Overview
A harrowing tale of survival unfolds as a summer camp becomes a site of unimaginable horror.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Breakneck
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- harrowing
- claustrophobic
- dread-filled
- serious viewing
- historical reflection
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's unsettling cinéma vérité realism and survivor-focused approach to national trauma, while recognizing its difficult subject matter.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The massacre is presented from a trapped teenager's perspective with naturalistic sound and sustained observational camera movement.
The narrative follows approximately seventy minutes of the attack without conventional temporal relief.
Kaja and the other young campers remain the emotional and visual focus while the terrorist is largely kept at a distance.
The island attack is framed through the fear and grief experienced by Norwegian youth and their wider society.
Films like Utøya: July 22, and why
22 July
real-time, survivor-centered depiction of a terrorist attack using sustained cinematic immersion and restrained political drama
United 93
docudramatic treatment of political violence, national trauma, and the aftermath of extremist terrorism
The Impossible
single-perspective real-time tension, documentary realism, and young civilians trapped in an unfolding catastrophe
Movie Details
- Director
- Erik Poppe
- Release Date
- 2018-03-09
- Runtime
- 92 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (469)
Cast
- Andrea Berntzen
- Aleksander Holmen
- Brede Fristad
- Elli Rhiannon Müller Osborne
- Jenny Svennevig
- Ingeborg Enes
- Sorosh Sadat
- Ada Eide
- Mariann Gjerdsbakk
- Daniel Sang Tran
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Viaplay Amazon Channel
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Utøya: July 22 about?
- A Norwegian teenager races through a summer camp under siege, experiencing the Utøya massacre as an immediate, disorienting nightmare of survival.
- What is Utøya: July 22 like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Utøya: July 22 as breakneck, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Utøya: July 22 violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Utøya: July 22 as graphic.
- What did critics think of Utøya: July 22?
- Critics broadly praised the film's unsettling cinéma vérité realism and survivor-focused approach to national trauma, while recognizing its difficult subject matter.
- Which films are like Utøya: July 22?
- Films with a similar feel include 22 July, United 93, and The Impossible.
- How long is Utøya: July 22?
- Utøya: July 22 runs 92 minutes.
- Where can I watch Utøya: July 22?
- In United States, Utøya: July 22 streams on Viaplay Amazon Channel.
