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" Heavy   Trip ," a Finnish ensemble comedy about a wannabe black metal band, is probably the only film you'll see this year with a crowd-surfing corpse. Don't let the last part of that sentence dissuade you from seeing " Heavy   Trip :" it's a real crowdpleaser. 

Granted, many of the film's jokes are at the expense of the small-town residents of Taivalkoski, a little Finnish burg where reindeer meat is sold and the slur "homo" is regrettably used to put down outcasts. Painfully shy metalhead Turo ( Johannes Holopainen ) is one such misfit: he and his band—later named "Impaled Rektum"—have been practicing for 12 years, but have never performed live once. That all changes when the Rektum bump into the director of a Norwegian metal festival. Their ensuing hero's journey-style story is a heart-felt and surprisingly well-timed comedy with just enough self-deprecating humor to make even the most shop-worn cliches work. " Heavy   Trip " is a feel-good comedy about the members of a subculture that simultaneously embraces and pokes fun of its subjects. 

You don't even have to enjoy  heavy  metal music to like " Heavy   Trip ," though it definitely helps. Turo and his band are good at what they do: Turo's singing voice sounds like a possessed diesel engine; drummer Jynnky ( Antti Heikkinen ) keeps time even when he's choking on his food; guitarist Lotvonen ( Samuli Jaskio ) shreds his instrument as quickly and as gracefully as a free-falling rollercoaster cart; and bassist Pasi ( Max Ovaska ) gives such a solid, low-thrumming foundation to the group's glass-shattering music that he makes even goofy KISS-style ghost paint and nail-studded bracelets seem like reasonable fashion choices. 

You can tell that these guys are serious about what they do just from the way that they solemnly talk about metal. Thankfully, their passion is never really the butt of the film's jokes. Sure, Pasi, a part-time librarian, recommends Uruguayan grindcore metal to two unsuspecting patrons who only want to hear Justin Bieber's latest record. And yes, Pasi's fellow band-mates are the kind of guys who have starry-eyed conversations about what their band should be called--"Fetal Death." "Let's not get small children involved in this"—while they push Jynnky's broken down van. Pasi also quotes former Black Sabbath frontman Ronnie James Dio with grave earnest-ness and can recall the opening chords to all his favorite songs by Pantera, Children of Bodom, and Mors Subita. Turo means it when he says "This music is our thing. Other guys can play hockey and drive around chasing pussy. We play metal." And Holopainen's apparent sincerity and conviction makes you want to overlook the wounded macho pride inherent in his second sentence. He convinces you that Turo's crass declaration makes sense in his world, a place where he and his friends are credible under-dogs.

Co-directors Juuso Laatio and Jukka Vidgren and their three co-writers' rare sensitivity and knack for comic timing makes Turo and his group's generally familiar story arc—Impaled Rektum's Norway gig gives them an immediate ego boost, but they become so overwhelmed with their imminent success that they cause an international incident involving a stolen van and an illegally exhumed corpse—that much more convincing. You can see some plot twists coming, just as you can tell that Turo will inevitably overcome his timidity and show local florist Miia ( Minka Kuustonen ) how he feels about her. 

But Laatio, Vidgren, and the gang deserve major credit for nailing their scenario's most predictable elements. They spin things out until eventually, you start to wonder why you're watching the Swedish border patrol attack a "Jesus and the disciples"-themedbachelor party. Thankfully, even this shaggy dog-style scenario pays off. Twice. Laatio and Vidgren are so good at establishing their film's internal logic that it's even hard to find fault with their most seemingly chauvinistic, bro-y jokes, like when Jynnky's reindeer-slaying dad tells Impaled Rektum's members that "The meaning of life is like a clitoris: you move around it, but you can never be sure you've found it." That joke may seem icky, but it's not finished until Jynnky's mom adds "You haven't." 

Likewise, a fratguy-worthy paraphrase of " The Blues Brothers "—"We're on a mission from Satan"—isn't over until a Swedish border patrolwoman says "Listen, I love Satan as much as any woman in their 40s. But you're coming up for interrogation right this moment." The rest of the film's jokes are similarly raunchy, but never in a mean-spirited way (Just wait 'til you see how Turo ultimately deals with being called a "Homo"). That spirit of inclusivity makes " Heavy Trip " a cult hit waiting in the wings. Come for the brutal music, stay for the charming DIY optimism.

Simon Abrams

Simon Abrams is a native New Yorker and freelance film critic whose work has been featured in  The New York Times ,  Vanity Fair ,  The Village Voice,  and elsewhere.

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Heavy Trip (2018)

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Heavy Trip 's heartfelt humor and fully realized characters make this a journey well worth taking - and one of the best rock comedies in recent memory.

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Heavy trip (2018).

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Better shit thighs than eternal constipation.

Turo is stuck in a small village and the best thing in his life is being the lead vocalist for the amateur metal band Impaled Rektum. He and his bandmates have practiced for 12 years without playing a single gig. The guys get a surprise visitor from Norway -- the promoter for a huge heavy metal music festival -- and decide it's now or never. They steal a van, a corpse, and even a new drummer to make their dreams a reality.

Jukka Vidgren

Director, Writer

Juuso Laatio

Jari Rantala

Aleksi Puranen

Top Billed Cast

Johannes Holopainen

Turo Moilanen

Samuli Jaskio

Antti Tuomas Heikkinen

Pasi / Xytrax

Minka Kuustonen

Ville Tiihonen

Jouni Tulkku

Kai Lehtinen

Chike Ohanwe

Pirjo Lonka

Nursing Home Pirjo

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Original Title Hevi reissu

Status Released

Original Language Finnish

Budget $3,369,762.00

• heavy metal
• mental patient
• grave robbing
• black metal

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• "The story arc is awfully familiar, but that doesn't stop it being a rollicking romp."  Deborah Young : The Hollywood Reporter
• "This Finnish black metal comedy has its heart in the right place (...) but never quite transcends its quirky humor to become the epic it sets out to be."  Josh Kupecki : Austin Chronicle
• "[The comedy] throws many ideas together, never quite coalescing into a coherent whole. The film’s best humor pokes at absurdities in provincial life (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 4)"  Pat Brown : Slant
• "'Heavy Trip' does succeed in creating perhaps the most charming ensemble of morbid dorks since 'What We Do In The Shadows'."  Katie Rife : AV Club
• "'Heavy Trip' is a hilarious, loving ode to heavy metal fandom."  J Hurtado : Screen Anarchy

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Summary Turo is stuck in a small village where the best thing in his life is being the lead vocalist for the amateur metal band Impaled Rektum. The only problem? He and his bandmates have practiced for 12 years without playing a single gig. The guys get a surprise visitor from Norway—the promoter for a huge heavy metal music festival—and decide ... Read More

Directed By : Juuso Laatio, Jukka Vidgren

Written By : Juuso Laatio, Aleksi Puranen, Jari Olavi Rantala, Jukka Vidgren

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Johannes holopainen, turo moilanen, samuli jaskio, antti tuomas heikkinen, jyrki kalevi 'jynkky' pätsi, pasi, xytrax, minka kuustonen, ville tiihonen, jouni tulkku.

Kai Lehtinen

Chike ohanwe, pirjo lonka, martti syrjä, lotvosen isä, sinikka mokkila, lotvosen äiti, merja, pertti sveholm, kunnanjohtaja, frank massegrav, joel hirvonen, anssi niemi, ville hilska, torstein bjørklund, christensen, helén vikstvedt, anette dokken, mikko neuvonen, viikinkilarppaaja, tobias anttila, critic reviews.

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Heavy Trip (2018)

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• AV Club Katie Rife While the film's attempts at slapstick can be painful-in a cringing way, not in a brutal way-Heavy Trip does succeed in creating perhaps the most charming ensemble of morbid dorks since What We Do In The Shadows.
• The Lamplight Review Brent Hankins For anyone that's ever played in a garage band and remembers things like pre-show jitters, schlepping equipment to and from the venue, and the importance of a good promotional photo, Heavy Trip should resonate particularly well.
• Film Threat Filipe Freitas Heavy Trip is an absurdist, powerhouse folly, which feels spunky enough to honor the musical genre and comes filled with deadpan hilarity to please comedy addicts.
• Nightmare on Film Street Kimberley Elizabeth Tune in, Turn off, and just go with it - Heavy Trip is a hilarious home for outcasts and misfits. A laugh riot for the rebellious, and call-to-arms for the underdog.
• Smash Cut Reviews Karl Delossantos Not everyone will be able to find the rhythm that Heavy Trip is drumming, but once you do it's futile not to drum along.
• RogerEbert.com Simon Abrams A cult hit waiting in the wings. Come for the brutal music, stay for the charming DIY optimism.
• Slant Magazine Pat Brown Its story distances heavy metal from any whiff of toxic masculinity by setting Turo and company against homophobes and rakes.
• Austin Chronicle Richard Whittaker It's no Metalocalypse (pretty much the only metal comedy to completely break the rules), and there are no new classic anthems here, but if you want to bang your head to a very familiar beat, Heavy Trip is a solid cover version.
• 812filmreviews Robert Daniels The band at the center of Heavy Trip, Impaled Rectum, provide the best comedy of the year and one of the best music films in decades
• Chicago Reader Jamie Ludwig One of the funniest buddy films of the year.
• Los Angeles Times Michael Rechtshaffen Remains knowingly true to its quirky quartet and milieu even as the plotting runs off the rails a tad in the third act.
• RogerEbert.com Nick Allen Achieves the status of bonafide crowd-pleaser, for a crowd that isn't normally acknowledged with such detail and warmth.
• Hollywood Reporter Deborah Young Part let's-get-it-together band saga and part road movie, the story arc is awfully familiar, but that doesn't stop it being a rollicking romp.
• Austin Chronicle Josh Kupecki This Finnish black metal comedy has its heart in the right place (severed from the body, of course, and served on a stake), but never quite transcends its quirky humor to become the epic it sets out to be.
• Third Coast Review Lisa Trifone If you can, see this one with an audience where the laughs from your fellow film-goers will surely elevate this slapstick rock comedy to an eleven.
• Birth.Movies.Death. Andrew Todd Heavy Trip ought to appeal to a wider audience than Lords of Chaos, as the bar for entry in terms of prior knowledge (and stomach fortitude) is much lower. It's also just a likeable story.
• Consequence Dominick Suzanne-Mayer There's always been a from-the-basement feel to the genre, and everything about the modest dark comedy of Heavy Trip feels entirely faithful to that anarchic spirit.
• Blu-ray.com Brian Orndorf The production manages to maintain control of outrageousness, keeping extremes sly and silliness within reach, skillfully finding moments of pure joy.
• Cinema Crazed Felix Vasquez Jr. A genuinely entertaining, heartfelt, laugh out loud film...
• Eye for Film Jennie Kermode Heavy Trip has universal appeal, but you will need resilient eardrums to get you through - and if you know your metal well, the in-jokes may well have you in stitches within the first 20 minutes.

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"Heavy Trip" has slowly built its following since its initial limited release in fall 2018, but the doors to a larger audience blew open the following year with its wider release on Amazon Prime . If you are a heavy metal fan that has been burned by other comedic movies that lazily treated the genre as a joke, rest assured that "Heavy Trip" not only provides an infectiously uproarious tale, but also treats its musical inspirations with complete reverence.

"Heavy Trip" is a tale of two approaches to comedic film writing. The first two-thirds of the film is a relatable tale of a death metal enthusiast ( Turo Moilanen , played superbly by Johannes Holopainen ) who is rotting away in his tiny Finnish town well into his twenties, forever feeling lovelorn for an old high school classmate ( Miia , played very charmingly by Minka Kuustonen ),and jealous of the local celebrity, a lounge singer whose audience is lonely divorcees around the region. Turo 's only escape from the mundane doldrums is his duty as lead vocalist for a ragtag death metal group populated with fellow misfits of equal stature (or more appropriately, lack of). The band has never left the basement, but a chance encounter with the promoter of a Norwegian heavy metal festival inspires the group — now dubbed IMPALED REKTUM — to take its stab at leaving home.

The writing/directing duo of Juuso Laatio and Jukka Vidgren do a fantastic job infusing a potentially clichéd tale with earnest heart and relatable characters. Every member of the band has their own individual charms, while also being united in their quest for something greater than small-town Finnish life. Turo 's shy vocalist is complemented by everyman guitarist Lotvonen ( Samuli Jaskio ),the walking Encyclopedia Metallium that is bassist Pasi a.k.a. Xytrax ( Max Ovaska ),and slovenly-but-lovable drummer Jynnky ( Antti Heikkenen ). Laatio and Vidgren showcase the daily rut that all members of the band are trapped in, from the listlessness of day jobs to local townsfolk teasing Turo for being a long-haired pretty boy. This isn't to say that the first sixty minutes of the movie is depressing though, as there is plenty of sharp humor and wicked laughs to be had.

But that grounding in reality makes the broadly played closing stretch of the film more hilarious. The second half of the band's journey sees an incredible chain of events occurring, with the band embarking on forays into grave-robbing and run-ins with military police on their quest for heavy metal glory. The transition from the tiny world built during the first part of the movie to the grand sequences of the final act is a bit jarring initially, but the ride is fun once you embrace the insanity that is now occurring.

The movie is executed in a way that would please even casual filmgoers, but if you are reading this site, you are probably wondering how the actual music is treated. Laatio and Vidgren do a great job delicately balancing the more humorous aspects of heavy metal fandom with a sincere love for the genre. It's easy to laugh at Pasi describing the band's music as "symphonic post-apocalyptic reindeer-grinding Christ-abusing extreme war pagan Fennoscandian metal," but there is nothing half-assed about the musical approach. The pounding riffs, blastbeats, guttural vocals, and lyrics that drive IMPALED REKTUM 's original songs — written by Laatio — are delivered with loving brutality by vocalist Eemeli Bodde ( MORS SUBITA ) and guitarist Mika Lammassaari (also of MORS SUBITA and WOLFHEART ). The movie's sound is given additional metal credibility by incidental music from STRATOVARIUS bassist/composer Lauri Porra . There is very much a sense of authenticity to the music that lends extra weight to the band's cinematic journey.

If you have yet to take the journey presented by "Heavy Trip" , the film is now readily available on Amazon Prime for you to headbang to and laugh at simultaneously. There is plenty of both to be had.

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About this movie

Ratings and reviews.

Why Heavy Trip is the funniest metal movie since This Is Spinal Tap

Director Juuso Laatio reveals the challenges of making a film featuring grave robbers and a band called Impaled Rektum

“The scene where they’re all digging up the corpse in the middle of the night was actually shot on the longest day of the year – Midsummer’s Eve. Poor choice of scheduling that day!” 

We’re speaking with Juuso Laatio who, along with Jukka Vidgren, co-wrote and directed 2018’s Heavy Trip — the most unerringly-authentic metal comedy since This is Spinal Tap . Juuso is discussing the challenges of filming night scenes in his native Finland during the summer, when the sun simply doesn’t set. 

“For variety, it’s good to have night and day scenes, so the night stuff is all done in post,” he explains.

But grave-robbing is actually one of the film’s more minor plot points. Drawing inspiration from The Blues Brothers and other vintage American comedies, Heavy Trip tells the story of a lovable extreme metal band from a small town in Finland, whose simple quest for a gig catapults them into a sprawling and disastrous odyssey involving local bullies, wild animals, grave robbing, terrorists, Vikings, a crucifixion, a love story, an international standoff, buckets of vomit and a steady onslaught of brutal, neck-snapping metal. Their goal: make it to the Northern Damnation festival in Norway so they can play their bludgeoning new song in the parking lot.

Describing the film’s origins, Juuso explains, “Jukka and I were both raised on Hollywood cinema and Hollywood comedies. We wanted to make a feel-good film about a subject that isn’t typically seen as a feel-good subject.” 

The subject, of course, is heavy metal, which tends to get a very short shrift in most movies, with metalheads coming across as thuggish or dim-witted scenery for the main characters to avoid or to overcome (although, of course, there are some movies that get metal absolutely right ). The band in Heavy Trip — who adopt the suitably-appalling name of 'Impaled Rektum' — are the movie’s sweet but hapless protagonists. Portraying them in a realistic and positive way was one of Juuso’s primary objectives. 

“There’s something about metal guys,” he says. “Metal people know that they’re generally really nice and gentle and funny; or sometimes quiet, nerdy people and in contrast they do the most sonically violent stuff you can imagine. There’s a great contrast between the people and the music that they play. Also, usually metal people are the butt of the joke and we wanted to tell the side of the metal people.” 

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One of Heavy Trip ’s many refreshing qualities is the clever ways in which it acknowledges the many cliches that it taps into — road trip movies, bands looking for their big break, romantic comedies, small towns, etc. — while turning them on their heads. For example, the film’s principal antagonist is the town’s slimy, womanising lounge singer. 

“I don’t know how well his jokes translate into English,” Juuso says, “but the lines that I wrote for him are so dirty in Finnish that I was embarrassed for my parents to see the film. It was really great to write such an asshole character.” 

The lead singer’s crush is not a leathery metal vixen but the girl in the flower shop who likes coffee and sticky buns. It’s very easy to relate to the characters because they seem like real friends in a real band dealing with the kind of stuff that most people — metalheads or otherwise — have experienced. And the way that the band’s vocalist (played by Johannes Holopainen), ultimately deals with the town’s homophobic bullies is deeply-satisfying.

From a metal perspective, the authenticity is off the charts. The actors sport t-shirts from the likes of Death , Kreator, Slayer , and Cannibal Corpse and their rehearsal room is decked out in painstakingly-curated extreme metal regalia. Also, the band’s first hit, Flooding Secrations (sic), is an absolute firestorm of pummeling blastbeats and grinding riffs, composed by Mika Lammassaari (Mors Subita). A longtime metaller himself, Juuso knew that the metal references had to pass muster with the scene’s most committed disciples — a caricature in and of themselves — who appear in the composite form of the band’s bassist, Pasi (masterfully played by Max Ovaska). 

“I think that if you’re in the metal scene,” Juuso says, “you know somebody who’s like that. An absolutist or a purist. I don’t want to admit this, but have you seen the show Community? There’s a lot of Abed in Pasi.” 

In one of the film’s recurring jokes, Pasi describes their subgenre as, “symphonic, post-apocalyptic, reindeer-grinding, Christ-abusing, extreme, war, pagan, Fennoscandic metal.”

One finds more than a few similarities between Dave Mustaine and Impaled Rektum’s guitarist Lotvonen (played by Samuli Jaskio). 

Juuso explains, “Pretty much the whole appearance of the guitar player is the old school Mustaine look. I tried to pack as many Megadeth references as I could into the film. He works in the slaughterhouse and he has the Killing Is My Business shirt and his guitar is the Mustaine guitar from the early 90s. Also, one inside joke is where the drummer (played by Antti Heikkinen), is sneaking into the police station, the chords playing in the background are another Megadeth reference — Hangar 18 .”

The film begs for multiple viewings. With a coveted 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Heavy Trip has found a wide and enthusiastic global audience that continues to grow exponentially now that it’s available on streaming platforms. Weirdly, although Finland is acknowledged as the metal capital of the world, Heavy Trip initially bombed there. 

“Nobody went to see it in the Finnish cinemas,” Juuso says. “It was marketed very poorly and to the wrong audience; it was marketed to 15 year-olds but it’s not a film for them. They don’t know the metal references and they don’t listen to metal anyway. After the failed opening, it was pretty much, ‘Well, there goes our career. Nobody’s going to work with us again.’” 

But the sense of failure was short-lived. At its South By Southwest premiere, the audience got it immediately, responding with thundering laughter and standing ovations. 

“We were really surprised, wondering if people would like a Finnish film with subtitles, but they loved it. Since then we’ve been to a lot of festivals and I’ve actually seen mosh pits at the theatre! We have the craziest fans in Japan. They have cosplay over there and one guy cosplayed as the speed camera! And they had special screenings where the music is turned up extra loud. There’s a crazy Heavy Trip scene over there.”

Which leads us to the inevitable question — will there be a Heavy Trip 2? 

“It's in the works," he says. "We’ve written a really good script and we were supposed to film it this summer. We’re aiming to film it next year. You never know. The last film took six years so I hope this one doesn’t take so long!”. 

There’s no need to worry — in the immortal words of Pasi: “We’re on a mission from Satan.”

Buy Heavy Trip on Amazon

Hailing from San Diego, California, Joe Daly is an award-winning music journalist with over thirty years experience. Since 2010, Joe has been a regular contributor for Metal Hammer , penning cover features, news stories, album reviews and other content. Joe also writes for Classic Rock, Bass Player, Men’s Health and Outburn magazines. He has served as Music Editor for several online outlets and he has been a contributor for SPIN, the BBC and a frequent guest on several podcasts. When he’s not serenading his neighbours with black metal, Joe enjoys playing hockey, beating on his bass and fawning over his dogs.

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Turo is stuck in a small village and the best thing in his life is being the lead vocalist for the amateur metal band Impaled Rektum. He and his bandmates have practiced for 12 years without playing a single gig. The guys get a surprise visitor from Norway -- the promoter for a huge heavy metal music festival -- and decide it's now or never. They steal a van, a corpse, and even a new drummer to make their dreams a reality.

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Movie Score

March 9, 2018,

Jukka Vidgren

Film Series

Heavy Trip Movies

Johannes Holopainen, Samuli Jaskio, Antti Tuomas Heikkinen, Max Ovaska, Minka Kuustonen, Ville Tiihonen

Comedy, Music

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Currently available on 4 streaming services.

Heavy Trip (2018)

Original title: hevi reissu.

92min - English

30 Days Free

Then £8.99 / month

92min - Finnish

Watch on Amazon Prime Video for free

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Turo is stuck in a small village and the best thing in his life is being the lead vocalist for the amateur metal band Impaled Rektum. He and his bandmates have practiced for 12 years without playing a single gig. The guys get a surprise visitor from Norway -- the promoter for a huge heavy metal music festival -- and decide it's now or never. They steal a van, a corpse, and even a new drummer to make their dreams a reality.

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Where does Heavy Trip rank today? The JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts are calculated by user activity within the last 24 hours. This includes clicking on a streaming offer, adding a title to a watchlist, and marking a title as 'seen'. This includes data from ~1.3 million movie & TV show fans per day.

Heavy Trip is 8764 on the JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts today. The movie has moved up the charts by 6746 places since yesterday. In the United Kingdom, it is currently more popular than Pan but less popular than You Don't Know Jack.

Streaming charts last updated: 13:13:38, 21/08/2024

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