Spöket på Bragehus: A Ghost Story With Too Much Talking

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you have a very specific craving for 1940s Swedish slapstick and people shouting in fancy rooms. If you like your pacing tight, this will drive you up the wall. If you enjoy watching Tollie Zellman try to out-act the furniture, pull up a chair.

The whole thing is basically a giant, loud prank that keeps going. The castle owners are so terrified of this power plant guy that they turn their home into a looney bin. It’s supposed to be funny, but mostly it’s just exhausting to watch people run in and out of doors for ninety minutes.

There is this one scene where they try to set up a 'ghost' encounter that just goes on forever. The silence is supposed to be spooky, but it’s just… quiet. And then someone trips over a rug. It’s that kind of movie.

Tollie Zellman is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. She’s loud, she’s frantic, and she clearly knows the script is a bit of a mess. She just leans into it.

Compared to something like Pan, which actually has a bit of atmosphere, this movie is allergic to mood. It’s all bright lights and people looking surprised. The castle itself looks great, but they don't really use it for anything other than a backdrop for arguments.

I found myself staring at the wallpaper in the background more than following the plot. It’s very busy wallpaper. Did they really need that many patterns in one room?

The middle part of the film feels like it’s just filler. They keep re-explaining the power plant thing, like we’re all going to forget why the guy is there. We get it. He wants to build, they want him gone. Move it along!

Some of the supporting cast are clearly just there to fill up the frame. They stand around looking confused, which, to be fair, is probably how I looked watching them.

It’s not as interesting as The Two Johns, which at least had some bite. This just feels like it wants to be a lighthearted romp and forgets to actually be funny.

If you watch this, keep an eye on the guy playing the power plant project manager. He spends the whole movie looking like he’s trying to remember if he left his oven on back home. It’s the most authentic part of the entire production. 👻

Don't expect a masterpiece. Expect a movie that probably sounded better on paper than it looked on film. Sometimes that’s just how it goes, right?