Academy Award nomineeAndrea Riseboroughand father and son duo,Stellan Skarsgårdand Gustaf Skarsgårdlead the upcoming atmospheric Swedish thrillerWhat Remains. The film, which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival last year, is loosely based on the story of Thomas Quick, also known as Sture Bergwall. Previouslyconsidered one of Sweden’s most notorious killers, Bergwall confessed to more than thirty murders before later famously retracting his confessions. Journalists investigating Bergwall’s case claimed that a “cult”-like group led by psychologist Margit Norell manipulated the police and Bergwall into making the false admissions.
As the recently released trailer reveals, Gustaf Skarsgårdleads asthe fictionalized versionof Bergwall (named Mads Lake in the film), while Riseborough tackles the role of his therapist. Gustaf’s father, Stellan, is a policeman trying to get to the bottom of Bergwall’s case. Check out the trailer below.
The film’s official logline reads:
“During the 1990s, at a Scandinavian psychiatric hospital, a man known as Mads Lake confessed to multiple murders and was convicted. However, the uneasy triumvirate of Mads, therapist Anna Rudebeck and policeman Soren Rank, all have a vested interest in unearthing the truth, as a deepening co-dependency threatens to consume them all. Inspired by true events.”
What Remainsis artist-turned-filmmaker Ran Huang’s feature directorial debut. The Chinese filmmaker was captivated by Bergwall’s life and embarked on a journey (that took seven years) to share a fictionalized version of his story. The creation ofWhat Remainsbegan with Ran reaching out to Stellan, who served as a connector for the filmmaker; his wife, Megan Everett-Skarsgård, co-wrote the film’s script with Huang, while son Gustaf, stars as Mads Lake, the film’s fictionalized version of Bergwall.
Gustaf Skarsgård Says Making What Remains ‘Took a lot of Pain’
A miscarriage of justice, Bergwall’s real-life storyshocked the mediaand Sweden. In the 1990s, Bergwall, who was already in a psychiatric facility serving a sentence for armed robbery, began confessing to over 30 murders across Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Bergwall made these confessions while undergoing recovered memory therapy, and ultimately, authorities believed his claims and convicted him of eight murders.
Over time, doubt began to rise surrounding Bergwall’s testimony. Investigations revealed inconsistencies and a lack of physical evidence to support his confessions. It was later discovered that Bergwall, influenced by suggestive questioning and seeking attention, had made up the stories. By 2008, Bergwall had retracted all of his confessions. After a lengthy process,his convictions were overturned, and he was released in 2013.
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Following a screening at the Locarno Film Festival, Gustaf toldVarietythat creating the film “took a lot of pain.” He added:
“It would have been easy to be repulsed [by its subject matter], because it’s so problematic and hurtful. It’s the easy way out, to go: ‘We are not going to touch that.’ But if that’s the case, then you know there is something there to explore.”
Stellan agreed, saying:
“It was the reason I took it. You always look for scripts that haven’t been written and for films that haven’t been made. That’s what I felt when I read it. It’s very dark and very beautiful, and I wanted to be a part of that journey to hell.”
What Remainslands in theaters and digital on June 21.
