‘UFO Sweden’ Fantastic Fest 2023 Review: A Visually Stunning Tale of Found Family

No matter how old I get, whenever I look up at the night sky and see thousands of stars sparkling above, I’m filled with child-like wonder (and a bit of dread) about the nature of the universe and outer space. My imagination runs wild with possibilities of other worlds, other places beyond our own. That was especially appealing to a teenage version of myself. Director Victor Danell bottles that feeling in his new film UFO Sweden, a sci-fi epic that captures the wonders of the universe while also delivering a sweet story of found family and belonging.

Denise (Inez Dahl Torhaug) is a teenage girl recently placed in foster care after the disappearance of her dad. While everyone thinks he just skipped town to avoid responsibilities and is dead somewhere, Denise tries to convince everyone that he was abducted by aliens. Of course, such a claim is met with laughter and snide remarks, all while Denise is just trying to find the one person in the world who understands her. She believes if she can figure out how to somehow summon the UFO again, she’ll be able to find her dad. But she can’t do it alone.

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So, she enlists the help of UFO Sweden, a local extraterrestrial group that tracks potential sightings in the area. In fact, the group was once led by her father, so they more than anyone would understand why Denise wants to find him. But it’ll take some convincing of the remaining members to trust the daughter of the man who abandoned their mission.

While they form a tentative alliance, the longer Denise spends with UFO Sweden, the more of a little family they become. In true Amblin fashion, a group of outcasts finds one another in the name of a bigger cause, united in their passion for the truth. Yes, it’s predictable, but it doesn’t make the journey any less heart-warming as Denise and the group hurtle toward a realization of cosmic proportions.

And don’t worry, government agencies do try to intervene, which spurs our heroes to go on epic van chases through Swedish fields and run from men in suits. Again, it’s very E.T. and even Stranger Things in execution, particularly as it appeals to a very specific era of sci-fi filmmaking, and predictable in its narrative beats. But Danell and co-writer Jimmy Nivrén Olsson add enough twists to their film to make it feel, ultimately, a bit unique in the oeuvre of coming-of-age genre cinema. 

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The biggest strength of UFO Sweden comes from its technical side, with every frame looking gorgeous and meticulously designed to capture that air of nostalgia. Mute colors are used to emulate the color palettes of the 1980s, but then bright colors burst forth with each supernatural occurrence, almost technicolor in appearance as the anomaly is illuminated against the night sky. The use of color evokes that child-like wonder as you look up at the night sky with Denise and wonder what’s really out there.

UFO Sweden is a visually stunning piece of nostalgia full of heart and excitement. This is Sweden’s response to Stranger Things and the early works of Steven Spielberg, a stunning look at found family in the face of the impossible. It’s equal parts heart-warming and heart-breaking, sucking you into a journey of epic, and cosmic, proportions. It’s the perfect film to show younger horror fans, an introduction to the beauty of a very nostalgic era of sci-fi horror.

Categorized: Reviews