trowsea This strange, visually arresting morality-slash-horror play is well worth the time. Set in the dense forests and wilderness of 16th century Finland, the plot features two brothers-- one an embittered veteran of the recent wars between Sweden and Russia, the other a naive geographer hoping to make for himself during the map making expedition. They and the rest of the surveying team, including rival Russian troops, soon discover a mysterious village hidden deep within an immense swampland. While the villagers have all fled the wars, instead the brothers and the rest of the surveying group are forced by a merciless spirit to confront their wartime deeds as well as a bloody incident during the expedition. It's uncertain if the spirit is a demon or is a manifestation of their own inner ghosts, but either way (in the great last line of Session 9) it feeds on "the weak and the wounded." Whether the brothers are cleansed or are devoured by the possessive force leads to a dark, unsettling finale.For fans of slower, more thoughtful horror, and especially horror stories set within unique historical circumstances (e.g. Black Death or R-Point), Sauna is a must-see. The costumes, scenery and cinematography alone make for a memorable experience, never mind the universally strong acting and relentlessly chilling atmosphere.

thebogofeternalstench Literally, this film sucked.It made no sense what so ever.........THe acting was OK, the pacing was OK, but the ending was just terrible.I got the whole idea of this 'cleansing sauna' in the middle of nowhere but the movie went off to space as far as I'm concerned, it lost me.It had potential to be great, but failed.so, it was boring...........tedious ................pretentious ......and definitely over rated.

mhelen Its about a group of border demarcation team stumbling into some kind of witch black hole kinda village .When they arrive the village is been repopulated only relatively recently by a group of finish refugees .Who tried to get away from raiding marauding Russian cossacks only to get into bigger trouble .Apparently upon arriving to this place they lost their fertility and lots of people chewed out their tongues and scratched their eyes out .There is something roaming the place of such horrendous entity that they prefer to mutilate themselves than faceit .Or the self mutilation is the result of encounter ? Well u never know . There is this creepy whitewashed cube like sauna in the middle of a swamp from which radiates all that creepedom .Your enter in it u are done u are history . Subtlest ermm...they're really annoying!and Finnish language is really creepy to listen to it . I swear they sounded like those things from District 9 movie! Alien.Couldn't they make them speak English? Well its my first Finnish movie and I think it will be last I ever will see. But to be fair I don't think I can be considered a fair judge of this kinda of movies . Thats not my idea of horror I like gore and blood flying all over . People who like ghost ,supernatural horror movies might like I dunno

CinPhan Sauna (Finnish w/Eng. SUB) is a subtle but chilling horror film set in 1595, tells the tale of the 25 year war against Sweden and Russia…and the men who survived and the ghosts that haunt them as they head home. This movie is a rare treat! …it gave me nightmares…and that says volumes considering I watch hundreds of horror films a month and my collection is in the excess or 2200 horror films alone. I loved the movie 'Let the Right One in', as well as 'Cold Prey' and 'Dead Snow'…all excellent examples or Nordic horror (Vampires, Serial Killer and Zombies)…but Sauna actually made me think about the fear of the facing one's own demons (in the dark); the story being presented may be too subtle for some to get into, but believe me, well worth the time and effort. It was NOT an in your face with knives and blood type of scary movie; it brought about the horror through mysteries, shadows of the past and an unknowable horror. The best kind of fear is from things you do not understand and cannot explain