Movies
[TIFF Review] Striking Coming-of-Age Thriller ‘Thelma’ Resembles ‘Carrie’
Thelma is a tricky film. It would be easy to dismiss it as a Norwegian Carrie, but to do so belittles director Joachim Trier‘s film as a simple imitator. It’s undeniable, however, that Thelma bears a passing resemblance to the DePalma classic; it’s the story of a girl who has been raised in a strict Christian household, presided over by authoritarian parents, who finds freedom – and horror – in her first love affair. The film complicates the narrative by making Thelma (Eili Harboe)’s love interest a girl, Anja (Okay Kaya), and it is in this element that results in Trier’s most interesting – and problematic – ideas.
It’s clear from the opening scene that something is amiss in Thelma’s home life. The young girl and her father Trond (Henrik Rafaelsen) share a moment that immediately establishes their relationship: he’s so afraid of her that he contemplates killing her. The rest of the film follows Thelma, now an adult, as she leaves home for the first time to attend Biology at the University in Oslo. She goes to class, studies, swims at the pool, but has difficulty making connections to other people. It’s in the library, after first spotting Anja, that she has her first seizure, an event that coincides with a flock of birds striking the window. The incident is unnerving and Trier uses it to create a visual connection between Thelma’s loss of control and the supernatural.
For genre fans, this is familiar territory. The question is not if Thelma will go off, but when and how bad will it be? Trier, however, distinguishes his film from Carrie by aligning Thelma’s power to her burgeoning lesbian desires. As she and Anja grow closer, so too do the frequency of her attacks, which Trier shoots like strobe light attacks.
[Related] All TIFF 2017 News and Reviews!
It’s clear that Thelma’s struggles with her sexuality are directly related to her religious bringing. The screenplay repeatedly reinforces her slow descent into vice and how this clashes with her beliefs about drinking, drugs and her desire for Anja, which she ineffectually tries to pray away. Events come to a head in two different encounters: one is a thrilling sequence at a contemporary dance performance that nearly brings the roof down and another is a humiliating incident at a house party that makes wonderfully creepy and sensual use of Biblical imagery. In the aftermath, it becomes clear just how powerful Thelma is, a discovery that drives her home to her father and mother Unni (Ellen Dorrit Petersen) where the truth behind the opening scene is revealed.
The truth, however, is far less surprising than the build-up and even casual viewers should have no problem anticipating what’s to come. Problematically, Thelma’s confrontation with her father revises everything about her relationship with Anja in a way that feels, at best, dismissive and, at worst, mildly homophobic. While it’s liberating to see Thelma move away from the Christian/telekinesis dichotomy of Carrie, Trier’s attempt to explore sexuality is mildly emblematic of a straight white male’s idea of queer identity.
Aside from the slightly draggy final act and the problematic gender politics, Thelma has a lot going for it. Trier uses his special effects sparingly (to great effect) and he has a keen eye for visually dynamic shots. He also knows how to frame moments of intimacy, focusing on the slight touch of Thelma and Anya’s hands. Both women are fantastic in their roles, particularly Harboe who manages to convey innocence, sexiness, and vulnerability all at once. Despite its issues, Thelma is well worth seeking out.
This week kicked off with the release of hippo horror movie Hungry at home, and four more horror movies have arrived for at-home viewing as we head into the final weekend of June.
Here are the new horror movies that released on Friday, June 26, 2026!
The Halloween season can no longer be contained to the months of September and October, with “Summerween” becoming a thing in recent years. Essentially, it allows for Halloween to bleed into the warmer Summer months, and the first ever Summerween movie has arrived.
The Asylum released Summerween onto Digital outlets today.
In the film from writer/director Ryan Ebert, “On Summerween, a former circus clown escapes a mental institution to return to his abandoned mansion and hunt the teens partying there.”
Cole Chapleski, Chase Breithoff, Logan Roe, Sophia Sabol, and Clint Morrison star.
Director Ryan Ebert is the man behind a string of recent indie horrors we’ve covered, including Shark Side of the Moon, The Jolly Monkey, Jurassic Reborn, and Predator: Wastelands.
A witchy coming-of-age story from Dark Sky Films, Camp is now playing in select theaters.
Check your local listings to find a theater near you.
Camp is from writer-director Avalon Fast (Honeycomb, The Serpent’s Skin).
“Emily is the root cause of two devastating tragedies very early in her life, and she feels the weight of these accidents as though cursed. At her father’s suggestion, she takes a position at a summer camp for troubled youth to ease her guilt. When Emily arrives, she is welcomed by the other counselors, who accept her as she is and surround her with peace and forgiveness.
“As Emily begins to believe in a new kind of life, she starts to hear a voice whispering from deep in the woods — one that urges her to go home, and one that may be impossible to ignore.”
The film stars Zola Grimmer in her screen debut alongside Alice Wordsworth, Cherry Moore, Lea Rose Sebastianis (Castration Movie Part 1 & 2, In A Violent Nature), Ella Reece, Austyn Van de Kamp (This Too Shall Pass), Sophie Bawks-Smith (Honeycomb), Izza Jarvis, and Aiden Laudersmith.
Producers Tyler Perry and Jason Blum have joined forces for Peacock Original Strung.
The film is now streaming only on Peacock.
“A talented violinist takes a prestigious job as a music tutor for the gifted daughter of an influential and enigmatic family. As she becomes entangled in their opulent world, unsettling secrets begin to surface, forcing her to question her safety, her dreams, and even her sanity.”
Malcolm D. Lee (Scary Movie 5, Space Jam: A New Legacy) directs from a script written by Alan B. McElroy (Wrong Turn, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers).
Chloe Bailey (“Swarm“), Lynn Whitfield (Jaws: The Revenge), Lucien Laviscount (“Scream Queens”), Anna Diop (Us), Coco Jones (Vampires vs. the Bronx), Langley Kirkwood (“Banshee”), and Romy Woods star in Peacock’s Strung.
Produced by Diablo Cody, director Meredith Alloway’s Forbidden Fruits brought a new coven of witches to the big screen earlier this year, and it’s now streaming on Shudder.
Lola Tung (“The Summer I Turned Pretty”), Victoria Pedretti (“The Haunting of Hill House”), Alexandra Shipp (Tragedy Girls), Gabrielle Union (Breaking In), and Emma Chamberlain star in Forbidden Fruits, released by IFC and Shudder.
Free Eden employee Apple secretly runs a witchy femme cult in the basement of the mall store after hours. But when new hire Pumpkin challenges the group’s ‘girl boss’ ways, the women are forced to face their own poisons or succumb to a bloody fate.
“Forbidden Fruits grabbed me by the neck the very first time I read it,” Diablo Cody said. “It’s one of the craziest, most creative, beautifully bonkers projects I’ve ever worked on.”
Meagan Navarro writes in her review for Bloody Disgusting, “Forbidden Fruits may not necessarily forge new terrain in the teen satire space, but Alloway brings so much style and energy to her well-cast single-location stage play adaptation for the Gen Z crowd.”
The film is an adaptation of playwright Lily Houghton’s stage play Of the Women Came the Beginning of Sin and Through Her We All Die. Alloway and Houghton co-adapted.
This week’s new release roundups are presented by HUNGRY.
All aboard the swamp tour from hell – this hippo isn’t playing games…
HUNGRY is now available on Digital. Watch it now!
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