Evil

Evil is a Swedish-Danish drama set in 1950s Stockholm. Sixteen-year-old Erik is thrown out of school after yet another fight, and since his violent stepfather would take the news out on him, his mother arranges a place for him at Stjärnsberg, a private boarding school that is his only remaining route to a school-leaving certificate. Erik promises her he will keep out of trouble. Stjärnsberg, however, has its own hierarchy: the older students govern the younger ones through humiliation and force. Erik has to decide whether to submit to that order or push back against it, knowing that any retaliation means expulsion. He forms a friendship with his roommate Pierre and meets Marja, while the senior student Otto Silverhielm becomes his main antagonist.

Mikael Håfström directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Hans Gunnarsson; this was the first of eleven features he has directed to date, ahead of Drowning Ghost, Derailed, 1408 and later films. Andreas Wilson plays Erik, with Henrik Lundström, Gustaf Skarsgård, Linda Zilliacus, Jesper Salén and Mats Bergman in supporting roles.

Made for about 3 million US dollars, the film took roughly 12 million at the worldwide box office, a strong return on its budget. On IMDb it holds 7.7 out of 10 from around 45,000 votes, while on TMDB it has 7.3 out of 10 from a much smaller pool of about 413 votes, indicating solid audience approval that is consistent across both.