«The Angel Maker» - Movie Review by Kinoafisha

A masked figure drags a young girl by her legs from behind and then suffocates her with a plastic bag. Shortly after, the detectives receive a video of the torture and the actual murder, filmed by the perpetrator. And thus, the list of victims grows, each of them having recently undergone an abortion. At the crime scenes, of course, there are no traces, and the tormentor insists on being called the Creator of Angels - the name that was once given to infanticides. Taking on this difficult case are Esper, the head of the investigative team, and Laura, one of Copenhagen's top experts in cybercrime. She will have to interrupt her sick leave, which was granted due to her depression, in order to stop the sadistic serial killer and confront her own past.

The Danish thriller "Englemageren" tells the story of a serial killer who despises "child killers." Despite Denmark being one of the first Western European countries to legalize abortion, this topic has not been exhausted yet (and, as in many places in the world, it is still highly relevant). Strict time restrictions and the age of consent for abortion, without parental consent, are being debated. This problem, which has always sparked heated debates and seemed like a closed chapter, has once again come to the forefront. Both in real life and in cinema. And this time, the story in this genre attraction is created by Julie Elgor - the author of the idea, lead actress, producer, and co-screenwriter with Yusuf Osman, who co-directed the film alongside Esben Tønnesen.

The social themes in the film are perhaps the most interesting and worth paying attention to. The creators meticulously craft the modus operandi of the killer who carries out his cruel rituals. However, the focus here is not on violence in the frame for the sake of violence itself. Although these scenes are not for the faint-hearted, they conceal symbolism that is necessary for the creators of this thriller. The girls are suspended by their hands and their abdomens are deliberately sliced from below to the navel using a wire hook (a tool that was previously used for abortions). Let us recall a horrific scene from Lars von Trier's "Nymphomaniac," in which the protagonist performs this procedure on herself, hastily crafting a similar hook out of wire.

The film extensively addresses the vulnerability and fragility of women's lives. It must be said that women here are extremely unhappy and bear the brunt of it all. Laura suffers from psychosis, experiencing postpartum depression. Credit must be given to the directors: there is enough screen time for an engaging detective storyline, told in quite a detailed manner, as well as for the portrayal of various additional details. For example, Laura has her own kind of rituals. She wakes up and fervently performs the same exercises, takes a bath in distress, and avoids prolonged conversations with her husband. By all indications, something is not right with her. One of the most crucial locations in the plot is the "Sunny House" shelter. It is a crisis center for women with problems, which serves as a refuge for one of the victims as well. However, even this institution does not exude a sense of safety.

Throughout the course of "Englemageren," it manages to also depict marital discord and the problems between fathers and children that stem from the silence surrounding issues and lack of dialogue within families. Remaining a strong psychological thriller that knows how to maintain tension, the film largely aligns with the spirit of the times. However, in certain instances, the not overly perceptive conclusions attributed to the heroine in the script are disheartening, as they have become rather clichéd, similar to those where a criminal "has a goal and wants to attract attention." The overly emotional and dramatic conclusion leaves the viewer with a sense of hyper-artificiality. Towards the end, it seems that the film starts to suffer from a slight misogyny, killing off its heroines one after another. Nevertheless, the film remains a robust detective story that also doesn't fail to address important themes.