Double Feature: Heavy Trip & Heavier Trip
Watching Finnish directors Juuso Laatio and Jukka Vidgren’s Heavy Trip movies, it’s clear the pair has a deep appreciation for both the art and the ridiculous aspects of heavy metal music. Admittedly, as energetic and brutal as metal can be, it has a certain flair for the dramatic that, when viewed by an outsider, may come off as a bit absurd. But it’s exactly this absurdity – along with a healthy dose of insider knowledge and affectionate jest – that makes Laatio and Vidgren’s films such a treat.
Even as a longtime fan of the genre (keep in mind that I am extremely picky about the metal music I enjoy), films like these remind me that spoofing or parodying metal’s extremities is something that doesn’t occur more often on the big screen. There’s Spinal Tap, of course, and plenty of ’80s Satanic Panic movies to humorously enjoy, but finding a film that truly understands heavy metal is a rarity. That’s what makes 2018’s Heavy Trip and its 2024 sequel Heavier Trip such gems: the directors are in on the joke and they want us to be too.
I’m sure there’s a contingent of die-hards out there who think the Heavy Trip movies are blasphemy against everything they find (un)holy, but I would argue that those folks probably take most things in their lives a bit too seriously. Starring Johannes Holopainen as Turo (vocals), Antti Tuomas Heikkinen as Jynkky (drums, later replaced by Chike Ohanwe as Oula), Max Ovaska as Pasi (bass, later known by his black metal name, Xytrax), and Samuli Jaskio as Lotvonen (guitar), the Heavy Trip movies follow wannabe metal band Impaled Rektum as they navigate small town Finnish life while trying to get their music off the ground.
In the first film, Impaled Rektum struggles to write their first song and play their first show. However, through a random event involving gallons of reindeer blood, they come to the attention of a Norwegian festival promoter. Through a series of mishaps, misunderstandings, explosive vomiting, drummer deaths (hello Spinal Tap), Viking longships, and an international incident, the band gets their big break – only to literally and figuratively blow it.
In the sequel, we learn that the international incident from the first film has landed the band in prison, but their notoriety has garnered attention from record labels and the famous Wacken Open Air festival. Naturally, a prison break is in the cards, along with the inevitable “sell-out” storyline that causes strife between the members, ending in a breakup.
Without a doubt, and as is often the case, the first film in the series is better, but the sequel definitely has its moments – most notably the hilarious inclusion of the Japanese band Babymetal. But what’s great about both films is that each member of the band rather accurately (and comically) represents different aspects of metal music. Turo and Jynkky are early Black Metal fans (think Celtic Frost, Bathory, or early Mayhem and Darkthrone), while Pesi opts for the extreme refinement and look of later era Black Metal (Immortal or Abbath). Lotvonen on the other hand is clearly a fan of the “Big 4,” Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax, as evidenced by his white high tops, acid washed jeans, and sleeveless flannels.
While these stylistic fashion choices might not sway those who have already made up their minds to skip a pair of movies about Finnish twenty-somethings trying to succeed as famous extreme metal artists, for those of us in the know, they’re nice touches. They demonstrate that directors Laatio and Vidgren both understand the difference between metal subgenres and, more importantly, provide us fans something meaty to bite into before letting the blood and gore of our enemies drip from our mouths and pool on the barren soil below.
Heavy Trip (2018). Directed by Juuso Laatio and Jukka Vidgren. 3.5/5 stars.
Heavier Trip (2024). Directed by Juuso Laatio and Jukka Vidgren. 2.5/5 stars.
