Dark Woods II

Dark Woods II (Villmark 2, 2015) is a Norwegian horror film you can watch online on iFILM. An abandoned sanatorium rots deep in a mountain forest, miles from any road. Five contract workers arrive to survey the building for hazardous waste before the wrecking crews move in. Asbestos, mercury — routine dirty work. That's what they were told, anyway.

The further the team pushes into the corridors, the clearer it becomes that these walls have a history that won't be torn down with the brickwork. The old wards still hold traces of what was done to the patients here. Isolation, darkness, jammed doors, and the creeping sense that they are not alone in the place. Director Pål Øie builds dread out of silence and the claustrophobia of an empty building rather than jump-scares. The cast includes Ellen Dorrit Petersen and Renate Reinsve, years before her international breakout.

It's a sequel to 2003's Villmark, but it stands on its own. Ninety taut, atmospheric minutes for anyone who likes Nordic horror cold and patient instead of drenched in gore. Stream Dark Woods II (2015) online on iFILM.