LFO (film)

LFO is a 2013 Swedish science fiction film directed and written by Antonio Tublén about a man who realizes that he can hypnotize with sound. He starts experimenting on his neighbors, where the abuse of power takes over and, eventually, severe consequences for mankind are at stake.

LFO
Directed byAntonio Tublén
Produced by
  • Alexander Brøndsted
  • Fredric Ollerstam
  • Antonio Tublén
Written byAntonio Tublén
Starring
Music byAntonio Tublén
Cinematography
  • Alexander Brøndsted
  • Linus Eklund
Edited byAntonio Tublén
Production
company
  • Pingpongfilm
  • SpectreVision
Distributed by
Release date
Running time
94 minutes
CountrySweden
Denmark
LanguageSwedish

Plot

Robert Nord, an awkward man, spends most of his time playing with his synthesizers in his basement. After he has an argument with his wife Clara, whom he suspects is cheating on him, he returns to the basement again, to her annoyance. There, over the Internet, he discusses with several of his friends his belief that he has what he calls a "sound allergy" to the music that his wife enjoys. He proposes that a certain frequency could act as the opposite of this allergy and give him the peace that he desires. With the help of Sinus-San, one of his friends from the Internet, he makes a breakthrough, though he hides the extent of his success. When Simon and Linn move next door to him, he resolves to experiment on them over the objections of his wife.

Robert invites over his new neighbors. Before he leaves to get the coffee, he casually mentions that his family was killed in a car crash. Uncomfortable with the awkwardness of the conversation, Simon tells Clara that he intends to leave. However, when Robert returns, he plays a hypnotic frequency that compels them to obey his commands. He orders Simon to perform menial tasks and Linn to have sex with him. When Clara calls him pathetic, he defends his actions as being necessary to test the extent of his control. Eventually, it is revealed that Clara and his son, Sebastian, died when Robert sabotaged the family car. Clara chides him to take his antipsychotic medicine, pointing out that she is a hallucination, but Robert refuses. Instead, he forces Simon and Linn to take the place of his dead family members.

After several weeks of servitude at his house, his neighbors are reported missing, and the police show up at Robert's house to ask him if he has seen them. Robert panics and hypnotizes the police into leaving his house. Unsatisfied with his fake family, he releases Simon and Linn, though he monitors their life using security devices. When Linn accidentally discovers through the security device that Simon has been cheating on her, Robert hypnotizes them into accepting him as their marriage counselor. Robert again forces Linn to have sex with him, and he forces Simon to passively watch as punishment for cheating on her. When he tires of this, he again releases them from his control and amuses himself with mean-spirited pranks on his other neighbors. Clara urges him to find a more meaningful life.

Over time, the car manufacturer and police become interested in Robert's involvement in the deaths of his wife and son. Sinus-San, who has been investigating Robert, threatens to go to the police unless Robert shares his invention. Robert hypnotizes Sinus-San and a representative of the car manufacturer, but the case against him continues. Frustrated with both the state of the world and his inability to be left in peace, Robert decides to broaden his experiment. He first compels Simon and Linn to form a rock band with him, but he abandons that idea when their songs turn out amateurish. Robert then asks Simon and Linn for advice, and they describe their vision of a utopian society. Intrigued by their protestations that he should not play God, Robert asks them to define God.

Armed with their conception of a benevolent deity, Robert hypnotizes himself to emulate those qualities. Robert practices learning various foreign languages, and a series of voice-overs report that he has attained increasingly more prestigious positions in society, ultimately rising to the position of ruler of a unified Earth. At first, he forces through sweeping changes to society, but his message becomes increasingly pessimistic and antihumanist until he commands the entire human race to commit mass suicide.

Cast

Release
Izabella Jo Tschig, Antonio Tublén and Patrik Karlson at Fantastic Fest, 2013

LFO premiered on September 21, 2013 at the Fantastic Fest film festival in Austin. Director Antonio Tublén was joined in attendance by the two stars Patrik Karlson and Izabella Jo Tschig and producers Alexander Brøndsted and Fredric Ollerstam.

In April 2014 MPI Media Group announced that it had acquired U.S. distribution and international sales rights to LFO under their Dark Sky Films banner.[1] In the same press release it was announced that the film production company SpectreVision, founded by Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah and Josh C Waller, had come on board to present LFO, serving as executive producers.

Reception

After the premiere, Peter Martin of Twitch Film wrote, "LFO is a diabolical joy to watch".[2] Stephen Dalton of The Hollywood Reporter called it a "witty sci-fi thriller".[3] Brad Miska of Bloody Disgusting rated it 4/5 stars and described it as a "strange and rather darkly funny exploration of manipulation and power".[4] Quiet Earth wrote that the film "is not only an exercise in how to breathe new life into the Mad Scientist story, but also a smart, funny head trip so solidly crafted that it easily ranks among the best of this year's fest, and is one of the finest films of its kind I've seen in years".[5]

Awards and nominations
Year Festival Category Result
2013 Minneapolis Underground Film Festival Best Feature Film Won
2013 Ithaca International Fantastic Film Festival Best Feature Film Nominated
2014 Fantasporto International Film Festival Manoel De Oliveira Award Nominated
2014 BIFFF 7th Orbit Award Won
2014 Festival Mauvais Genre Prix du public long-métrage Won
2014 Sci-Fi London Best Feature Won
2014 Fantaspoa Best Feature Nominated
2014 Lund International Fantastic Film Festival Melies D'Argent Nominated
2014 Sitges International Film Festival Noves Visions Nominated
2014 Fancine Best Feature Nominated

Festival screenings
year festival selection
2013 Fantastic Fest Official
2013 Minneapolis Underground Film Festival Official
2013 Spectrefest
2013 Ithaca International Fantastic Film Festival Official
2013 Torino International Film Festival Official
2014 Pune International Film Festival
2014 Boston Sci-Fi Fest
2014 Glasgow Film Festival Official
2014 Fantasporto Official
2014 SFF-rated ATHENS Official
2014 Cleveland International Film Festival Official
2014 SCI-FI-LONDON Film Festival Official
2014 Belfast Film Festival Official
2014 BIFFF Official
2014 Festival Mauvais Genre Official
2014 Stanley Film Festival Official
2014 Fantaspoa Official
2014 PiFan Official
2014 Calgary International Film Festival Official
2014 Grimmfest Official
2014 Lund International Fantastic Film Festival Official
2014 Sitges International Film Festival Official
2014 Fancine Official
2014 Randevu Istanbul International Film Festival
2015 Tromsø International Film Festival Official
2015 Muestra Syfy de Cine Fantástico Official
2015 Uluslararası Eskişehir Film Festivali Official

Official releases

LFO was released on iTunes,[6] Amazon Video [7] and other digital platforms on October 23, 2014.

LFO was released on Netflix [8] in over 25 countries on December 27, 2014.

LFO was released in Turkey with a Turkish dub on Digiturk[9] on July 7, 2015.

LFO was released by Monster Pictures[10] on DVD in Australia on July 22, 2015.

LFO was released on DVD in the UK [11] and Italy[12] on November 9, 2015

AMC Networks owned VOD channel Shudder [13] released LFO on VOD on July 1, 2016.

LFO was released on Apple TV,[14] in July 2020.

References
  1. Barton, Steve (2014-04-17). "MPI Nabs LFO". Dread Central. Retrieved 2015-01-10.
  2. Martin, Peter (2013-09-22). "Fantastic Fest 2013 Review: LFO Tunes In Dark Comedy And Control Issues". Twitch Film. Retrieved 2015-01-09.
  3. Dalton, Stephen (2013-12-03). "LFO: Turin Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-01-09.
  4. Miska, Brad (2014-04-20). "[Stanley '14 Review] 'LFO' Strange and Darkly Funny". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 2015-01-10.
  5. "Fantastic Fest 2013: LFO [Review]". QuietEarth.us. 2013-09-25. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  6. https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/lfo/id926067598
  7. https://www.amazon.com/LFO-Patrik-Karlson/dp/B00NSHBQ2S
  8. http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/80009009
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-08-08. Retrieved 2015-08-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-07-14. Retrieved 2015-07-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lfo-DVD-Patrik-Karlson/dp/B01081SMGE/
  12. https://www.amazon.it/Lfo-DVD-Edizione-Regno-Unito/dp/B01081SMGE/
  13. https://www.shudder.com/watch/lfo/426/1
  14. https://tv.apple.com/fi/movie/lfo/umc.cmc.3lkucu5vhvqjcmxipnj34umrd
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