IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE (2014)

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in-order-of-disappearance

IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE aka Kraftidioten (2014)
Directed by Hans Petter Moland
Norweigan and Serbian with English Subtitles

When Ignar Dickman is murdered and his death made to look like a drug overdose, his father Nils is the only one that rightly believes this death was not a self inflicted accident. When Ignar’s friend turns up at Nils’ work and confirms Nils’ suspicions and that his son accidentally took the fall for a drugs theft he had nothing to do with, Nils seeks revenge against the gang behind his death.

IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE is a blood-thirsty, Norwegian revenge thriller with a sprinkle of black humour. The film follows Nils, a snowplow operator who’s been recently named Citizen of the Year by his community. The death of his son hits Nils and his wife hard, wrecking their relationship. Nils is unable to convince his wife or the police that his death was no accident, and with the police unprepared to investigate any further, Nils is forced to take justice into his own hands.

Stellan Skarsgård carries the film as Nils whilst Pål Sverre Hagen stars as highly strung, vegan criminal lord Greven, aka The Count, who’s responsible for Ignar’s murder. Nils’ systematic killing of each of The Count’s henchmen is highly entertaining in a dark manner, especially when he chooses to use his monster snow plow to help trap the culprits. The reoccuring scene of Nils throwing the dead bodies wrapped in chicken wire off the edge of a cliff into water also raises a giggle. These men were responsible for the death of his innocent son, so it’s hard to feel anything but pure hatred for them and support for Nils. Midway through the film, The Count ends up rubbing rival gang, the Serbians, up the wrong way and their boss, Papa (Bruno Ganz), does not take it lightly with deadly consequences for those involved.

IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE is quite a well-paced tale and even though it’s not particularly a comedy as such, it’s light-hearted moments and black humour scattered throughout does lighten the situation. Even Nils’ revenge kills come off a little cartoonish or exaggerated at times, but the style fits in with the movie perfectly. With a nasty antagonist who cares very little about anyone around him, the good vs bad theme and the idea of justice is a prominent one.

The landscape shots within IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE are mesmerising. The crisp white snow makes a beautiful backdrop, contrasting the stench of death surrounding the villages, town and cities. Nils’ role to clear the snow is almost like a metaphor for his actions: he must break the beauty and normality and create a path of revenge and justice. You could also say the cold snow symbolises the scumbags, and indeed their prime business of cocaine, and just like his role clearing the snow using the snow plow, Nils’ job is to rid get of all the scumbags to leave an environment clear of cocaine and criminality.

IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE is quite an enjoyable, gripping Scandinavian flick with plenty of entertaining performances, particularly from Stellan Skarsgård.

Rating: ★★★★★★★½☆☆

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About Bat 4364 Articles
I love practical effects, stop-motion animation and gore, but most of all I love a good story! I adore B-movies and exploitation films in many of their guises and also have a soft spot for creature features. I review a wide range of media including movies, TV series, books and videogames. I'm a massive fan of author Hunter S. Thompson and I enjoy various genre of videogames with Kingdom Hearts and Harvest Moon two of my all time favs. Currently playing: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Yakuza Zero and Mafia III.

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