Croation shocker F20 may not deliver many surprises to fans of lover-gone-psycho cinema, but its vibrant style and gripping performances make the ride to the inevitable a stirring one. Director Arsen A. Ostojic’s thriller takes viewers on an unsettling ride with nods to slasher fare in its third act.
Part-time university student Martina (Romina Tonković) reluctantly helps her widowed father Mate (Mladen Vulić) out at his pizzeria. She develops a crush on Filip (Filip Mayer), a young man her age who orders pizza delivery daily. Asserting herself into his loner lifestyle of playing first-person shooter games while his parents are on vacation at their forest cabin, she and her friend Irena (Lana Ujevic) coax him into going out for drinks and karaoke, and the pair eventually enter into an intimate relationship.
Viewers are tipped off very early — some might argue too soon — that something might be amiss with Filip, but I’ll save the how and why to avoid going into spoiler territory (though, as I mentioned, strong clues are dropped from the early moments of the film). Martina is blind to this, though, until a plan of hers to steal some money with Filip and, against her strict father’s wishes, go to a huge beach party goes awry, sparking a night that will only get deadlier and bloodier as it progresses.
Ostojic, working from a screenplay by Hrvoje Sadaric, has crafted a good-looking feature with an often pulsing soundtrack. The first act sets up the main characters and their relationships and conflicts nicely, and once things heat up with Martina’s plan to go to the beach party, the tension rises well and stays in play through the suspenseful climax. Tonković is terrific as the frustrated Martina, and Mayer portrays his complex Filip well. The supporting cast members, led by Vulić as Martina’s frustrated and eventually fed-up father, also turn in solid performances.
Fans of psychothrillers and foreign genre fare should find plenty to enjoy with F20. It may tread familiar territory, but it delivers enough jolts and intrigue to come recommended.
F20 screens as part of the Another Hole in the Head Film Festival, which runs online from December 11–27, 2020. For more information about the festival, visit https://www.ahith.com/.
