This one appeared on critics’ lists as one of the most notable films of last year so I had to check it out. The fact that it’s billed as a supernatural horror film out of Norway only makes it more intriguing. To me however the hype seems unjustified and it’s pretty standard fare. From what I can tell, it has been lauded simply because it is Norwegian and it portrays a lesbian relationship of a sort which seems unwarranted to me.

Thelma is a young woman who leaves home for the first time to attend university. Her lack of experience with socializing with others makes her stand out as does her habit of telephoning her very religious parents every day. However when she experiences epileptic seizures while at school she declines to inform her parents and goes to see the doctor on her own. These seizures are accompanied by vivid visions on Thelma’s part and strange phenomena in the real world such as birds gathering in large flocks in the sky. She does eventually befriend another girl Anja and perhaps out of loneliness she becomes infatuated with Anja. At first, Anja seems to treat Thelma as an ordinary friend and after experiencing a vision one night, Anja shows up at Thelma’s apartment with no explanation and suddenly seems devoted to her. When Anja attempts to seduce her, Thelma’s guilt seems to worsen her seizures. Thelma’s parents however seem to know what is going on due to episodes that occurred during Thelma’s childhood which she seems to have completely forgotten about.

Usually in films like this, once they allude to the family being highly religious there are plenty of references in that direction. Thelma breaks this pattern however in that it feels cold and clinical rather than moody and scary. Thelma tries hard to find a medical explanation for the seizures and even when her powers become undeniably real, rather than feeling like it’s something Biblical or supernatural, the film treats it more as if she’s a mutant of some kind with superpowers. This impression is reinforced by the modern university setting, the crisp coldness of the Oslo and her hip friends who are lightly dismissive of religion. It’s an unusual choice and I think the point is that this is as much about a young woman panicking over being sexually attracted to another girl after being repressed for so long as it is about someone with superpowers.

Despite this quirk, I feel that Thelma doesn’t bring enough that is new to the table and young girls using superpowers to wreak havoc is at least as old as the original Carrie. Blending in themes about the protagonist finding herself might be more interesting if it weren’t for the fact that she effectively rewires her friend to be exactly who she wants her to be yet the film seems to gloss over it. This brainwashing should be horrifying but isn’t given any narrative weight at all. It feels like a film that wants to be seen as artistic but doesn’t have anything near the substance for that. Overall it’s not a bad film but it’s not a particularly good one either, it’s just okay.