Juli. (AKA July) is a Norwegian short film released in 2022 that tests the loyalty between friends and the morality of each one in its plot. Its definition is clear, concise, and it doesn’t beat around the bush, even though it seems to be playing with time just like the group of friends in this story– everything has a purpose to break them down mentally and create a collective hysteria due to a definite moment which tries to end their friendship.

Tarjei (Alfred Ekker Strande) and his friends get together during their summer time-off. They discuss how life has been since they graduated high school and their plans for the future. During this break, they playfully relive their youth by playing dares and, to their misfortune, as they walk through the forest they come across the dilapidated home of a known urban legend about a woman who lived in it. In a dare, they decide someone must enter the house, but what was thought to be a fun experience immediately turns into a horror show that’ll make them question their actions and put their morale at stake by believing they have committed a crime more serious than breaking into someone’s home.

The progress of the story is exceptional to portray the maturity some characters are forced to acquire when going through a horrifying experience, but ends up being just a misunderstanding. There’s no doubt this resembles a kind of coming-of-age story with adult characters still acting like teenagers, and are pushed to several limits by the consequences of their actions thinking life is unforgiving.

Juli. is a powerful and wicked short film that could leave you wondering how unbreakable the bonds of friendship could be with the people you think would do anything and give anything to help you. In part it tests its characters, but it also tries to test the viewer by leaving them with more questions about themselves than the continuation of the story.

9 OUT OF 10 DARES