Ludvig Gür’s In the Name of God, aka Gudstjänst, is one of two Swedish movies screening at this year’s Pigeon Shrine FrightFest. Other than their country of origin, the two films could not be more different. Whilst the other Swedish selection, From Darkness, is an atmospheric woodland set supernatural creature feature, In the Name of God is far more existential and twisted.
Gür’s script explores the power and dangers of faith as it tells of a priest pushed to the brink when his wife falls ill. Theodor (Linus Wahlgren) is a priest with a very small congregation, but that quickly changes in the wake of a ‘miracle.’ Theodor’s wife, Felicia (Lisa Henni), falls sick, and when his usual prayers do not work, he allows his former mentor to show him a new way. As Theodor dabbles in the occult and punishes a sinner, Felicia is miraculously cured. News spreads and suddenly the church is overflowing with patrons. However, knowing that Theodor has aided one miracle, everyone wants a turn, and Theodor is left battling between his desire to help and the dark tasks that must be committed to achieve results.
The plot of In the Name of God sounds fairly standard, and within the first twenty minutes it seems obvious where the story is leading. Then towards the midpoint, the narrative starts to shift. The story opens out to include Erik (Vilhelm Blomgren), a popular presenter known as ‘The Cult Buster.’ Through his programme, Erik infiltrates and exposes cults. His reasonings are personal, and after hearing of Theodor’s miraculous work, makes him his next subject. This introduction completely changes the tone and feeling on In the Name of God. Until this point the film plays as a riff on Frailty and Dexter, but suddenly has an air of The Sacrament minus the found-footage format. The switch-up helps keep the pace punchy and the story alive. This change in focus places the audience on the back foot and the ending becomes far trickier to figure out.
That In the Name of God focuses so much on Christianity is refreshing to see from a Scandi film. Films from this part of the world typically focus on Paganism with films such as Midsommar serving to perpetuate the stereotype. In shifting to Christianity, In the Name of God automatically feels slightly unsettling as the viewer is seeing something that they don’t often easily see from Scandi products. The decision also makes Gür’s film far more accessible for the American market as they love their genre cinema about a priest in crisis. Thankfully, this priest in crisis is not as traditional as conventions dictate and watching Theodor’s journey is an engaging adventure. As the story progresses, elements of the Occult begin to creep in, but the onus is on the power of belief rather than demons manifesting to call the shots.
In the Name of God is a film that is forever twisting and changing. Its constant evolution is its strength and the second act shift in focus throws everything into question. Gür ensures that the viewer is kept guessing until the very closing moments.
In the Name of God
Summary
Ludvig Gür’s first foray into fiction features an ever-changing mystery that is sure to keep the viewer in a constant state of suspicion and speculation, with few likely to pin down exactly how it will end.
In the Name of God was reviewed at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest 2024.
