PLOT SUMMARY: A couple goes to a remote cabin for the weekend to save their marriage, but both of them harbour intentions to kill each other. But when they encounter intruders in their house, they must team up to protect themselves.
Marriage must be hard. Imagine sharing your life with someone, living with them, making all decisions with them, trying to do everything together. Giving up your privacy too.
It works if your partner shares the same goals as you and is supportive of your dreams. But when they aren't...and you find this out much later, after you get married, then what?
THE TRIP/ I ONDE DAGER Movie Plot
A couple is seen on the bed. The husband accuses the wife of cheating on him. She, boldly announces that she is pregnant with her lover's child.
The scene is cut.
It is all part of a movie.
This scene sets the tone of the movie as to how bold and comical (and gruesome later) the movie is.
We meet Lars who is the director but doesn't seem completely into his work and okays the take even as the actor asks him for another one.
Lars later goes to meet his father who is at a senior's home. His father lets Lars borrow his cabin for the weekend while giving him a history of the cabin he built and how he always wanted it to face towards the sunrise.
Lars is bored. In the background, there is a news report of escaped criminals and since the camera stays on it for a while, we know that those criminals are going to cross paths with Lars soon.
Lars' next stop is at a hardware store where he buys a hammer and a saw and some rope. This he carefully hides in the trunk of his car as he heads home to pick up his wife, Lisa. At the gate, he meets Lisa's friend who wishes him happy hunting. Lars tenses and wonders if she saw his tools.
Lisa joins him and throughout the trip, the couple throws loathsome looks at each other. Lisa likes to keep herself moisturised and does Lars' hands as well. Lars picks his nose much to the disgust of his wife. The couple then get into an argument about their respective failing careers; his as a director, hers as an actress who can't land any parts except for in embarrassing commercials.
It ends with Lisa telling Lars she doesn't think he's a terrible director. That makes both of them laugh.
They arrive at the cabin and remove all the sheets from the furniture. Lars notices some cornflakes on the floor.
There are shots of butcher knives and shotguns. Clearly, all of them are going to be used at some point in the movie.
Lars gives Lisa an odd look that says how much she annoys him.
The couple makes dinner and Lisa gets impatient with Lars when he can't pick up the meat properly with forks. She uses her hands to place them on the grill.
They have dinner but clearly, Lisa is only eating mushrooms and broccoli. Lars takes a bite of the meat and that's about it.
They then play a game of scrabble and Lisa is lagging behind. She forms a Swedish word and Lars takes offence. She cannot use a Swedish word in this version of scrabble and is disallowed. She looks exasperated as Lars gives her minimum points and announces that she is about to lose. He remarks she looks tired and she heads upstairs.
The next day, Lars readies his hammer. He creeps up behind Lisa who calls him as she peruses some books. He gets closer and is about to strike when Lisa turns around and tasers him.
Lars awakens to find himself taped to a chair. Lisa explains that she has designs to kill him too. She explains her plan where she had, a day before, told her friend that her husband was dragging her to a hunting trip. She makes her reluctance obvious and the plan is that she accidentally tripped and the shotgun went off. In her flashback, the gardener remarks that he will see her sooner than she wants to.
Lars laughs at her plan. He tells her the major flaw in her plan is that she doesn't know how to act and no one will buy her story about the gun going off.
Lisa doesn't care but asks Lars why he wants to kill her. He tells her he knows about her affair to Diego, the guy with whom she's writing a play. She makes Lars reveal his plan where he was going to knock her out with the hammer, saw off her body parts and use the rocks he collected on his hike to drown her in the lake. The rocks are kept in a bag on the boat all ready.
Lisa laughs because Lars can barely pick up meat with his bare hands and is unlikely to dismember her.
Lars asks Lisa why she wants to kill him and she says it is because he not only gave up on his career but also on them.
Lars makes another remark about Lisa not getting any acting roles and she gets pissed off enough to want to blow his head off with a shotgun.
But that's when a man enters from behind her with a shovel and knocks her out.
Turns out Lars' plan wasn't fully revealed just yet. He had roped in the gardener to help him dismember his wife as he couldn't do it himself.
They had met three days ago at the carnival and planned it all out. Turns out there is also a life insurance worth three million which is the root of the couple's nefarious plans.
Lars has promised the gardener 500,000. He thinks he is getting half of the life insurance money but Lisa reveals he's being tricked. She is about to be offed and wants to make a last try to get away. The gardener is obviously curious and excited.
Lisa offers him 1.5 million to kill Lars instead. Lars is ready to offer him the whole amount if he kills Lisa. A struggle ensues between Lars and the gardener and both are holding onto the shotgun. Of course it goes off. The gardener loses a hand and is bleeding.
He freaks out and begins to run away. Lisa tells Lars to stop him. Lars shoots the gardener dead. Lisa chides him, revealing that she only told him to stop the bleeding.
Lars says he assumed she meant to stop him from running away and revealing the couple's murder plans.
The couple gets into another fight and decides to use the shotgun on each other. In the struggle, they aim at the ceiling and the gun goes off.
They hear a scream from the attic and the couple are surprised. In the next instant, the ceiling comes crashing down and along with it, three men...the criminals from the news.
Another flashback reveals the three criminals were running through the woods when they get really hungry. Petter, Dave and Roy and looking for food when Roy finds some berries and eats them all up against the advice of the others.
The trio is looking for shelter when they come upon the cabin. They eat the food, drop the cornflakes on the floor and touch everything around the house.
When they see a car approaching and the couple enter, they hide in the attic. But that is when Roy gets a stomach ache. The berries are acting up in his stomach which causes him to defecate in the corner while the others are disgusted.
How is it the couple didn't smell the stink?
Anyway, the only reason they don't kill the couple is that they think more people might be arriving.
When the couple struggles with the gun and shoots the ceiling they accidentally shoot Roy's backside.
Flashback over.
The couple awakens to find themselves tied up. Roy complains about his backside while Petter tells the couple that Dave is going to have his way with them.
Lisa assumes it is her and pleads to be let go. Lars makes a terrible remark about Lisa finally getting satisfaction which makes Petter remark that he is cold and then reveal that Dave is queer.
They snatch Lars and bend him over the pool table. The scene is disturbing and you wonder if this horror-comedy will go through with it. They don't.
Lisa speaks up about having 125,000 in her bank account that she would give the trio on the condition they would not lay a finger on either her or Lars.
The criminals agree, but make Lars beg for his life and lick Petter's feet first. Then they tie up the couple separately and go upstairs to watch TV and remove the shotgun shell from Roy's backside.
Lisa attempts to reconcile with Lars but he doesn't reply. Instead, he makes a ruckus and screams for someone to come downstairs.
Roy is sent downstairs and Lars tells him he has to go number two. Roy unties him and lets him go into the bathroom. Lisa tries to seduce Roy into letting her go. He makes a racist comment regarding her race considering he's a nazi.
Lars gets out and hits Roy on the head with billiard balls in his socks. Lars goes upstairs while Lisa finds a way to untie herself using the knife in Roy's pocket.
Meanwhile, when the goons don't hear from Roy they decide to go to the basement and find their pal knocked out.
They go out to search for the couple after reviving Roy. Lisa searches for car keys and just about manages to grab the boat keys when Roy comes up behind her.
He demands her keys when Lars comes up behind him. A fight ensues where all three; Lars, Lisa and Roy, keep getting beaten up. Eventually, Roy's head is blown off in another shotgun mishap.
Petter and Dave come over when they hear the sound and can't believe Roy was taken down.
They search for the couple who are hiding in the closet. Lars apologizes to Lisa and admits she was right about him. He did give up. They reconcile when the goons show up at the house.
A fight takes place that goes on till the morning. Petter almost has the upper hand over Lars and is about to push him on the lawnmower blade when a blue car comes over and runs him over. A man gets out of the car in slippers. It's Lars' father.
THE TRIP /I ONDE DAGER
Another flashback reveals that Lars' father's friend was out at night in his small car when he sees the cabin with the door wide open.
He calls up Lars' father and after going into lengthy detail about the pharmacy and his medicines that he must absolutely have a large stock of at home, he informs him of the cabin. Lars' father asks him if he went inside to which his friend replies no because he was worried it may have been a break-in.
Lars' father hobbles out of his room and when the receptionist gives him trouble, knocks him out, takes his car and reaches his cabin.
Back to the present, Dave takes Lisa hostage and Lars' father shows him he has the upper hand by shooting Dave in the knee.
He hardly gets to rejoice before Petter comes up behind him and stabs him before throwing him on the lawnmower blades. Lars did have a few minutes to turn the mower upright or switch it off, but he doesn't do these things.
Lisa drags him to the car and the couple barely drive away when Petter shoots at the car. The car hits a tree. Lars instructs Lisa to go to the boat and keep it ready. Lars goes back into the house to finish things.
Dave is nursing his broken knee and just about removes the bullet and bandages it when Lars who is standing watching him stomps on his knee.
He has noticed that Dave is wearing his favourite sweater and remembers how he was about to have his way with him. Lars uses the shotgun on his crotch.
Lars' father has managed to crawl to the hammock and lays there watching the sunrise. Lars joins him and admits that it is nice to watch the sunrise.
Lars' father passes away.
Meanwhile, Lisa starts the boat only to find out it has no fuel. She noticed the canister under the trees. She is about to retrieve it when Petter comes and threatens her. She manages to throw a bucket of fish hooks at him that Lodge around his face but Petter is not deterred. He is about to kill her but then remembers Lisa has money. He makes her get on the boat after filling it up.
Lars notices this, grabs the rope and plunges into the water. Lisa notices Lars and is relieved. She distracts Petter while Lars climbs in and another fight ensues. Luckily, Lars had kept a bag of rocks in it with which he was going to drown Lisa. Lisa uses it to knock Petter and as he falls, Lars gets his arm stuck on the rotator. Petter loses his arm and falls into the water. But the rope tangles around Lars and he too is pulled into the water.
Lisa makes a grab for him and for a moment it seems she may let go. She does stand to win the life insurance after all. Lars knows it too and he prepares himself but Lisa pulls him into the boat.
Once they are safe, they discuss their future which consists of no money at all. Lisa comes up with a great idea.
The couple calls the police and narrates their horrific ordeal. They did catch the escaped criminals after all and are lauded for it.
They are invited for interviews and Hollywood producers are after the rights of their stories. They manage to crack a million-dollar deal.
Lisa gets to play her while Lars gets to direct.
The scene that is played out is one where Lars was forced on by Dave but this time, the actor playing Lars uses the cue on the pool table to knock out the enemies with the help of an equally heroic Lisa.
Lars comments how that was exactly what happened.
This was a well-made horror with dark humour. It will draw out chuckles from you at the most unexpected scenes while keeping you on the edge of the seat the whole time.
Definitely worth a watch. And a re-watch.
Scare scale: 4/5
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