Beck – Spår i mörker
Encyclopedia
Beck – Spår i mörker is a 1997 film about the Swedish police detective Martin Beck
directed by Morten Arnfred
. It is the eighth film about Martin Beck with Peter Haber
as Martin Beck and Mikael Persbrandt
as Gunvald Larsson.
Stockholm Metro
force him to return. Without any kind of motivation, he is forced to lead the investigation of the strange murders. There are four things connecting the murders: they are all in the subway, they are all decapitations, and a sign is left by the murderer/murderers. This sign is "X-(", which means "death" in 1337
. The last connecting thing is that before every murder, all lights has been turned off (note that this was faked and in reality impossible). As the investigation progresses it becomes clear that Erik Lindgren, a man who works in the subway has some kind of connection to the murderers and that they are living in the system of tunnels beneath Stockholm which is much more vast than the subway system. When Erik is found, he reveals that the murderers are kids that live mostly in the tunnels, playing a game called "Final Doom", and that his sister is one of those kids. They have built their own view of the reality through the game and are playing it by killing people in the subway, and gaining "frags". They share these murders with other kids online and reaches new "levels" by gaining frags. When Erik is guiding Beck to the entrance of their hideout, they are ambushed by the kids, but the Swedish task force arrives just in time to save Beck, but too late for Erik. Eventually, Beck finds Erik's sister, Annika, who takes Beck and the task force to the hideout. The hideout is empty but for a single little boy, who are playing games. He tells Annika that the other kids are out on a raid. By reading text files on one of the computers, Annika discovers that they are raiding the station underneath Odenplan (in practice this was filmed at S:t Eriksplan, which is one station west of Odenplan). Beck and the task force arrives just in time to arrest the kids, who are armed with machetes and night vision goggles. Stefan, the leader, attempts to kill Annika upon finding out that she betrayed them, but is shot. When Beck arrives to the street, journalists asks him if there is a connection to some similar murders in New York and he tells Klingström that he may not be able to go on the planned vacation, because he maybe have to go to New York and assist with the investigation.
by Bungie Software.
in February 1998 and on DVD
13 November 2002.
The film had 1,595,000 viewers in Sweden when it was sent on TV4 in 2002.
Martin Beck
Martin Beck is a fictional Swedish police detective who is the main character in a series of ten novels by Sjöwall and Wahlöö, collectively titled The Story of a Crime...
directed by Morten Arnfred
Morten Arnfred
Morten Arnfred is a Danish film director and screenwriter. His 1983 film Der er et yndigt land was entered into the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival, where it won an Honourable Mention...
. It is the eighth film about Martin Beck with Peter Haber
Peter Haber
Peter Alexander Haber is a Swedish actor. He grew up in Södertälje and in Remscheid, Germany. In 1987 he was hired by the Stockholm City Theatre where he was active until 1994....
as Martin Beck and Mikael Persbrandt
Mikael Persbrandt
Mikael Åke Persbrandt is a Swedish actor. In Swedish films he usually has lead roles and “tough guy” parts. He is perhaps most famous for his recurring role as the no-nonsense police officer Gunvald Larsson in the latest installment of the Martin Beck movies...
as Gunvald Larsson.
Plot
Martin Beck is on his way to a vacation with his colleague and girlfriend Lena Klingström when several gruesome murders in theStockholm Metro
Stockholm Metro
The Stockholm Metro is a metro system in Stockholm, Sweden. The first line opened in 1950, and today the system has 100 stations in use, of which 47 are underground and 53 above ground. There are seven lines numbered from 10 to 19, in three groups identified by a color: the Green, Red and Blue lines...
force him to return. Without any kind of motivation, he is forced to lead the investigation of the strange murders. There are four things connecting the murders: they are all in the subway, they are all decapitations, and a sign is left by the murderer/murderers. This sign is "X-(", which means "death" in 1337
Leet
Leet , also known as eleet or leetspeak, is an alternative alphabet for the English language that is used primarily on the Internet. It uses various combinations of ASCII characters to replace Latinate letters...
. The last connecting thing is that before every murder, all lights has been turned off (note that this was faked and in reality impossible). As the investigation progresses it becomes clear that Erik Lindgren, a man who works in the subway has some kind of connection to the murderers and that they are living in the system of tunnels beneath Stockholm which is much more vast than the subway system. When Erik is found, he reveals that the murderers are kids that live mostly in the tunnels, playing a game called "Final Doom", and that his sister is one of those kids. They have built their own view of the reality through the game and are playing it by killing people in the subway, and gaining "frags". They share these murders with other kids online and reaches new "levels" by gaining frags. When Erik is guiding Beck to the entrance of their hideout, they are ambushed by the kids, but the Swedish task force arrives just in time to save Beck, but too late for Erik. Eventually, Beck finds Erik's sister, Annika, who takes Beck and the task force to the hideout. The hideout is empty but for a single little boy, who are playing games. He tells Annika that the other kids are out on a raid. By reading text files on one of the computers, Annika discovers that they are raiding the station underneath Odenplan (in practice this was filmed at S:t Eriksplan, which is one station west of Odenplan). Beck and the task force arrives just in time to arrest the kids, who are armed with machetes and night vision goggles. Stefan, the leader, attempts to kill Annika upon finding out that she betrayed them, but is shot. When Beck arrives to the street, journalists asks him if there is a connection to some similar murders in New York and he tells Klingström that he may not be able to go on the planned vacation, because he maybe have to go to New York and assist with the investigation.
Cast
- Peter HaberPeter HaberPeter Alexander Haber is a Swedish actor. He grew up in Södertälje and in Remscheid, Germany. In 1987 he was hired by the Stockholm City Theatre where he was active until 1994....
as Martin Beck - Mikael PersbrandtMikael PersbrandtMikael Åke Persbrandt is a Swedish actor. In Swedish films he usually has lead roles and “tough guy” parts. He is perhaps most famous for his recurring role as the no-nonsense police officer Gunvald Larsson in the latest installment of the Martin Beck movies...
as Gunvald Larsson - Stina RautelinStina RautelinStina Agnes Elisabeth Rautelin is a Finland-Swede actor, working in Sweden. She is best known for the role as Lena Klingström in the films about Martin Beck.-Selected filmography:*Beck – Levande begravd...
as Lena Klingström - Cecilia HällCecilia HällCecilia Häll is a Swedish actress. She is married to the actor Joakim Nätterqvist and together they have a child.-Filmography:*1996-1999 in television - Tre kronor*Lilla Jönssonligan och cornflakeskuppen...
as Annika Lindgren - Carlo Schmidt as Erik Lindgren
- Per MorbergPer MorbergPer Henrik Morberg is a Swedish actor, chef and news presenter.-Biography:...
as Joakim Wersén - Kasper Lindström as Jens (a kid)
- Ingvar HirdwallIngvar HirdwallLars Ingvar Hirdwall , is a Swedish actor. He was educated at Gothenburg City Theatre stage school 1957-1960. Since the early 1960s he has been active as an actor in many films, TV series and on theatrical stages, mainly Stockholms stadsteater...
as Martin Beck's neighbour - Rebecka HemseRebecka HemseIngrid Rebecka Elisabet Hemse is a Swedish actress. She is best known for her role as Martin Beck's daughter Inger.She works on the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm....
as Inger (Martin Beck's daughter) - Fredrik UltvedtFredrik UltvedtFredrik Johannes Ultvedt is a Swedish actor, best known for his role as Jens Loftegård in the Beck-series.-Filmography:*Det grovmaskiga nätet *Beck – The Money Man *Beck – Monstret...
as Jens Loftsgård - Michael NyqvistMichael NyqvistRolf Åke Michael Nyqvist is a Swedish actor. Educated at the School of Drama in Malmö, he became well known from his role as police officer Banck in the first series of Beck movies made in 1997. He is recently most recognized for his role in the internationally acclaimed Millennium series as...
as John Banck - Lasse LindrothLasse LindrothLars "Lasse" Erik Oliver Lindroth was a Swedish comedian, actor and writer....
as Peter (Inger's boyfriend) - Staffan GötheStaffan GötheLars Staffan Göthe, born in Luleå on December 20 1944, is a Swedish playwright, actor and director. He is also a professor at Malmö Theatre Academy at Lund University.He graduated from the Gothenburg Theatre Academy in 1971....
as Henrik Magnusson - Margareta Niss as Elisabeth Ernström
- Ulf Eklund as Bengt Nihlfors
- Boman Oscarsson as a journalist
- Daniel Larsson as Stefan
Production
All the footage from "Final Doom" is taken from modified parts of Marathon 2: DurandalMarathon 2: Durandal
Marathon 2: Durandal is the first sequel in the Marathon series of science fiction first-person shooter computer games from Bungie Software. It was released on November 24, 1995. The game is mostly set on the fictional planet of Lh'owon, homeworld of the S'pht, and once again the player takes the...
by Bungie Software.
Release and reception
The premier in Sweden was on 31 October 1997. It was released on VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
in February 1998 and on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
13 November 2002.
The film had 1,595,000 viewers in Sweden when it was sent on TV4 in 2002.