Netflix movies: Swedish thriller Red Dot is full of twists and turns
From the outside, Red Dot looks like a typical movie about people being chased through the woods by psychos. By the end, however, you will learn that there was a lot more going on with our couple than we could have prepared for.
Red Dot begins with a young couple at the height of happiness. David has just graduated from college and on this same day, he decides to propose to Nadja. They seem like a happy couple, but then, the film jumps forward in time. David is working, and Nadja is in school to become a doctor. The two are now arguing about the things couples argue about. He’s working too much and when he’s home he’s trying to relax instead of taking care of the few household tasks she asks of him.
They seem like a normal couple, but Nadja is stressed by their situation and on top of this, she finds out she’s pregnant. She is not sure she wants to keep it because in her eyes, she’s not sure the couple will make it and she has no plans to be a single mother. However, before we go too far down the marital issues hole, David comes through. He does the things she’s been asking and decides to surprise her by taking some time off and planning a romantic getaway to Northern Sweden.
As the two embark on their road trip, they start to rekindle the flame that had dimmed since early in their relationship. However, at a gas station along their route, they have a strange encounter with a pair of brothers who are rough with their dog and make awkward comments about Nadja. Apparently, people in Northern Sweden tend to have more issues with race, and with Nadja being a black woman and David being white, the assumption is that they don’t approve of their relationship.
What is Red Dot on Netflix?
After the weird exchange, David accidentally dings their vehicle and decides not to stop to tell them. They run into the pair later when they check into a hotel and the next morning come out to a scratch on the side of their car. They assume it was the guys getting revenge, and the husband accepts it, but Nadja asks him to stop when she sees their truck at another gas station and she scrapes their truck again.
This back and forth exchange makes you question Nadja at this point, but what’s a little vandalism between enemies? Surely not enough to lead to murder, right?
The couple gets to their romantic camping retreat but just as things seem to be going well they see a red dot on their tent. The dot simply harasses them at first. Bouncing between them in a threatening manner from the darkness. The couple can’t tell who is pointing at them or what their intentions are, but then the person calls their dog away and they hear gunshots. That’s where the chase begins.
Besides being chased by psychos with guns, the couple must face the cold, thin ice, bears, and other obstacles along the way. Red Dot definitely uses all of the things they had at their disposal to torture this couple. Take a look at the trailer below.
The Twists
*No spoilers*
I definitely don’t want to ruin the movie, but I have to talk about the twists in some way. There are multiple major twists near the end of Red Dot. They are all foreshadowed in some way, so they aren’t the type that completely changed the movie, but there are some huge reveals.
Questions around why their pursuers are so angry and so persistent are answered in a dramatic fashion.
How bloody is Red Dot?
That leads to the next point. This movie was a bit bloody. I wouldn’t say it was gory to the point that it will be offputting, but if you don’t like seeing blood splatter at all, this movie might not be for you. There is a person injured by a bear trap, and there are bloody animal heads, and several people are shot with blood splattering on the wall or ground behind them.
The cast
Since the film is Swedish, American audiences aren’t likely to recognize most of the cast from anything. Personally, the only member of the main cast that I had seen before was Johannes Kuhnke, who was the father in the film Force Majeure. A film that got an American remake that didn’t do the original justice starring Will Ferrell and Julia Loius-Dreyfus (Downhill).
The leads, Nanna Blondell and Anastasios Soulis, are great as Nadja and David, though. Both as a believable couple early in the film and as they struggle for survival later in the film.
Overall
Red Dot tries to be a bit more unique with the chase through the wilderness genre by working in some elaborate twists. Whether or not they pulled this off for you is what will determine your enjoyment of the movie. I personally would have liked more hints early in the movie, so the major reveal doesn’t come as such a shock, but when the story comes together it still works for me.
Red Dot is currently streaming on Netflix.