The Substitute (2007)
A Danish science fiction is such a rare thing and I am willing to forgive its flaws, simply because I love that someone is actually trying to make a story like this. As a young adult horror comedy it isn’t bad. It has the usual structure of the kids knowing something, in this example that their substitute teacher is an alien, and of course the adults completely dismisses their kids concerns. What really saves this movie is Paprika Steen in the lead as the alien teacher. She is amazingly hilarious as an extremely rude teacher, picking apart every student with horrible truths. There are still some odd choices I don’t really get. Like why almost all colors are removed. Color grading to set a specific atmosphere, but this is quite extreme. Also, the attempt at adding emotional depth with the boy who has lost his mother felt a bit forced.
Rating: 3.5