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‘The Trip’ Review: With This Gun, I Thee Shoot

In this Norwegian thriller on Netflix, a murderous couple get more bloodshed than they bargained for.

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By Lena Wilson

Most people don’t prepare for getaways with their spouses by buying a hammer, a hacksaw, duct tape and rope — but Lars (Aksel Hennie) is not most people, and “The Trip,” directed by Tommy Wirkola, is not most movies. Its initial premise is this: Lars has planned to murder his wife, Lisa (Noomi Rapace), during their holiday, but he’s thwarted when it turns out Lisa has been preparing to do away with him on the very same trip. Unfortunately, while that concept promises a fun, agile thriller, “The Trip” all too quickly descends into a juvenile, nihilistic mess.

Lars and Lisa’s mutual blood bath turns into a group affair when some unexpected outsiders, including the escaped convicts Dave (Christian Rubeck), Roy (Andre Eriksen) and Petter (Atle Antonsen), coincidentally join the fray. Each actor gamely tackles the ensuing violence and emotional turbulence, and Rapace is particularly excellent at juggling the two. The film reveals its many surprises through flashbacks, sharp editing and an absurd script clearly aiming for irreverence.

But “The Trip” upsets its own tenuous balance of darkness and drollery, grasping at tasteless material about genitals and poop, though its basic premise is much smarter — and perfectly delightful — on its own. Such artlessness turns what could be a quick, jaunty movie into a slog. By the end of a protracted attempted rape sequence, I was dismayed to discover that I was only halfway through its two-hour duration.

“The Trip” is occasionally fun, but other films have handled gleeful gore and psychological torture with a far more skillful touch. The film pays clear homage to Michael Haneke’s “Funny Games,” a whip-smart commentary on cinematic violence. It doesn’t do itself any favors by inviting that comparison.

The Trip Not rated. In Norwegian, with subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 53 minutes. Watch on Netflix.

Lena Wilson is a project manager at The New York Times and a freelance writer covering film, TV, technology and lesbian culture. More about Lena Wilson

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The Trip (2021) ending explained – what danger is inside the cabin?

This article discusses the ending of the Netflix film The Trip (2021), so it will contain major spoilers.

Read the review.

The Trip is a Norwegian dark comedy thriller that tells the story of a married couple, Lisa (played by Noomi Rapace) and Lars (played by Aksel Hennie), who seem hell-bent on killing each other. Due to financial hardship, both parties plan on killing the other for life insurance during a trip in a cabin. But when it appears as though they may both kill each other, they learn that three escaped inmates have taken shelter in the cabin.

As a result, the three prisoners, Petter (Atle Antonsen), Dave (Christian Rubeck), and Roy (André Eriksen), take Lisa and Lars hostage. In a scene that possibly goes too far for a comedy, Dave threatens to rape Lars until Lisa states that she will provide the prisoners with money for their release. And after they accept, Petter, Dave, and Roy enjoy the luxury of the cabin whilst Lisa and Lars are left to reflect on their marriage. 

Seemingly making amends, Lisa and Lars make a plan for freedom. Upon claiming to need the toilet, Lars knocks out Roy with a sock of billiard balls, which then sets off a chain of events that sees the three prisoners attempt to find Lisa and Lars. Upon Roy refinding them, Lars shoots Roy in the head. 

Netflix film The Trip (2021) ending explained

There appears to help at hand when Lars’s father, Mikkel, appears at the cabin, and he shoots Dave in the leg. But lurking from behind is Petter, and he stabs Mikkel before he throws him on top of what appears to be a very sharp  lawnmower. With chaos breaking out, Lisa heads towards a boat whilst Dave looks for anything to tend to his leg wound. But he’s out of luck when Lars finds him first. Before Lars ponders on where to shoot Dave, Lars steals his sweater and kills him. 

After Mikkel dies in a hammock, Lars chases after Lisa who is now trapped on the boat with Petter. Now instead of Lars vs Lisa, it’s Lars and Lisa vs Petter. They have a battle on their hands. Even the use of a fire extinguisher and a flare gun isn’t enough to kill Petter. However, Lars is eventually able to overpower Petter and pushes him into the boat’s engine, slicing his arms off. 

“Sorry, but you no longer add value.” And with that, Lars and Lisa chuck Petter into the river and watch as he drowns. But when the rope tangles around Lar’s foot, Lisa is left with a choice. Save Lars or leave him to die. Ultimately, she saves him. (Quite the turnaround from how she felt at the beginning of the movie).

As The Trip concludes, Lars and Lisa are alive but broke. That is until the media take an interest in their story of survival. One thing leads to another, and they end up making a screenplay on their experience, making them millionaires. Although to save face, they change a few details, such as removing the moment that Lars licked Petter’s shoe.

What did you think of the ending of the Netflix film The Trip (2021)? Comment below. 

Article by Jonathon Wilson

Jonathon is one of the co-founders of Ready Steady Cut and has been an instrumental part of the team since its inception in 2017. Jonathon has remained involved in all aspects of the site’s operation, mainly dedicated to its content output, remaining one of its primary Entertainment writers while also functioning as our dedicated Commissioning Editor, publishing over 6,500 articles.

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‘The Trip’ Review: Noomi Rapace Kicks Ass in Rip-Roaring Norwegian Dark Comedy

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[Editor’s note: The following review contains major spoilers for “The Trip (Onde Dager).”]

In real life, when married people say they think about murdering their spouse, most don’t actually mean it. In Tommy Wirkola’s devilishly fun black comedy “The Trip” (Norwegian title: “Onde Dager”), they do. Landing somewhere in a delicious Venn diagram between thriller, horror, and comedy, “The Trip” is a fast-paced joy ride that should make even the squeamish delight in a little bloodbath. Cheeky and inventive in equal measure, with brilliant performances all around, a whipsmart script and sharp pacing make “The Trip” one of the most fun watches of the year.

(Since much of the fun comes from an endless parade of rabbits Wirkola pulls out of his insane hat, knowing too much about the action could take the edge off. Consider yourself warned.)

The movie opens on a soap opera set, where a smoldering couple is fighting over an outrageous infidelity. “That’s right, I’m pregnant with your dead brother’s son’s baby,” a blonde actress cries, before the sleepy director calls cut. This is Lars (Aksel Hennie), a dissatisfied TV director whose career hasn’t worked out quite how he imagined. He’s heading to his family cabin with his wife Lisa ( Noomi Rapace ), where they plan to go hiking, a detail he makes sure to share loudly with anyone who will listen, including said blonde actress and his grouchy father. But when he stops by the hardware store for a hammer, saw, and rope, it’s clear he has other plans.

Exuding big “fabulous diva who hasn’t worked in years” energy, Rapace’s Lisa is dialed in from her first dramatic entrance. Sauntering down the driveway in a pink getup with sunglasses, hoop earrings swaying and gum popping, she hands Lars her purse as if he’s the help. With a final glance at the nefarious tools he’s squirreled away, Lars slams the trunk and the rocking title rolls. Buckle up, we’re in for a hell of a ride.

Once at the cabin, the couple needle each other about every little thing. They fiddle over the stove temperature, and when Lars won’t touch the raw steak he’s prepping, Lisa grabs it with her hands. Even their bickering is grounded in an all-too-relatable naturalism that feels forced in most on-screen marriages. After a tense dinner, Lars heads down to the basement to lay out his loot. Soon, he’s sneaking up behind Lisa, hammer in hand. It’s all so early in the film that it seems a prime fake-out. Perhaps he’s just planning some carpentry? But when he lunges at Lisa, she turns around and tases right him in the neck. Oh!

When Lars comes to, he’s tied up and, this time, Lisa is the one holding the hammer. When he admits he planned to kill her for her life insurance, she fesses up to her own similar plan. The camera swings to the left, and yellow block letters announce: “One Day Earlier.” This is the first of many quick flashes in the film, each one revealing information that upends the action in increasingly outrageous ways. It’s a clever trick, and it’s also one that’s never too indulgent. When the same technique introduces three escaped convicts with psychotic Three Stooges vibes, the fun has really only just begun.

There’s a whimsical, Wes Anderson-like quality to the way Wirkola introduces characters and plot twists, though the tone is more Martin McDonagh with a dash of Quentin Tarantino. Like the best McDonagh plays, the violence reaches wildly gratuitous levels without ever feeling like overkill. There’s comedy in the exaggeration, like the sound of brains plopping on the floor or a hand mangled by a boat motor. As the surprises roll in, the plot grows more and more outlandish, revealing the film’s full-on tongue-in-cheekiness. When Lars tells his father, bleeding out in his beloved hammock, “I just blew a guy’s balls off with a shotgun,” dad replies: “I’m proud of you, my son.”

Both seasoned Norwegian talents, Rapace and Hennie are wickedly good together. With her hair dyed a shade of trying-too-hard blonde, she milks humor from the desperate actress routine, despite sporting a quite successful career. Equal parts lumbering and lost, Hennie is the perfect blend of bumbling fool who looks like he could wrestle a mountain lion if he had to. With the right level of empathy and insanity, these two sell the emotion behind the couple’s bloody vitriol, eventually grounding the film in a satisfying human realness. There’s no risk of things turning maudlin once an old man has been shredded by a lawnmower, but it’s nice to find a little light at the end of this bloody, whirlwind tunnel.

“The Trip (Onde Dager)” is currently streaming on Netflix . 

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The Trip – Netflix Review [Fantastic Fest] (4/5)

Posted by Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard | Sep 26, 2021 | 3 minutes

THE TRIP is a new Netflix movie from Norway (org. title I onde dager ). Officially an action thriller, but it’s more of a Nordic horror-comedy. Think Tarantino, but with a Scandinavian twist. Screened at Fantastic Fest and yeah, I loved it. Read our full The Trip movie review here!

THE TRIP is a new Netflix movie that just screened at Fantastic Fest where we saw it. It also played in movie theaters in its native Norway (org. title I onde dager ) and will be out on Netflix later for all the world to enjoy. And yes, you really should enjoy this one.

While it is officially (on IMDb) labeled as an action thriller, this one is more along the lines of a horror-comedy. It’s extremely violent and bloody but also with very funny and weird moments. Tarantino craziness dialed into a Nordic twist. Hell, this is better than Tarantino to me (and I do like Quentin Tarantino).

Continue reading our The Trip movie review below and look for it on Netflix from October 15, 2021.

Till death do us part

The tagline for  The Trip  is “till death do us part” because the initial plot of this movie is about a married couple who wants to kill one another. They literally both have plans to kill the other during their weekend trip to a cabin in the Norwegian mountains. Whether they still have these plans by the end of the movie is the question you’ll ultimately sit with!

The married couple is played by the always  amazing Noomi Rapace (the original Lisbeth Salander ) and Aksel Hennie. Noomi Rapace ( Rupture ) is Swedish and Aksel Hennie ( The Cloverfield Paradox ) is Norwegian, so both languages are spoken throughout the movie. However, the dialogue – however strong it is (and it really is!) – isn’t the main thing in The Trip .

Instead, the crazy and very violent scenes tend to take charge.

Honestly, I was a little (okay, a lot) nervous when I saw the runtime was 1 hour and 53 minutes. That sounded way too long for a movie with such a silly and crazy plot. However, rest assured, there is plenty of storylines to fill that runtime.

Especially since twists and turns with new characters are followed by flashbacks to show us how the new characters wound up in the same place. These scenes in particular offer some extremely funny (and often cringeworthy) moments!

Make sure you watch The Trip on Netflix

Tommy Wirkola is the director and co-writer behind  The Trip . If you’re a fan of crazy horror-comedies, then you’ve (hopefully) watched the Nazi-zombie craziness that is  Dead Snow  (2009). If not, I cannot urge you enough to check it out. Any fan of the horror-comedy hybrid genre needs to check out that one.

Other movies by Tommy Wirkola include  What Happened to Monday (2017) which also starred Noomi Rapace along with Glenn Close and Willem Dafoe. And also  Witch Hunters (2013) starring Gemma Arterton and Jeremy Renner. Essentially, Tommy Wirkola has worked both on bigger international movies and the smaller Scandinavian productions.

The result is usually better with these Norwegian productions, but I suspect it’s due to having a much higher level of artistic freedom. You shouldn’t hold back the awesome craziness of a filmmaker like Tommy Wirkola. When you don’t, you’ll get a brilliantly entertaining movie like this one.

We screened THE TRIP at Fantastic Fest 2021, but it will also be out on Netflix from October 15, 2021.

Director: Tommy Wirkola Writers: Nick Ball, John Niven, Tommy Wirkola Stars: Noomi Rapace, Aksel Hennie, Atle Antonsen, André Eriksen, Christian Rubeck, Nils Ole Oftebro, Tor Erik Gunstrøm

A married couple travels to their isolated cabin in the woods for some peace and quiet, with the husband planning to murder his wife. Of course, nothing goes as planned, and things only get worse from there…

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About The Author

Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard

I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!

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REVIEW: “The Trip” (2021)

One of my favorite things about each movie year is coming across something completely new and unexpected. Movies that I had never heard of and that were never on my radar, yet caught me completely by surprise. Netflix has done that very thing with their new foreign language flick “The Trip”, an impossible to label Norwegian film from director and co-writer Tommy Wirkola.

I call “The Trip” impossible to label because it can’t be put into any box or assigned to any one genre. It’s a movie that defies any and all expectations and is full of surprises both narratively and visually. It leaps back-and-forth between genres never staying in the same place for very long. To give you an idea, it sometimes plays like a serious marital drama and other times like a pitch-black comedy. One second it’s a crime thriller and then it hits you with gruesome body horror. There’s even a terrifying “Funny Games” sequence complete with the emotional and physical savagery of that Hanake film.

Noomi Rapace and Aksel Hennie play Lisa and Lars, a dysfunctional couple on the outs who set out on a weekend trip to the mountains where they own a rustic lakeside cabin built by Lars’ father. Lars is a dissatisfied director who’s stuck making cheap television soap operas. “ You’re no Hitchcock ”, his cantankerous father (Nils Ole Oftebro) gruffly reminds him. Lisa is a struggling theater actress who loves performing but has recently been turned down for several big parts. Both are frustrated; both are unhappy. But at least they have each other, right?

So they head to the mountains for a much needed getaway, yet they can’t even make it to the cabin without an argument breaking out. It quickly becomes clear that these two despise each other. But maybe this trip is exactly what they need. Could they end up where most couples do in movies like this? You know, rekindling an old flame and rediscovering that love that first brought them together? Well, they’ll first have to overcome a pretty significant obstacle. As it turns out, both have come to cabin with plans of killing their spouse. See what I mean? That’s a pretty big obstacle.

I don’t want to say more because this truly is a case of ‘the less you know the better’. One of the film’s biggest strengths is its ability to broadside its audience with something they never see it coming. It begins practically as soon as they arrive at the cabin. “ Home Sweet Home ”, Lisa wryly says signaling that we’re in for a twisted ride. Both lead performances are strong especially from Rapace who has an often underrated ability to express emotion without uttering a single word.

Let me stress, “The Trip” isn’t for the faint of heart. Some scenes are extremely intense and the further it goes the gorier the movie gets. Yet it’s all fused with this wicked sense of humor that often pops up in the most unexpected moments. There were times where I was physically jolted by the violence and other times where I caught myself laughing out loud. What’s most amazing is how Wirkola keeps it all together. Not perfectly (the poop gag is certainly a low point), but more than enough to keep his audience entertained and always wondering what’s coming next. “The Trip” is now streaming on Netflix.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

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7 thoughts on “ review: “the trip” (2021) ”.

Keith, I also happened to stumble across this one during late night netflix surfing. It’s entertaining every step of the way and you’re right, you never know what’s going to happen next. I think they did a wonderful job of casting. I love Rapace and also really like Hennie in the few movies I’ve seen him in. What is surprising is how good the support cast is! They do get creative with their gore and torture! Their is a wickedness to this one I enjoyed very much.

Totally caught of guard by this one. It’s a good grab for Netflix. I just wish they did a better job of promoting their movies. I feel too many like this fall through the cracks.

Please do a movie review with Emma Watkins 💛

I’m on the fence with this one, but might just give it a shot.

Oh you should. I would get a kick out of reading your reaction!

OK, I might check this out.

It’ll definitely surprise you…repeatedly!

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Review: The Trip (2021)

Image: ©Netflix

In Norwegian black comedy, The Trip (aka I onde dager ), a dysfunctional married couple head to a remote cabin in the woods in order to spend the weekend together. But while it might look as if the pair are up for some rest and relaxation, this is the furthest thing from their minds, as both have plans to bump each other off.    

However, the couple’s murderous intentions are soon abandoned when they encounter a significant stumbling block: Three escaped convicts have made their way to the cabin. If the couple thought they had problems before, they soon discover a whole lot more trouble as the convicts take over the cabin. But can the pair put aside their differences long enough to escape their new nightmare, or are they better off fending for themselves?

Directed by Tommy Wirkola, The Trip stars Noomi Rapace and Aksel Hennie. The movie is available to stream on Netflix from today, and is a dark farce, ideal for those who like danger with their humour.

This is a movie about murder after all, so expect a significant amount of blood and a lot of violence. At times, this film moves into some very unsettling places, so don’t expect anything even remotely warm and fuzzy, but do expect sadistic slapstick, bad language, and the occasional rogue poo.  

Sound like something your depraved little mind can get on board? Well, if you said ‘yes’, then you are probably on a similar wave-length to me. I found The Trip to be a real hoot, and if any of the above has even remotely tickled your pickle, then I expect you will come to a similar conclusion. This is a movie for those who love the darker side of life, and who enjoy bonkers movies and blood splatter.

The Trip takes a little while to find its funny bone, but once it gets into its groove, it steadily builds into something enjoyable. There are a few humorous lines to begin with, followed by some sight gags here and there, but once the movie gets into the second half of the picture everything starts getting chucked at the screen.

From lawnmower carnage, to billiard ball bashing, and boating dismemberment, The Trip isn’t afraid to dive headfirst into the darkness. It leans into delicious wickedness at every opportunity, then ups the gross-factor, and this is where it truly thrives.

But this isn’t just some gonzo picture, with no story, no style, and no substance, this is a well-thought-out film which boasts great cinematography, a gorgeous setting, a beautiful colour palette, and a fully developed narrative. It is also a movie with a great cast.

Rapace and Hennie are excellent as the on/off lovers at the centre of the story. Their dislike for each other provides the movie with some of its earliest laughs, while their forced team-up against the convicts is what keeps things interesting as the tale progresses.

The film is essentially about their relationship and the hurdles it faces. Sure, this relationship has to go to some extreme places, but the film explores the idea that maybe this is exactly what the pair need in order to fix their problems. Of course, I won’t say whether or not violence is the answer to their marital disharmony, but I will say this kind of therapy is certainly fun to watch. The Trip is a picture which isn’t afraid to have fun with these characters, and seeing two despicable people find common ground against a greater evil makes for enjoyable stuff.

The Trip is a devilish romp, perfect for those with a twisted sense of humour. It doesn’t pull any punches, leans into the blackest aspects of its premise, and really goes to town.

If you are after something that isn’t afraid to go to extremes, then The Trip is likely for you. Those of a nervous disposition, or who simply hate toilet humour, should probably give it a miss.

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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Trip’ on Netflix, a Bleak Comedy That Elevates Marital Discord to a Bloody New Level

Where to stream:.

• The Trip (2021)

• noomi rapace

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Netflix’s The Trip is — well, I was going to give the usual spiel about it being a Norwegian black comedy-slash-thriller starring Noomi Rapace ( The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo , Prometheus ) and directed by Tommy Wirkola of Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters fame, but I’m just gonna cut to the chase and say it’s some sick shit. And as most sick shit goes, its smooth-as-guts-in-a-blender-set-on-puree mix of yucks and yuks is very much a take-it-or-leave-it affair.

THE TRIP : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: For some reason, The Trip doesn’t open with a crazy scene that’s on the precarious lip of a suspenseful cliff before flashing back to the beginning — it just opens at the beginning. How very novel! So, a husband and wife sit in bed arguing and the conversation gets pretty nutty and out there and, as we suspected, they’re just actors on the set of a soap opera. Lars (Aksel Hennie) is the director. He chitchats with a co-worker about how he and his wife are going up to the cabin this weekend and he stresses repeatedly how she wants to go on a long hike into the mountains, and isn’t that dangerous? On his way home, he stops to visit his dad at the nursing home so the old man can question his manhood. Then he goes to the hardware emporium for a hammer, a hacksaw, some rope and duct tape — you know, the Serial Killer Special, $49.95.

He picks up Lisa (Rapace), and the bickering starts immediately. Needling. Irritation. Teensy little digs. Death by 1,000 cuts on both sides. Their professional lives are lousy and the poison’s bled into their personal lives. They get to the cabin and as he unloads his collection of suspicious tools, the camera lingers on a cabinet full of shotguns, and as she mills about the kitchen, the camera gets a lensful of butcher and bread knives. Why? No reason. Just the usual stuff you’d find in a cabin in the Norwegian forest where you might go hunting and then need to cut up the animal you killed.

Lars and Lisa drive each other nuts cooking and eating dinner, and before bed they play a game of Scrabble that only further sledgehammers the wedge between them. The next day, we follow Lars as he fetches the hammer from the basement and heads to the kitchen for two belts of booze, and the camera angle for this shot is canted, oh so very canted. He sneaks up behind Lisa and before he can ballpeen a hole in her skull she quickly turns around and tases him. It’s probably safe to say that marital counseling would be pointless at this stage of their relationship.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: The War of the Røsens ! (Yeah, I know, Røsen is Swedish, not Norwegian. Just give me this one!)

Performance Worth Watching: Rapace and Hennie are equally excellent at playing shitty people, pairing nicely like fava beans with a nice Chianti.

Memorable Dialogue: Lars gets in the nastiest dig ever (decontextualized to avoid a spoiler): “Maybe you’ll be satisfied now.”

Sex and Skin: None, but be warned, there are disturbing scenes of sexual assault.

Our Take: …Then again, Lars and Lisa do seem to finally be on the same page, homicidal though it may be, so loll that sweet and sticky caramel-flavored irony around in your mouth for a minute there. The revelation that they want to kill each other in the most literal fashion comes at the 21-minute mark of a 114-minute movie, so it’s not a spoiler to say things escalate from there, via a game of one-upspersonship that goes from cold to violent to utterly ruthless to extremely violent to repulsive to even more extremely violent to thoroughly complicated to flat-out gory as hell. And yes, other characters get involved, lest it get too repetitive. If you can hang with it through its demented twists and turns — no guarantees, love it or hate it, no deposit no return, mileage may vary, etc. — it’ll be to see what resolution Wirkola and co-screenwriters Nick Ball and John Niven came up with, and not because you root for any of these people, who are, at best, poor examples of the human species.

So I guess that means The Trip exists in the satire realm, where marital discord is depicted with immense exaggeration and grotesque homicidal impulses are rendered in rich, bloody reds. One wonders if Lars and Lisa find this elevation of confrontation therapeutic, going from passive-aggressive to insanely aggressive, dropping the sniper rifles for a knife fight, sometimes not at all in a metaphorical fashion. Wirkola occasionally crosses the line between bad taste (which is good; think John Waters) and tastelessness (which is bad; think R-rated Adam Sandler vehicles), spending the majority of the budget on burst blood vessels in eyes and viscous strings of various bodily fluids drooling from mouths and hamburgered knees and innards turned into out-ards — total gorebuckets, more splatter than two or three of those wussy middling slasher movies they make for eight-year-olds these days, he said, nudge wink grain of salt.

Anyway, the movie adheres to the cliche that all is fair in love and war. It’s amusing and irreverent, bleak and repulsive — and therefore an exercise in cognitive dissonance, I guess. It’s definitely conceived more in sickness than in health. For better or worse. ’Til death by disembowelment or shotgun do we part. I’m gonna stop there.

Our Call: STREAM IT. The Trip is far from great, and at its best, it’s barely good. But it inspires a few choking laughs, it’s challenging in its unpleasantness, and it’s likely to satisfy any iron stomachs who are up to the task.

Will you stream or skip the Noomi Rapace black comedy/thriller #TheTrip on @netflix ? #SIOSI — Decider (@decider) October 16, 2021

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com or follow him on Twitter: @johnserba.

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Cinema Trace – Short Movie Reviews

Short movie reviews, the trip(2021) movie review.

Lisa and Lars have been going through a rough patch in their marriage. They decide to spend some time together at Lars’s father’s lakeside cabin to patch things up… except that neither intends to do that; they each plan to murder the other for the insurance money! It won’t be as easy as either of them think with each gaining the upper hand at times. Then a treat emerges that endangers both of them; Petter, Dave and Roy, a trio of escaped killers were hiding in the attic and now plan to do unpleasant things to Lisa and Lars. Things are about to get nasty.

If you like your comedy pitch black then this is for you. The plot may not have great depth but serves to first put the leads at each other’s throats before introducing a threat to them both. The earlier scenes in the cabin are laugh out loud funny. This means when the unpleasantness in the basement starts it is quite a shock as it threatens to go into ‘Straw Dogs’ territory. The humour does return; much of it at the same time as we witness wince inducing violence. The various weapons employed are quite original as well as guaranteeing a lot of gory damage. The cast is solid; most obviously Noomi Rapace and Aksel Hennie as Lisa and Lars respectively. The setting was great; scenic and remote enough to mean we can believe the activities won’t be seen or heard by others. Overall I’d definitely recommend this to fans of gory comedies; it was even better than I’d hoped.

These comments are based on watching the film in Norwegian with English subtitles.

Review by Tweekums

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A smoothie shop employee with butterflies in his stomach and a bleeding right hand sits next to an older gentleman on a bench. “Can I ask you something?” he prefaces. The worker then proceeds to babble about his crush, Maria. Should he follow her to New York City, and leave Florida behind? The older man offers advice—speaking from the heart—and it fills the younger man’s soul, so much that he leaps from the bench and bursts into song. It’s this young guy’s big romantic moment, and he dances away before almost getting hit by a car, and then sings at people inside a mall, in which one patron tries to side-kick him.  

This hilarious sequence, which overlaps cliché storytelling with the unassuming public, is just one of many endearing moments in “Bad Trip,” a hidden camera comedy gem starring Eric André , Lil Rel Howery , and Tiffany Haddish that’s finally coming out on Netflix. Directed by Kitao Sakurai , the previous director behind numerous episodes of “The Eric André Show,” it shows an evolution in the hidden camera subgenre, given its warming spirit about people. Unlike the films that previously defined the subgenre, it’s not so much about creating a freak show from unsuspecting extras, but in noting what one would do when confronted with someone as delusional as André’s character Chris. Natural human behavior can be extremely funny, and Sakurai and André know it’s possible to bring it out of people without being mean-spirited. Footage in the end credits of the real people excited to learn that they’re in a movie—a comfort for us as well—confirms the chaos is controlled physically and emotionally, and that allows it to be a party.    

“Bad Trip” is an excellent showcase for Eric André—it’s more mainstream than his talk-show-in-hell “The Eric André Show” and less watered down than his recent resume-boosting, commercial work like “The Lion King” and elsewhere. This role lets him scream, sprint, crash into things, and show off that he’s a sweetheart who wants to include you his absurdity. It’s no stretch to say that André is going to be a huge comedic force—I knew this when I caught his Legalize Everything stand-up tour in Chicago in 2019, when he had a sold-out Chicago Theater completely wrapped up in his FaceTime-ing with the parents of random audience members. He’s an affable anarchist with Robin Williams-like verve, and this project lets his burgeoning persona run wild alongside what the film advertises as “Real People. Real Pranks.”  

André's hilarious earnest Chris is joined in the movie by Lil Rel Howery, who would have been known enough at the time of filming from his scene-stealing turn in “ Get Out ,” but is disguised as Chris’ reserved friend Bud. They have adorable chemistry as two friends in Florida who decide to drive to New York to reunite Chris with his high school crush Maria ( Michaela Conlin ) after two disastrous brief run-ins at Eric’s jobs. They support each other, like when Chris gets extremely drunk at a cowboy bar, or Bud finds himself inside a Porta Potty. Chris is the wide-eyed dreamer, and Bud is the demure rationalist. Their chemistry is as pure as the Golden Girls, so “Thank You For Being a Friend” is featured prominently in the soundtrack, in between scenes of slapstick pranks that further their road trip.  

When Bud and Chris need a car to get to New York City, they “borrow” the bright pink Crown Vic that belongs to Bud’s sister, Trina (Tiffany Haddish), who Bud fears but is relieved when she's put in jail for breaking house arrest. And yet soon enough, Haddish crawls out from under a prison bus, having broken out and starts looking for her car. When it’s not where she stored it, she hunts Bud and Chris up the Eastern seaboard, making for some incredibly funny, abrasive scenes of her confronting people about whether they’ve seen them or her car that has “Bad Bitch” written on the window. Haddish bulldozes into every set-piece, exemplifying the film’s over-the-top spirit. When talking to progressively uncomfortable strangers, she doesn’t miss a beat and she relishes the opportunity to appear dangerous; when she steals a cop car and burns out of a donut shop parking lot, it’s one of her many triumphant moments.  

“Bad Trip” is a collision of great improvisational actors and authentically bewildered reactions from people unaware that they’re now in Chris’ story—which makes Michaela Conlin’s performance as Maria all the more an essential middle to its Venn diagram. She enters the movie also as an innocent bystander, but that’s a deceptive comic energy that plays out in very funny ways as she pushes back against Chris’ delusions. In Chris’ prank-based daydreams, Conlin matches André’s intensity; that she has to play it straight in later scenes adds to the tension she creates, like when Chris tries to profess his love to her.  

Just how funny is “Bad Trip”? After two viewings, it’s one of those comedies with a stable laughing average and high replay value, even if it doesn’t always hit you as hard. It knowingly plays a hit-and-miss game, and some scenes don’t entirely work (like a grocery store drug trip that plays out like a soft tribute to “The Eric Andre Show”), while other pranks go for discomfort more than big laughs (like when Chris gets gas springing all over a gas station). But the movie has speediness on its side, with pacing that takes the plotting from one prank to the next, often including crowds of people in the latest big dramatic confrontation that comes from Bud and Chris’ expected emotional arc. (A sudden car crash sequence is particularly well planned out, with cameras and extras ready nearby.) It’s a steady build to its ultimate destination of NYC, and every major set piece is constructed to bubble with discomfort before then skyrocketing over the top. An early scene at Chris’ smoothie shop job only begins with him making the drinks without spoons—it escalates to awkward tension with disgusted, annoyed customers, and then boom, a laugh-out-loud, gory finale that hits with impeccable, unexpected timing.  

If certain parts of “Bad Trip” aren’t as out-and-out cry-laughing as the work put into them desires, the story is still involving as it adds the dimensionality of unscripted human behavior. And it doesn’t continue the hidden camera movie’s waning intention of dunking on dummies, a factor that also makes this story more fluid than the start-and-stop traps, primed for reaction shots, in something like “Jackass”-spinoff like “Bad Grandpa.” That’s the true sweet spot, in how its pranks are engineered to get the unexpected to interact with Bud, Chris, and or Trina, and see if strangers try to help. (“You turned on us!” says Chris, after a golfer starts swinging a club at Chris and Bud while their penises are enjoined by a Chinese fingertrap.) An amazing scene comes at a tense mid-point, when Trina appears at a restaurant, spreading around fliers with Bud and Chris’ dopey faces on them, advertising her desire to kill the two. She leaves. Bud and Chris then show up at the same place minutes later, and everyone’s response, with some people trying to warn them, and others not wanting to get caught in the middle, is incredible. “Bad Trip” knows how to stir things up, and its funniest scenes often involve real people getting in the mix, tested by the brilliant skills of André, Howery, and Haddish. The ways that some people react to their pranks might shock you in some ways, and absolutely will not in others.  

Now available on Netflix.

Nick Allen is the former Senior Editor at RogerEbert.com and a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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Film credits.

Bad Trip (2021)

Rated R for crude sexual content, pervasive language, some graphic nudity and drug use.

Eric André as Chris

Lil Rel Howery as Bud

Tiffany Haddish as Trina Malone

Michaela Conlin as Maria Li

• Kitao Sakurai

Writer (story)

• Andrew Barchilon

Cinematographer

• Andrew Laboy
• Sascha Stanton Craven
• Matthew Kosinski
• Caleb Swyers
• Ludwig Göransson
• Joseph Shirley

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A group of friends traveling in a dense forest accidentally meet two strangers, who they think are the killers. Things get complicated when they get caught by real killers. A group of friends traveling in a dense forest accidentally meet two strangers, who they think are the killers. Things get complicated when they get caught by real killers. A group of friends traveling in a dense forest accidentally meet two strangers, who they think are the killers. Things get complicated when they get caught by real killers.

• Dennis Manjunath
• Karunakaran
• 16 User reviews

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User reviews 16

• grimreysarath
• Mar 13, 2021
• February 5, 2021 (India)
• Sai Film Studios
• Sakthi Film Factory
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

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• Runtime 2 hours 1 minute

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