Some of the creepiest psychological studies of the last few years have come from Scandinavia. Bloody Angels tries to duplicate the eeriness of its Norwegian predecessors, Insomnia (which is being remade by Memento's Christopher Nolan) and Junk Mail. Though those shoes may be tough to fill, Angels is still a bitter disappointment.

Angels takes place in a tiny rural town where, several months prior to the film's opening, a young girl with Down's syndrome was brutally raped and murdered (shades of Paradise Lost?). The townsfolk believe that the killers are the two oldest sons of the most despised family in the bleak burg and, as the film opens, one of the alleged attackers is found dead in an icy river. His accomplice brother is missing, but nobody in the town will own up to the obvious retaliation.

Enter an Oslo detective named Nicholas Ramm (Reidar Sørensen), an old friend of the stymied local sheriff. Ramm gives new meaning to the term `no-nonsense cop,' instantly butting heads with the locals, who insist that they saw `bloody angels' descend from heaven and do the deed. Hoping to unravel the mystery, Ramm befriends the tormented younger brother of the suspects (Gaute Skjegstad), which makes everybody in town hate him even more. Is it really heavenly intervention, or mob justice? Duh – what do you think?

The directorial debut of Karin Julsrud, Angels isn't totally wasted. The music is downright hair-raising and the cinematography is great, creating a drab, washed-out look. The weak story (Finn Gjerdrum and Kjetil Indregard) by is the real problem here, and the ending should be particularly predictable to anyone that has seen a Pearl Jam video.

1:40 –

for violence, rape, sexual content and adult language