A young man struggling with his sanity must confront inner and external demons. He embarks on an action-packed adventure after taking part in a strange medical experiment.

From out of Finland, an independent and action-packed film called Lääkekoe (2018), or “Medicated“, does a karate kick into my movie watching line up. A movie that could also be called a parody, psychological, psychedelic thriller, Lääkekoe has something for everyone and especially those who can appreciate amateur Youtube movies. However, for it being a very low-budget movie, it has charm and wit and none too shabby special and practical-blood effects. The film is directed by Tapio Kauma and Ville Väisänen, and stars: Tapio Kauma, Ville Väisänen, Heikki Kauma, and Niko Hil; a small team who all share this love-letter to twisty action-thrillers with the masses for free on YouTube.

Lääkekoe follows Korppainen (Tapio Kauma), an anxiety-ridden adult who happens to owe his brother, Kartsa (also Tapio Kauma), one hundred and fifty dollars. When Kartsa tells him about a medical experiment paying just that much, Korppainen is forced to join the experiment in order to pay his debt. He finds that the injections, a glowing red substance, cause his mind to have violent encounters with martial artist demons who have creepy TV-static faces, as well as an ancient and seemingly omniscient evil-being, named Hal’Migure. It would seem that destiny chose Korppainen to seek out and destroy this ancient evil, but after he goes through the movie’s plot twists, double-crossing players, and many, many fight scenes, Korppainen must realize if he is fighting Hal’Migure or actually fighting himself.

Look up on your screens… It’s a sci-fi! It’s a psychological thriller! It’s a drug film! No, it’s Lääkekoe! I found that I was asking myself very early on in this experience WTF am I watching. One of those movies where the film’s premise is open to interpretation since we experience the events through the main character’s eyes, all while his reliability is called into question. It makes for a trippy experience, especially when coupled with the film’s glaringly obvious lack of budget. Lääkekoe plays with the unreliable protagonist spiel, like Memento or Fight Club, except this time, the psyche turmoil may have been drug-induced…or is it? Lääkekoe won the 2019 Skulle Awards “Best Foreign Horror Feature”, and although some of its content might be dark, it is hardly scary when I find myself laughing often at this action thriller.

Lääkekoe seems like a trail mix of styles. The quality has the looks of a nineties’s homemade movie, the style looks of seventies exploitation, it has the pacing of an anime, yet its cartoonish premise seems oddly American. With the abundant shootouts and hand to hand combat scenes, the film feels like it was done by either very smart kids or immature adults — my guess is it is probably a little of both. Filmmakers Tapio Kauma, Ville Väisänen, and their small crew and ensemble are obvious film lovers, as I see influence from many U.S. action movies, as well as psychological thrillers. Its homemade-ness has an appeal, and the passion put into this film is charming. The main thing that Lääkekoe has going for itself is the acting. The actors’ dedication to their performances are undeniable, and they look like they are having a lot of fun playing their parts. I do not know if I am supposed to take the film seriously, my critical eye says that it is a bad B movie, but my love of bad movies says that Lääkekoe is so silly that it is an entertaining way to spend an hour.

Having now seen Lääkekoe, the only other Finnish feature I can recall having seen is Rare Exports, which is now one of my favorite Christmas dark-comedies. Lääkekoe is also a dark comedy but not like anything I have seen before, English or Finnish. Like the film’s plot, the level of seriousness I am supposed to give this film is questionable — it feels like a parody, but also like directors Tapio Kauma and Ville Väisänen were dead serious. If the Wachowskis and the Coen Brothers had gotten together on this unique and fresh premise, I could see this plot being done as a fun blockbuster.

To watch for yourself, find/follow the Cala Company Youtube channel and find their Lääkekoe (“Medicated”) official upload.