“We Might Hurt Each Other” (2022) [Chattanooga Film Festival]

by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden

In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict'' film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s We Might Hurt Each Other (aka Rupintojelis and Pensive), a “briskly paced'' Lithuanian slasher directed by Jonas Trukanas, co-written by Titas Laucius and Trukanas, from Cometos, Reason8 Films, and Screambox.

Synopsis

After classmates destroy life-size wooden folk art statues during a wild high school graduation party at a remote cottage, a mysterious killer starts picking them off one by one.

The Good

Joseph: We Might Hurt Each Other has a lot going for it. Laucius and Trukanas set up interesting characterization for the teenagers, and although some of those characters generally follow the usual slasher film tropes, the pair give more reason to be invested in them than usual in fear fare films. Marius (Saruna Rapolas Meliesius), for example, is a student who is considered boring by his classmates but who, after a dull graduation dinner with his parents during which a career in selling insurance is suggested, becomes the life of the party, so to speak, when he comes up with a last-minute place for the festivities to occur. Self-professed “prettiest girl in school” Brigita (Gabija Bargailaite) is much more complicated than just final-girl filling. There’s also an early “Is it supernatural?” vibe courtesy of the wooden statues and the horrific history behind them. Brace yourself for a jaw-dropping scene of violence, of which there are plenty, but one in particular stands out for me. I’m very impressed with the original reason the film gives for why cell phones can’t be used during the party. These are just a few reasons why We Might Hurt Each Other is a highly original spin on stalk ‘n’ slash fare.

Mike: So apparently We Might Hurt Each Other is the first foray into the world of slashers for Lithuanian cinema and what an entrance into the subgenre it is! While all of the teens fall into the expected archetypes for a slasher film, thanks to the differences of Lithuanian heritage and culture they each have their own individual traits that make them unique (although some things, like sex and debauchery, are universal!). There are also plenty of the tropes that one wouldn’t be surprised to find, but they never come across as derivative or as bad clichés thanks — again — to the Lithuanian traditions. Things do take a while to get going, but there’s a lot of character building and set up to get through, so it’s forgivable. However once the second act begins in the middle of an awkward sauna visit, things only slow down a couple of times to let the viewer catch their breath. In fact, the ferocity of the killer when they finally make themself known is quite a spectacle!

Aside from a couple of minor pacing snags there are not many technical faults to be found and the amount of bloodshed and originality of a couple of the kills will make most slasher fans forget about those kinds of things.

The Bad

Joseph: For all the uniqueness We Might Hurt Each Other offers, the masked slasher is a bit run of the mill. The backstory of the killer isn’t bad, though. There’s also an unexpected comeback from one character that feels rather suspect.

Mike: There are two things that jump out at me that I was not a fan of. The first being the killer himself. Aside from one aspect of their look there was nothing very memorable about them. Granted it’s a bit tough to cloak your killer in any type of original menacing garb with the sheer number of slashers that have come before, but that can generally be offset by some creative tweaks. Sadly, it doesn’t seem like a whole lot of effort was put into their look.

Second, the original title for We Might Hurt Each Other was Rupinotjelis, a title that makes more sense when the wooden sculptures that the teens play with and destroy are taken into consideration since they are modeled after the “Pensive Christ” statue which was popular in Lithuania “where it became strongly entrenched in folk art wood carvings”, and the Hamangia “Thinker” from 5000 BC that is posed more similarly to the wooden sculptures (thanks, Internet!), which is evident in the original movie poster as seen below. This unique and regional aspect seems more important than dropping a generic-sounding title onto the film (although I will admit it’s better than its original English title of Pensive, which sounds like it might be some mopey, indie coming-of-age flick).

The Verdict

Joseph: I enjoyed We Might Hurt Each Other quite a bit, and this is coming from someone who long-time Uphill Both Ways podcast listeners and The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict readers know is a hard sell on slasher movies. Trukanas’ attempt to bring originality to the subgenre with his country’s first film of that type is a solid achievement, bolstered by good performances, plenty of mayhem, impressive technical aspects, and fine direction. Fear-fare fans, take note and put this one on your radars!

Mike: I am generally not one to look for much meaning or subtext within a movie, but it’s hard to miss those things here, for better or worse. However, for a first effort at making a slasher flick (for both Trukanas and the entire country of Lithuania), a little heavy-handed storytelling can be overlooked if needed.

With plenty of “slashery” action, some original tweaks to the slasher checklist thanks to the regional way of life, some decent acting, and solid directing, We Might Hurt Each Other is a very strong and recommended offering.

We Might Hurt Each Other, from Cometos and Screambox, is screening as part of the 2023 edition of the Chattanooga Film Festival, which runs June 23 through today, in person and with a virtual version. For more information, visit https://www.chattfilmfest.org/.

We Might Hurt Each Other