Parents' Guide to What Remains (2024)

With his quiet, contemplative, inventive approach, writer-director Ran Huang doesn't make you feel like you're watching a thriller; he just makes you uncomfortable. Viewers are likely to squirm because the subject matter of What Remains is so unpleasant—but, more importantly, we're forced to confront our inner thoughts about how we think those who commit abominable crimes should be treated. When the police are alarmed to see how kindly Anna treats Lake—who's confessed to the abduction, rape, and murder of several people, including children—she points out that he's a victim himself and suggests that his horrific childhood trauma led him to perpetrate these crimes, so shouldn't we treat him with the compassion we'd extend to other victims of heinous crimes? That may not be a question some folks want to think about.

Overall, the movie's subject matter is mature and unsettling, and many teens likely won't be ready for or interested in chewing through questions regarding the complexity of humanity. (Even if it is from Sweden's first family of film, the Skarsgårds: It was written by Megan Everett-Skarsgård and stars her husband Stellan and their son Gustaf.) But for anyone who does, an extra step is required to appreciate and understand this fictionalized crime drama: Look up the real events and confessions of Sturge Bergwell, aka Thomas Quick, and why he was acquitted. It's a story that Scandinavians know well but people from other countries likely don't, and knowing the details has an impact on how the material is ultimately perceived.