Valley of Shadows

The setting is hilly sheep farming country adjacent to forested national parklands. Aslak and friend Lasse venture into a farm building and discover the grisly remains of several sheep. From a hidden spot they overhear Lasse’s father complain to another man that “he is killing just for fun’ and state intentions to hunt the killer to death and claim dog attack. Lasse plants the notion in Aslak’s mind that the entity responsible is a werewolf.

Later, in the evening, Aslak’s mother Astrid receives a visit from police who are seeking her eldest son, a destructive addict who was ejected from the family home many months previously. He is now a person of interest in regard to violent crimes committed. Panicked, Astrid leaves on an unexplained errand, during which time Aslak, alone in the house all evening, seeks comfort with Rapp, his beloved dog.

Lasse and Aslak find more eviscerated sheep carcasses in the fields. Later, having conflated the matter of the missing brother with the matter of the savaged sheep, Aslak is musing on the possibility that his brother may be the werewolf. He enters his missing brother’s room and Astrid, depending for her emotional balance on preserving her lost son’s room as it was when before he left, reprimands Aslak for intruding. Aslak, stung by this, asks permission to spend the night at Lasse’s home and Astrid, who disapproves of the friendship, reluctantly agrees.

After lights out, the boys discuss older brothers and the possible location of the “monster that kills for fun”, in the nearby forest. In the morning, they visit the forest. Lasse lifts Aslak in, over the fence. After a brief foray, at the sight of a long-dead lost sheep Aslak flees back to the open field.

Sheep are brought inside and outbuilding for the night for their protection. In the barn, Lasse shows Aslak bundles of poisoned bait meat to be distributed in the forest. The boys and Lasse’s father watch the killed sheep disposed of in a bonfire fuelled with pallet wood.

Back home again, at breakfast time, Aslak sees the police pull in once again and his mother opts to meet them outside. As children’s radio programming is heard, he sees his mother collapse and runs to hide. From his position he hears Astrid screaming in anguish. At the police station, Aslak draws under the care of a member of the police. There are bloody images of dead sheep hanging on the walls of an adjacent office, visible through the door frame close by. Astrid is lamenting her decision to evict her son and placing responsibility also on police who failed to prevent his crime spree and death; “just another dead junkie. But he was my son!”.

At home, Aslak again explores his brother’s room, appropriating a kerosene lighter. Then, accompanied by Rapp, he explores a derelict caravan. Rapp, alarmed, runs in pursuit of hidden quarry into the forest as Aslak races after him, unable to catch up. Aslak returns home without Rapp.

Astrid assures Aslak at his bedside that if Rapp has not returned by morning, she will help search for him. However, Rapp still not having in the morning returned, and Astrid unrousable, Aslak sets off on the search alone with a small backpack and a jam sandwich. In the forest, Aslak encounters more sheep remains, but forges on. Through the hours there is fog, rain, an elk from which Aslak runs and, falling, injures his leg. Night falls with Aslak thoroughly lost. Screaming foxes make fearsome the darkness as Aslak crouches under the bole a tree against an embankment down which rills run. Rain falls and Aslak is afflicted with exposure and exhaustion. The jam sandwich falls from his hand, rinsed by the rain as he sinks into unconsciousness.

In the cold, damp morning, weak and exhausted by hunger, Aslak continues to seek Rapp. There is the strange sight and creaking, cracking sound of inexplicably moving branches. Traversing a rise, Aslak sees a large tree moving heavily down a stream, catching on and damaging trees growing on the banks.

There is a rowboat. Aslak climbs in and is carried him downstream through increasingly uncanny environs with scudding mists and gloom. The boat fetches up against a bank. Through trees, across an inlet Aslak sees a dark, motionless hooded figure watching his arrival. He approaches, slowly and weakly toward a derelict, unlit house.

The resident recluse appears as a mythical being through Aslak’s delirium of exposure and exhaustion, seeming to wink in and out of existence. Aslak enquires whether he is the monster and the strange man, denying this, ruminates on the nature of fear, and offers comfort while Aslak sleeps again. The man carries him back to the boat, lays him in it and pushes it from the bank. Aslak drifts on. At last the boat finds the bank once more. Hearing barking, Aslak runs, calling Rapp, and is found by a Red Cross search party with dogs, and his mother.

Home again, refreshed by sleep, Aslak is fondly greeted by Astrid. Soon, Lasse arrives with Rapp in tow; Rapp was found in a barn. Aslak and Rapp play together in the field, but Aslak continues to worry about the forest and the monster.

Aslak later watches as Lasse’s father repairs the hole in the fence leading into the forest, and the poison bait is distributed therein. Aslak, no longer afraid of the forest or the monster- possibly his brother, a werewolf- returns under cover of darkness to gather up the poisoned baits and reopen the fence.

At full moon, a wolf is heard in the night.

In the morning, Aslak and Astrid dress for the elder son’s funeral. Astrid regrets that there had been no time for Aslak to get to know his brother.

The final shot shows Aslak stretched out straight, still dressed in black, motionless on his brother’s bed.

• Valley of Shadows at IMDb
• Valley of Shadows at Rotten Tomatoes