it’s a bad film.I watched several scenes twice, sometimes three times. I could easily watch the whole film again. The suspense is almost permanent, as we experience the disaster at the same time as its protagonists.

The actors really come through. Tuva Novotny (Frigga) plays a more than brave mother, with great integrity and professionalism. Vibenius Peter Franzén (Tage) plays the father who doesn’t want a divorce and who has quite a temper most of the time. Vibenius Kardo Razzazi (Dabir) plays the new man in Frigga’s life, relatively thoughtful, calm and sympathetic.

Ayobi Felicia Maxime plays Mica, the couple’s daughter, who is courageous but also reckless, hot-headed and a go-getter. She’s also a lesbian who dates the character played by Tintin Poggats Sarri: Aila. There are moments that are incoherent, irritating, irrational or ridiculous, but too few to spoil the film for me. A very good thriller for fans of earthquake movies. On the other hand, it’s not a film for those with vertigo or, above all, claustrophobia. In fact, I think I am after watching this. There’s no downtime, the film flows smoothly, is well put together and well directed. You can see the horror of the situation, the terror it brings and the loss of loved ones. The end credits feature two magnificent songs accompanied by breathtaking scenery.

Apparently, several teams from different countries were involved in the filming. From Finland, Gran Canaria and Belgium.