And now for something completely different: It starts all with a chicken and ends with a kiss. In-between we see a cute as hell lead actor, well dressed kids and, well, aliens. Coming of age film for kids? Yes! Unusual horror comedy for adults? Hell yes!

Rated R in the US – The kids dared to say ”Fuck”… We will all die, etc.

Once upon a time, there was a blue planet by the name of Earth. On this planet, some six billion people lived together for better or worse, in war and in love. But there was also life on another planet. The creatures there were not as diverse, for they only knew war, not love. So mankind had something they really wanted…yet as with all good stories, a lot can go wrong…

English 
Released in its home country of Denmark as Vikaren, The Substitute takes the old aliens coming to take over the world concept and condenses it into a very small, intimate story. Though far more sci-fi than it is horror, this is what I like to refer to as a “gateway” film — a movie kids will watch that’ll give them a taste of horror, hopefully whetting their appetites for the harder stuff down the road.

    

When the students of class 6B are told they’ll be getting a new substitute for a short time, visions of goofing off and disobeying left and right cause them to jump for joy. When the sub shows up, however, they take a decidedly different viewpoint. She’s mean, harsh, and has no qualms telling the children how stupid they are. One of the students, Carl, even gets a very real example of the fact that she can read minds, which sets him down a path to figure out just what the hell she really is. What we know and Carl soon finds out is that she’s an alien, sent to Earth from her home planet to try and figure out what love is in order to bring the information back to her race so they can stop killing one another. There’s a very strong, sometimes overstated, theme of mankind being the only species (in this case in the entire universe) with the capacity to love, to feel empathy or compassion.

Don’t go into The Substitute expecting any kind of slimy alien horror story; in fact the moments of actual horror take up maybe a minute or two of the film’s entire runtime, and even that is pushing it. What makes the tale scary is imagining being in these kids’ shoes when all this is happening, which is yet another reason why a strong cast was so important. But what really helps make The Substitute work is its sense of humor. There are some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments that help to both humanize the characters even more and break up some tension that may be building.

Director Ole Bornedal calls young lead actor Jonas Wandschneider "poetic, beautiful and clever," three words that perfectly describe The Substitute. Equal parts sci-fi, fantasy, adventure and lighthearted thriller, this Danish effort is invigorated with deliciously dark humor that’s brought to life by an amazing cast. Add arresting cinematography and production design, and this is a true joy to experience. Cynical and cheerful at the same time, it’s a movie with a message about isolation, loneliness and sorrow — and the battle to break free.

Stupid US Trailer – Watch the Original Trailer in the Comments!
 
German
Neulich auf einem nachbarplaneten: krieg und gegenseitiges Auffressen sind an der Tagesordnung. Als die Bewohner von der stärksten Macht im universum erfahren, werden sie auf die Erde aufmerksam, denn hier besitzt die Bevölkerung diese Macht. Es ist… die Liebe. Also entsnden die Außerirdischen Ulla Harms, ein Irrlicht in einer silbernen Kugel. Als diese in die Frau eines Hühnerbauern eindringt und wenig später dier Klassenvertretung der 6b übernimmt – aus welchen gründen auch immer – nimmt das Unheil seinen Lauf: Die neue Paukerin hetzt über die vorstehenden Zähne ihrer Schüler, macht Witze über die frisch verstorbene Mutter eines Jungen, liest Gedanken und posaunt die intimsten Geheimnisse der Pubertierenden vor versammelter Mannschaft aus. Gefühlosigkeit und seltsame Härte verwirren die Kinder. Also machen sich die Schüler auf, herauszufinden, was mit der scheinbar Geistesgestörten los ist…

Die Überraschung schlechthin! Der deutsche Titel Alien Teacher lässt auf Kinderklamauk und Harry-Potter-Grusel schließen… der größte trugschluss seit langem. Denn tatsächlich kommt hier ein Film aus dem kranken universum des des genialen "Nachtwache-Regisseurs um die Ecke und schlägt mit solcher Wucht ein, dass man mit der DVD rumknutschen möchte. Ein Film über Außenseiter, Einsamkeit und Trauer – und den Kampf sich davon zu befreien.
 
 
Official Site | Wikipedia | IMDbReview (English) | Review (Deutsch)
Sources: English Text | German Text
 
31 Responses to “The Substitute”
  1. Reinout Identicon Icon Reinout NETHERLANDS says:

    looks good, downloading now with p2p

  2. torrance Identicon Icon torrance NEW ZEALAND says:

    The American trailer is absolutely terrible.

  3. Roddo Identicon Icon Roddo GERMANY says:

    all teachers are aliens :)

  4. Alan Identicon Icon Alan UNITED STATES says:

    Stupid aliens, coming to earth to find out how to stop killing each other. Earthlings kill each other with disgusting frequency.

  5. vjedma Identicon Icon vjedma GERMANY says:

    Now i’m sure some of my teachers were aliens. I foreboded years ago, but nobody wanted to believe in me

  6. HATER of the WMG Identicon Icon HATER of the WMG UNITED STATES says:

    Hot blond boy with creamy smooth skin…sold

  7. HATER of the WMG Identicon Icon HATER of the WMG UNITED STATES says:

    I dont use p4p unless im forced to, usenet! get it in 10 mins!

    http://www.binsearch.info/?q=Vikaren&max=250&adv_age=240&server=

  8. What Identicon Icon What UNITED STATES says:

    Does this come in a subtitled version? I HATE English dubs. They pull you away from the character more than reading does.

  9. jonnybgoode Identicon Icon jonnybgoode UNITED STATES says:

    Thanks, I put in on my Netflix list.

  10. Levi Identicon Icon Levi CANADA says:

    I don’t like sci-fi movies but this one looks pretty fun!

  11. StaryMoon Identicon Icon StaryMoon UNITED STATES says:

    he’s really cute, too bad his hair is so short.

  12. What Identicon Icon What UNITED STATES says:

    Actually, now the clothing is starting to bug me. Who decided that kids like to shop in the expensive sections of Urban Outfitters? Or is it only in America where dressing with your pants below your ass is considered cool?

  13. Josh~ Identicon Icon Josh~ GERMANY says:

    I wouldn’t consider them overdressed. Sure, not everyone is wearing clothes like them but in general I would risk to allure some hate and say that European kids are mostly better dressed than American kids ;p

  14. triggr Identicon Icon triggr NETHERLANDS says:

    whatever. I just think that chicken is really, really gonna get it.. yeah, and he’s cute.

  15. Declan Identicon Icon Declan UNITED STATES says:

    The chicken picture is very Donnie Darko.

  16. holoman88 Identicon Icon holoman88 UNITED STATES says:

    i agree most American teenage boys dress poorly. Unless you they are like me and work at Express :P

  17. Declan Identicon Icon Declan UNITED STATES says:

    So I just finished watching this and it’s actually pretty decent. There’s a (sad) reason why his hair’s short and punk like. It looks pretty cool, to be honest. Also, he wears a lot of black, so cool x2.

  18. HATER of the WMG Identicon Icon HATER of the WMG UNITED STATES says:

    Jonas Wandschneider is stop your heart hot!

  19. Strongarm Identicon Icon Strongarm UNITED STATES says:

    the boy was gorgeous. That’s about all the movie has going for it. The russian director also directed 3 movies callled night watch, day watch, and Dawn watch. Strangely enough the first movie had a scene with a boy with out his shirt that seemed rather pointless.

    I wonder if the director likes slipping in the gorgeous shirtless boy for a reason?

  20. luke Identicon Icon luke GERMANY says:

    Yeah, thats a nice movie indeed! Jonas is looking mighty fine in it!

  21. What Identicon Icon What UNITED STATES says:

    They already released Dawn Watch? Man, my area is behind on the Lukyanenko train. I was only recently able to get the translated version of Twilight Watch, which the rest of the world had been reading long before me.

  22. Caietan Identicon Icon Caietan GERMANY says:

    I liked the ending! Danish high-tech against aliens: a harvester! :-))

  23. Declan Identicon Icon Declan UNITED STATES says:

    @Strongarm:

    The director is not Russian. His “Nightwatch” is a different movie from the one you’re talking about.

  24. Strongarm Identicon Icon Strongarm UNITED STATES says:

    really? was it the producer then? I know SOME ONE from night watch is tied into it… oh well.

  25. HATER of the WMG Identicon Icon HATER of the WMG UNITED STATES says:

    I’ll be looking for this:
    Vølvens forbandelse
    Release Date:
    27 March 2009 (Denmark)
    What happened to the good old days when a European film was almost guaranteed to have a nude scene?

  26. Torrance Identicon Icon Torrance NEW ZEALAND says:

    I just watched this…

    It’s not a horror, it’s a comedy! Loved it. :)

  27. mrtn Identicon Icon mrtn GERMANY says:

    Finally managed to see the (badly synchronized?) German version. In general the movie is a lot of fun with some boring scenes. It is not clear to me why the director made Jonas Wandschneider walk around half-naked so often (or at all). It doesn’t add to the plot. It’s great eye-candy though and he’s cute, so I’m not going to complain. ;-)

  28. alex lerma Identicon Icon alex lerma MEXICO says:

    Wonderfull, the best boy, the most pretty

  29.  
Trackbacks
  1.  
Leave a Reply

It may take a moment for your comment to appear, please submit it only once!
Stay respectful please, no lewd comments. Basic HTML is allowed.