False Trail Review

False Trail
Swedish detective Bäckström (Lassgård) returns to his rural home after working the urban beat for many years. His hopes of a quiet life are soon dashed by a brutal murder he must solve. Only local cop Torsten (Stormare) has other ideas.

by Philip Wilding |
Published on
Release Date:

14 Dec 2012

Running Time:

129 minutes

Certificate:

15

Original Title:

False Trail

Sixteen years after Kjell Sundvall’s acclaimed The Hunters comes its sequel, returning detective Bäckström (a terrific Rolf Lassgård) home to his sleepy Swedish village — imagine a Nordic Royston Vasey — to investigate what at first seems to be a straightforward murder case. Throw in police corruption, small-town politics, family tensions and guilt and a community in thrall to the iron fist of local cop Torsten (Peter Stormare) and you’ve a crime drama hoping to ride the current wave of Scandinavian thrillers. As engaging as the first half is, the third act dwindles as the killer is an early reveal and the dénouement drawn languidly out.

In a golden age for Scandinavian crime procedurals, this is another thoughtful slice of Nordic noir.
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