Thankfully, Mathias’ obviously evil nature is sort of the crux of “Cadaver”: what do you do when you have no choice but to accept threatening new possibilities at face value, because, in order to survive, you have to make yourself think positive? That tension not only defines Leonora and Jacob’s relationship—she’s a reluctant optimist while he’s a mopey pessimist—but also Mathias’ character: he’s clearly malicious, and also maybe the only game in town. “Cadaver” is a suggestive fable about struggling to be hopeful despite, well, everything. It's also a little too monotonous and uninvolving to be of great solace right now.
Thankfully, “Cadaver” does have an effectively chilly ambience, which helps a little whenever writer/director Jarand Herdal’s scenario is as obvious as Mathias. Herdal’s story mostly follows Leonora as the most sympathetic protagonist is inevitably separated from her family while they explore Mathias’ hotel. Jacob is relatable, too, but it’s much easier to side with Leonora given that she’s the one who insists that “we have to believe that things will work out.” “How can you be so sure?” Jacob asks her one night while they lie in bed, their faces juxtaposed in complimentary halves. “Because it has to be,” she responds inelegantly.
Bear in mind, trusting Mathias is the thing that “has to be” done. Which requires a Herculean effort, as far as suspending one’s disbelief goes, since Mathias’ dinner party is advertised as an “exclusive show” for anyone who wishes to “escape the horrors.” “How much are [tickets]?” Leonara asks a barker who looks suspiciously like the Child Catcher from “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” “How much do you have?” he replies. That’s it, that’s the scene.
Mathias’ castle/hotel isn’t much more inviting. Incautious guests are seated before a harshly-lit stage in an otherwise dark ballroom. Formally attired waiters bring out steaming trays of mystery meat, which are naturally picked clean by Leonora and the others. Then Mathias takes the stage, and asks his guests to explore his hotel’s rooms, which are filled with actors performing inscrutable and very Scandinavian mini-dramas throughout: mostly couples arguing with each other, or, in one case, having dispassionate sex. Mathias’ guests soon disappear, including Jacob and Alice, leaving Leonora alone to discover what exactly Mathias wants.
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