''The Island of Doom'' ( fi, Tuomion saari) is a 2023 Finnish

slasher Slasher may refer to: * Slasher (basketball), a style of play in basketball * Slasher film, a subgenre of the horror film * Slasher (tool), a scrub-clearing implement * ''Slasher'' (2004 film), a 2004 documentary film * ''Slasher'' (2007 film) ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

written, co-produced and directed by Keke Soikkeli. It tells the story of a group of young adults who go

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

on a remote lake island, where they are stalked by someone. The film is introducing Sonja Aiello in the leading role. The film premiered on 29 December 2023. It received poor reviews from critics in preview screenings.

Plot

Mia learns that her boyfriend Eetu is cheating on her and she goes to live with her friend Maija to recover from the shock. Maija decides to take Mia to a summer bar with her friends Rami, Laura and Kimmo, where Mia falls in love with the

porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...

Teemu. At the bar, they try to think of some kind of pastime for Mia to get her mind off Eetu's

infidelity Infidelity (synonyms include cheating, straying, adultery, being unfaithful, two-timing, or having an affair) is a violation of a couple's emotional and/or sexual exclusivity that commonly results in feelings of anger, sexual jealousy, and riva ...

and soon they come up with going to a remote lake island, which is called the "Island of Doom". There is an

urban legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...

about the island, according to which a young boy guilty of murdering his baby sister was banished to the island by his father and left there to die. Mia agrees to this idea and the next day they go camping on the island. After spending the night there, Laura starts to get nervous about the atmosphere on the island, which the horror story left behind. The situation is not made easier by the fact that there is indeed a small abandoned

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a Cotter (farmer), cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager ...

on the island, which would indicate that someone actually lived there. And when their boat disappears while they are trapped on the island, they soon begin to realize that what started out as a "horror story" has some kind of basis of truth.

Cast

* Sonja Aiello as Mia *

Konsta Hietanen Konsta Hietanen (born 20 July 1984) is a Finland, Finnish musician, actor, and former association football player. In 1994 Hietanen participated in ''Tenavatähti'', a Finnish television singing competition for children. He won the competition ...

as Kimmo * Markku Pulli as Teemu * Elmeri Rantalainen as Timo * Emma Lahti as Maija * Jenni Rautiainen as Laura * Karo Auvinen as Rami * Linnea Leino as Ilona * Viivi Mauno as Emma * Toni Lipsanen as Eetu / The Killer

Production

The crew of the film shot on a small budget consisted of both professionals and enthusiasts. The

Finnish Film Foundation The Finnish Film Foundation ( fi, Suomen elokuvasäätiö, sv, Finlands filmstiftelse) is an independent foundation with the task of supporting and developing Finnish film production, distribution and exhibition. It is supervised by the Departmen ...

did not grant the film any financial support. The film was shot in

Kouvola Kouvola () is a cities of Finland, city and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in southeastern Finland. It is located along the Kymijoki, Kymijoki River in the Regions of Finland, region of Kymenlaakso, kilometers east of Lahti, west of Lapp ...

and

Iitti Iitti (; sv, Itis) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population d ...

Reception

The film has received negative reception from critics. Tero Kartastenpää from ''

Helsingin Sanomat ''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of ...

'' gives the film one star out of five, saying that "the hollow acting performances make the film impossible to watch seriously, and in all its risk-avoiding, it won't even become a gem of cheesy horror." Also, Taneli Topelius from ''

Ilta-Sanomat ''Ilta-Sanomat'' () is one of Finland's two prominent tabloid size evening newspaper and the second largest paper in the country. Its counterpart and biggest rival is ''Iltalehti''. According to the National Media Research done in 2019 ''Ilta- ...

'' and Henri Waltter Rehnström from ''

Turun Sanomat ''Turun Sanomat'' is the leading regional newspaper of the region of Southwest Finland. It is published in the region's capital, Turku and the third most widely read morning newspaper in Finland after '' Helsingin Sanomat'' and ''Aamulehti''. Hi ...

'' both gave the film only one star out of five, the latter summarizing that "the film belongs more to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

than to the big screen." However, Jouni Vikman from ''Episodi'', who gave the film two stars out of five, states in his assessment that "taking into account the fact that how difficult it is to make a genre film in Finland—especially without the support of the Finnish Film Foundation—I have to raise my hat to the film by necessity."

References

External links