The Conference review.
Netflix brings us a Swedish slasher movie with a great energy and some quality kills. Juxtaposed with a work retreat…The Conference finds fun in unexpected places.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
The Conference
Directed by Patrik Eklund
Written by Patrik Eklund and Thomas Moldestad
Starring Katia Winter, Eva Melander, Adam Lundgren, Cecilia Nilsson, Margareta Pettersson, Bahar Pars and Lola Zackow
The Conference Review
The Conference, despite its packaging, is a pure slasher movie. It’s the packaging that makes it more than your average one. The packaging is also what leaves you wondering what could have been had the film chosen to lean into the concept just a little harder. But the important part is…Netflix has offered up a darn good Swedish slasher movie right during spooky season. That always needs to be applauded. Especially when it’s as fun as The Conference (Konferensen in Swedish) is.
A group of employees head off to a work retreat ahead of ground-breaking on their latest project. Or, ”professional development training” for tax purposes. While standard corporate issues like company secrets, greed, and forged documents threaten to upend their company mandated fun…a much more visceral threat is stalking the surrounding woods. A masked killer is on the loose and out for revenge.
Revenge for what? That’s the obvious question. When a story concerns a company who deals in some shady practices…the door is open to all manner of angry people. Former employee? Someone screwed over by land development? Current aggrieved worker? The Conference doesn’t spend too much time concerning itself with the who and the why. It’s a part of the story…but the face it is so easy to form a suspect list makes its own point.
The Conference is at its best when it is bringing its bloody vengeance down upon the employees. Do they all deserve a terrible fate? Of course not. But what is a slasher movie without a body count? There is no shortage of creative kills in The Conference. If you are the type of horror fan who doesn’t need any more than that…you’ll be very happy with what is offered up here. This is a stylish movie with great energy.
There is a requisite plot here as well. Lina (Katia Winter) serves as our lead character…though the whole ensemble gets a chance to shine. Line uncovers dirty deeds the company is involved in…specifically Jonas (Adam Lundgren) who turns in an aces guy you love to hate performance. The cast is filled with all the office types you’d expect. In addition to Lina’s good person with a conscience and Jonas’s psychopathic go-getter full of ambition…we have the seemingly kind boss who gives corporate speak with a smile, the old guy who’s seen it all, the kindly older lady, the bro…archetypes you’d expect.
What gives The Conference an edge when compared to standard slasher movies is its ability to mine comedy out of the workplace aspect of the story. It’s also the one thing I wish had been carried a bit further. While juxtaposing team building exercises like potato sack races with violent murder is fun…a stronger commitment to that team building paying off would have been better. There is some of that…but not enough. In truth…a slasher movie where the hapless victims all managed to thwart the killer because of their trust exercises would have been hilarious. But…again…what’s a slasher movie without a body count.
It is funny to have realistic company disputes on one side of the story…and bloody slashing on the other. While The Conference takes a little time to get going…once the entire workforce witnesses someone being hung from a flagpole…it is off to the race. Kills are plentiful and wonderful. This is where I would place a corporate downsizing joke if I had one. Lina plays takes up the traditional final girl mantle…even as she has more trouble with Jonas than the masked murderer. She has her own side stories and missions while the rest of the group forges weapons to defend themselves. It’s a fun time.
While I expected The Conference to provide an enjoyable time…I was not expecting it to be as good of a slasher movie as it is. If you stripped away the commentary on corporate greed and team building jokes…you’d still have a very solid slasher movie. Adding in those extra layers of fun makes The Conference a good watch on Netflix. If only to watch Jonas be the biggest douchebag imaginable. And to root for him to get what he deserves.
Scare Value
The Conference lands a lot of its ideas. The overall concept of employees fighting for their lives when a work retreat turns deadly allows for some unique comedic moments. It probably doesn’t go far enough into marrying the two ideas (slasher movie and workplace dramedy) but what it does do works. Strong performances and a pitch perfect tone make The Conference a fun time.
3.5/5
The Conference Link
Streaming on Netflix
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