Film ● Review: Blasted (2022)
- Very Average Joe
- Aug 29, 2025
- 3 min read
Title: Blasted
Director(s): Martin Sofiedal
Screenwriter(s): Emanuel Nordrum
Studio: Miso Film
Released: 2022
Runtime: 1h 55m
Starring: Axel Bøyum, Fredrik Skogsrud, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, André Sørum, Mathias Luppichini, Eirik Hallert, Modou Bah
My Verdict: Looks good enough with solid performances. But the initial pacing is too slow and the comedy falls flat.
● The premise piggybacks off the “Hessdalen lights” in rural Norway and assumes it is related to extraterrestrials. The opening shows alien entities released from a cave somewhere in the valley.
● The main character is Sebastian (Axel Bøyum). He tries to win over Kasper (André Sørum), one of those eccentric rich guys, as an investor and fails. Meanwhile, his buddies Audun (Mathias Luppichini) and Pelle (Eirik Hallert) organize a bachelor party for him at a cabin in Hessdalen. Seeing an opportunity, Sebastian invites Kasper along in the hopes of changing his mind.
● When they leave for Hessdalen, Mikkel (Fredrik Skogsrud) shows up. He and Sebastian were childhood friends and laser-tag champions, but it is apparent they have not been in contact for a long time. (Sebastian’s fiancée had contacted Mikkel.)
● Whilst Mikkel turning up is plausible enough, Kasper showing up is not, especially given his initial rejection of Sebastian. Buttering up a potential investor with a pre-planned event may be normal, but an impromptu invite is in itself already hard to believe.
● Even accepting the setup, the film simply never takes off. There are a couple of moments early on that don’t lead to something more dramatic when they could. Whilst this is not a bad thing in itself—the unhurried approach is appreciated—there are key moments later on that don’t lead to much.
● To put it differently, Sebastian and company are the viewpoint characters and the audience knows what they know. Whilst the mystery and intrigue are initially handled well enough, after certain expositions regarding the alien threat, the plot needs to move on to some action and more expositions but not enough happens.
● An obvious example is that once the characters work out that Mikkel’s laser blaster can harm the aliens, one would think they would have more motivation to be more active.
● Apart from Kasper and the alien threat, the other conflict or problem is between Sebastian and Mikkel. This is a stereotypical case of “childhood friends grown apart”. Whilst Sebastian is a tightly strung adult, Mikkel still lives as if he is a child and this is something Sebastian despises. Obviously, Sebastian and Mikkel have to resolve that before they can work together.
● Meanwhile, in contrast, Audun and Pelle are dorks who serve the role of the “clueless” which provides some comedy.
● Related to the above, there is some rapid-fire dialogue that contributes to the quirky humor. Unfortunately, there’s not enough.
● The plot also follows local cops Hjørdis (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal) and Benjamin (Modou Bah). Although written almost as token side characters as relief to the boys’ plot threads, these two are well-written enough with solid performances, particularly from Berdal. Hjørdis comes across as more compelling than the other characters.
● For a film with such a premise, it lacks that absurdist humor. The characters can be treated as both “fish out of the water” and “it’s real and we are experts after all” but the plot fails to play on the irony. The setup is perfect for slapstick and black comedy, especially fluke achievements and running gags, but it doesn’t do them.
● There are some decent ideas. For example, the laser blaster having an impact on the aliens with the subsequent slime splatter has a similar visceral impact as blood but without blood or harming the humans they possess.
● It is shot and edited nicely. It mostly has a nice palette with solid colors. It is not overtly and richly colorful. It could use more stylization but it looks good enough.
● The music composed by Roy Westad is excellent. One could argue it is nothing special but whether it is sweeping orchestral themes or something more functional for suspense, it fits and makes the film bigger than it is.
● The production is very good even if the CG can look much better. The characters, although modelled on the genre template, are generally not bad and the performances are solid. Unfortunately, the relatively slow buildup builds to not much, and the comedy and action fall flat.
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