Richard (Nick Frost) and Susan (Aisling Bea, This Way Up, Swede Caroline), along with their teenagers Sam (Sebastian Croft, Heartstopper, How to Date Billy Walsh) and Jessie (Maisie Ayres, Criminal Record, Silent Witness), are on a much-needed Scandinavian getaway to the secluded—and cursed—island archipelago of Svalta.
Susan chose the destination specifically to witness the local commune’s annual play, Karantan, which reenacts a violent, ancient event somehow connected to her great-great-great (great?) grandfather. But from the moment they leave the mainland for their island Airbnb—where outsiders are so welcome that there aren’t even any hotels—their encounters with locals grow increasingly awkward, ominous, and threatening: at the diner, on the ferry, and along the winding route to their eerie island home.
The folk horror tropes pile on as their unsettling host welcomes them to the so-called “vacation rental.” Soon after, the locals make a desperate attempt to scare them off, leaving a dead animal on the doorstep, brandishing torches and masks, and whispering ominously about sacrifice. But none of it deters the tourists. In fact, they remain completely unfazed.
Is this a commentary on colonialism—blithely occupying and exploiting foreign spaces despite local resistance—or a critique of the tourism industry’s similar disregard? Or perhaps it's simply a tongue-in-cheek nod to the genre itself, one that gave us The Wicker Man, Midsommar, and The Witch, but now teeters on the edge of self-parody?
Once the movie takes its blood-soaked turn, it becomes a gruesomely good time, perfect for a fun and creepy night on the couch with your horror-loving bestie.
Get Away is currently streaming for free on Shudder, AMC+, and Prime Video (with an AMC+ subscription), and available for rent on AppleTV.