Name: The Conference
Director: Patrik Eklund
Released: 2023-10-13T12:30:00

In The Conference, a killer targets a group of municipal employees who have arrived at a holiday village for a team-building exercise. The movie is now streaming on Netflix.

Story

Jonas and Ingela bring their employees to Kolarsjön Holiday Village for a professional team-building exercise. They will get to know each other and learn to work better together.

During their time here, they will discuss the construction of a shopping center in Kolarängen. It is being built after the demolition of the land of a local farmer.

Lina has just returned to work after a sick leave, and she finds it wrong that they are not compensating the farmer for handing them their land.

Even though her signature is there on the contract, she suspects that Jonas is up to something. While Jonas’ employees bicker with each other, a killer shows up at the holiday village and begins killing them one by one in any way they can.

Performances

It can be argued who the lead character or actor is in the film. The entire cast of The Conference gives an equally entertaining and convincing performance.

Adam Lundgren manages to be hateful as Jonas, the team leader of the employees in the film. Lundgren, with his expressions and reactions, portrays how selfish and vicious his character can be.

Katia Winter, on the other hand, is playing Lina, a common lead character who wants to do everything morally right. Even though Winter doesn’t get much screen time, she serves her purpose, and so do the other supporting cast members.

Positives

The Conference keeps its plot very simple by adhering to the formula that is used for slashers, and it manages to make it entertaining. None of the elements feel too much or too little; it’s just enough.

Also, it’s fresh to see adults being trapped by the killer instead of teenagers, who are targets in most of the slashers. Talking about the killer, they are so casual about murdering people that it looks hilarious.

The killer certainly balances the humor. Even though the film has some elements of comedy, the killer never tries to be funny. It’s just the circumstances surrounding the murders that make the killings look funny.

All the characters are given equal importance and are allowed to play their part in survival. Hence, no one character is considered the lead. Lastly, when it comes to gore, it’s pretty well-balanced and will satisfy the fans of the genre.

Negatives

The killings begin within the first 20 minutes of the film. However, initially, too much focus is given to the drama taking place between the municipal employees. Hence, some of these first kills get overshadowed.

There is much less mystery around who the killer is. The movie gives away obvious suspects, and hence, the mystery element is weaker.

Verdict

The Conference relies on a typical formula used for slashers. However, it balances the role its colorful characters play and makes the best of the genre to give viewers an entertaining watch that is simple and hilarious.