Review of Sisu

midlandsmovies • May 25, 2023

Sisu (2023) Dir. Jalmari Helander


Back in the 90s Tarantino-style meant criminals, nonlinear narratives and pop culture references. 30 years later and it now means Nazis and horse-riding Western revenge. The blood and violence has pretty much stayed the same.


Why am I starting here with Tarantino. Well, new film Sisu contains a bit of both and if this low-budget cult-inspired b-movie isn’t one of Tarantino’s faves of the year, I’ll eat my hat. And if not, then it’s definitely one of mine.


Written and directed by Finnish filmmaker Jalmari Helander, we are introduced to an old man who has distanced himself from World War 2 and is prospecting for gold in the wilderness. After finding a huge number of nuggets, he sets off with his treasure on horseback with his trusty dog. However, the war soon finds him with a convoy of Nazis, and their tank, crossing his path.


As the German soldiers attempt to relieve him of his riches, they get a taste of his primeval violence and we discover this man, Aatami Korpi (played well by a haggard Jorma Tommila), is a legendary commando and “one man death squad”. Quite. He then takes out a platoon of soldiers but another squad finds a rock of gold and decides to make chase - in their tank no less  - with shells flying close to his horse as he attempts to flee.


The film then moves to a minefield increasing the blood and gore and we get a taste of the proper grindhouse vibes the film is giving off with lens flare, Revenant-style wild locations and standoffs that hark to Sergio Leone. 


A group of captured (and abused) young girls adds some seriousness to the excessive proceedings and the film is a never-ending onslaught of overt-the-top action which delivers in each violent set-piece.


Aatami is pursued by an unnerving but always-brilliant Aksel Hennie (The Trip) as Nazi Commander Bruno Helldorf and their cat and mouse confrontations increase intensity as the film progresses. Whilst an injured Aatami uses a pierced petrol tank to set himself on fire to avoid a dog-attack, Helldorf soon has him hanging from a pole assuming he’s dead.


We're certainly not short of unlikely old guys getting violent (Nobody, Taken, Pig, John Wick) but at 91 minutes, it doesn’t waste a second with its stronger levels of gore and a pace that never takes its foot off the gas.


An ingenious (if disgusting) way to get oxygen whilst underwater was a stomach-churning delight and I began thinking that in some parallel universe this could be the basis of a 5th Indiana Jones film with tanks, bikes, planes and trucks all playing their parts in well-shot action moments.


From its unrestrained ferocity and rapid bouts of bloodshed, Sisu delivers a host of entertaining cult-film-inspired action in a fury of aggressive slaughter. And it has to be said, it’s always immensely satisfying to see Nazis getting punched (and shot, and burnt, and blown up, and stabbed…and much more). Brutal deluxe.


★★★★★

5/5


Michael Sales

By midlandsmovies April 26, 2025
Up! (1976) Dir. Russ Meyer  Well, bi-Adolf Hitler BDSM is not something (a) I thought I’d ever see 5 minutes into a movie and (b) ever expected to write in my lifetime to be fair but this spicy start is pretty standard for the work of exploitation filmmaker Russ Meyer. Up! is a kind of r*pe-revenge softcore p*rn film (there’s gonna be a fair bit of self-censorship in this review so apologies in advance), the type Meyer is known for. I’d describe the plot in more detail but it’s mostly a convoluted and incoherent mess of double-crossing, murder, violence and lots and lots of humping. In short, a man called Adolph gets murdered and a woman investigates (kinda) the circumstances but as she does so, a group of locals blackmail, attack and screw each other with the murder mystery barely mentioned throughout. With so little narrative, it could be argued if it’s essentially p*rn? To be fair, not far off. It’s about extreme as you can go without simply making a s*x film. Is that a…no, it’s a belly button hole. Bookending the film (and also seen at various points throughout) is a Greek Chorus - simply a busty fully nude woman of course - who delivers dialogue like “Pummelling the scrotum with joyous supplication” and other such poeticisms. This artistic flourish is mostly pointless - the actress herself saying the words were tough to learn because it was utter nonsense. On a technical level, the editing is surprisingly well done and the 4k image is frankly fantastic. Someone somewhere must be putting together a post-modern take about the beautiful landscapes and cinematography of Meyer’s * ahem * output. But it definitely does have a kitsch artistry. It has certainly provided plenty of cinematic influence though. Elements of Tarantino grindhouse sensibilities are on show - Meyers likes bosoms as much as Quents likes feet - and there’s even a leather gimp early on. I can also see how its had an impact on Ti West X’s with a focus on sexuality and the body as well, more obviously, Anna Biller’s feminist-twist The Love Witch (2016). Suffice to say it’s not for the weak of heart. I think in this day and age you can’t go into this completely blind to its style, period and context though. It's an X-rated Carry On style that was bad taste then and it’s bad taste now. It revels in its sleaziness without a single hint of shame or apology. Simply saying 'deal with it'. The main negative though is the absence of plot - if the film can even be looked at like that - which is barely present. This is a shame as the whole thing could do with a bit more coherence rather than endless shagging. But it’s far from titillation, it’s mostly clowning - albeit a very adult version of it. More saucy than sexy. Trying to review this through modern sensibilities is almost impossible. It’s as offensive can be from the first scene through to the final credits - heck even this 4k menu is simply one of the film's many s*x scenes. But there are some progressive themes as it doesn’t shy from confronting sexual freedom, bisexuality, gay sex, BDSM and consensual exploration. There's moments of comedy thrown in and I enjoyed a frankly hilarious 5-minute monologue explaining the culprit’s intentions, which was a ludicrous way to deliver a slasher-style ending. I suppose the main thing about Up! (and Meyers’ work overall) is there’s a sort of love it or loathe it quality about the whole shebang. But it’s so unlike anything being made today - for good or bad - that it’s never anything other than unpredictably fascinating. More explicit than most Meyers films - in fact more than any film - it’s a lewd, rude and crude (s)exploration with a satirical edge and campy enjoyment bouncing from every frame. ★★★ 3 / 5 Michael Sales Severin Films releases Russ Meyers' UP! (1976) and MOTORPSYCHO (1965) on 28 April 2025 in newly restored and scanned 4k with hours of new and archival Special Features https://severinfilms.co.uk/
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