The motif of children going down to the woods and being sure of a big surprise probably works as well as it does for teddy bears on a picnic.
However, for young kids Mia and David, left at their grandma’s house without confiscated phones, the thought of working hard cleaning up chicken remains for their supper doesn’t endear them in the new Estonian dark fairy tale KRATT.
Environmentalists at a nearby sacred forest are battling modern lumberjacks who need to chop down wood for their livelihood, even if it is a miserly couple of hundred Euros. However, when Mia, David and local friends, August and Juuli discover the journal of a long-deceased Count whilst visiting the cluttered library – which can teach them to make a ‘Kratt‘, which is in simple terms something that does the work for them, thus attempting to help their Grandma – forces beyond comprehension decide to take over.
Things get even more complicated when the quartet, using all manner of domestic objects a la THE A-TEAM trying to love a plan coming together!, build a giant version of what looks like a cross between a deformed Tin Man and ‘Forkie’ from TOY STORY 4 and the grandmother tries to destroy it with a chainsaw. Seeking the soul to complete the Kratt, they encounter a local freak who drinks some blood, whilst the grandmother becomes haunted by the soul of the Kratt, demanding work of all kinds at their beck-and-call….
Delightful and vibrant cautionary horror tale (which also contains one of the best wind-breaking gags in recent years so please stick with this!!) with much to offer fans of good comedic horror like THE EVIL DEAD and EVIL DEAD II, plus TUCKER AND DALE VS. EVIL. There’s nothng like a bit of old-style exorcism thrown into the mix, so if you like your classic 70s stuff then give this a go.
