Linus Wahlgren is Theodor in In the Name of God (2024)
Intensity: 🩸🩸out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
Written and Directed by Ludvig Gür
In the Name of God (Gudstjänst) explores how the pressure of grief can convince even the most pious among us to do horrible things. Theodor is a young priest who succumbs to a “righteous” Faustian deal, where he murders the wicked in exchange for healing gifts. It is a slippery slope that could doom his family and his priesthood. At what cost are miracles?
What would you do to save the person who you love the most? Would you kill somebody else if you knew in return you could save them? This is the dilemma faced by Theodor, a young priest with a nearly non-existent parish. When a tragedy falls upon his wife, Theodor risks everything, including his sanity, to save her. He is betrayed by his mentor, but the rewards he receives for his heinous actions initially become addicting.
Apparently, making miracles is like taking drugs. Once you start, you can’t stop. The first hit is free, kid. Here… take this knife, this axe, and sacrifice for the good of the community. God demands this of you.
This film epitomizes Scandinavian horror: cold, austere, and methodical. Its pieces are crafted to fit together just so. Hard decisions are made. Consequences are delivered. Whether divine justice is served is debatable.
The Cast:
- Linus Wahlgren plays Theodor, a priest who gives up everything to save his wife.
- Lisa Henni plays Felicia, Theodor’s wife and the organist for the church.
- Vilhelm Blomgren plays Erik, an investigative journalist
- Thomas Hanzon plays Jonas, Theodor’s theological mentor, now an evangelist for “The True Priesthood.”
- Isabell Grill plays Hanna, a young invalid seeking a miracle
- Charlie Gustafsson plays Adam, Hanna’s desperate husband
- Mattias Kindberg plays the Småstorp Ripper, a serial killer recently released from prison.
A Short Summary: (Minor First Act Spoilers)
Theodor and Felecia have a simple life. He preaches to a largely empty church, and the couple are considering leaving for a more active parish. He warns his scant parishioners against evil and hatred, particularly since a notorious serial killer has been released back into the community after serving his time. Together, the community can overcome hatred with love. After another disappointing service, Felicia tells Theodor that a man came asking for him. Jonas, his old mentor has returned and wants Theodor to take up a new philosophy: The True Priesthood.
The True Priesthood is a return to a vindictive Old Testament God that demands sacrifice and the purging of evil. As a demonstration, Jonas butchers a live dove and sprays Theodor with its blood, which disgusts the younger priest. This is not how Theodor has been raised in the church, and he turns down Jonas’ request to join this new way. When Theodor returns home after he meets with Jonas, Felecia has been taken very ill with a mysterious sudden case of Sepsis. She is rushed to the hospital and is at death’s door.
Jonas finds Theodor and informs him that he can save Felecia. Jonas has captured the Småstorp Ripper and tells Theodor that if he kills this man, he will be doing God’s will, and Felecia will be returned to him. With shaking hands, Theodor takes a blade from Jonas and plunges it into the captured man’s heart, killing him. He returns to Felecia’s side and prays by her bedside.His prayers are answered. (Or… was it the sacrifice? Probably, yes!) Felecia, despite all the doctor’s diagnoses, makes a miraculous recovery, apparently none the worse for wear.
Word gets out through the community that Theodor is a miracle healer. His services are now packed with attendees, and things seem like they couldn’t be better. But the tales of the miracles bring people seeking more healing, and Theodor is confronted with either killing more sinners or being claimed a fraud. He resists the urge at first, but the cries of his flock become too much to resist, and he hunts the community for sinners to sacrifice.
The tales also catch the attention of Erik, an investigative journalist, and the pressure mounts on Theodor. He has taken on more than he can handle, and The True Priesthood reveals its cultish nature. What was once joyous has now become a spiraling descent into ritual madness and sacrifice. He can’t hide forever…
Evaluation:
In the Name of God would have to be considered a horror-adjacent film. Clearly, this is a thriller with supernatural overtones. You will not get demonic pyrotechnics. The evil is completely within the characters we meet. It follows the collapse of a good man and turns him awful. It isn’t the most enjoyable character arc, but it feels honest to the story. The Portland Horror Film Festival always serves up solid foreign fare, and this Swedish tale is the equivalent of a cold bracing shower.
It is a great philosophical enterprise. What would you do if you were in Theodor’s shoes? Being the executioner of someone who has already been served justice by the courts, is this at all appropriate? No. In watching this abdication of moral authority, the movie does disconnect the audience from the protagonist. Atonement through blood! It is admittedly hard to find a rooting interest here. I hoped that, somehow, Theodor would find his way back. Fate, and a cult, conspire against him recovering from his deeds. He is a doomed individual.
The logic structures in this movie are airtight. There are twists and turns, but the throughline never wavers. I appreciated the plot’s complexities, which added depth to the story while maintaining comprehensibility. The supporting cast all had a foundational rationale for the plot structure. This was a very well-constructed film. Fun? No. Exciting? A little. But as an intellectual exercise this was very strong.
Conclusion:
This will be for you if you enjoy a good hard-boiled crime drama. Though there are nods towards what may happen, the movie is far from predictable. The baseline premise is set early, and the movie quickly settles into a question about how long Theodor can keep his murderous ways a secret and who is pulling the strings behind the scenes. It’s not quite a mystery, but it has that hard-wired tension built in.
The acting is solid. Linus Wahlgren carries this film with a twitchy earnestness. When introduced, he is relatable and kind, and he delivers his character’s descent with conviction. Many of the cast members were also in Midsommar, and if you are fans of Ari Aster’s work, I think you would appreciate this movie as well. Ludvig Gür is a young up-and-coming director, and if he continues to provide smart productions like this, he will develop a reputation like his fellow Swede André Øvredal in the ranks of Scandinavian horror directors.
This movie has not been rated by the MPAA. It likely would carry an R-rating, but it isn’t particularly gory, though there are plenty of stabbings. The movie is devoid of humor, and its grim earnestness probably won’t appeal to most teens. The film is still working its way through the Festival Circuit and does not have a streaming distribution yet.
Review by Eric Li
