Lasse Hallström’s “Hypnotisören” (“The Hypnotist”) as Sweden’s entry for the Oscars. “The Hypnotist” is Lasse Hallström’s first Swedish film in over 25 years, and his first thriller ever.

The film was sold to over 30 non-Nordic countries already before the shooting started, and it is based on Lars Kepler’s crime novel with the same name. It is a brutal story about a murderer that has virtually done away with an entire family. A son manages to survive with serious injuries, and the hunt to find the killer before he gets to the last remaining daughter is on.The cast includes Mikael Persbrandt, Lena Olin and Tobias Zilliacus.

Lasse Hallström has been nominated for the Oscars before. His first nominations were in 1988 for “Mitt liv som hund” (“My life as a dog”) in the categories Best Director and Best Writing, Screenplay based on material from another medium. In 1999 he was nominated in the category Best Director for “The Cider House Rules” (“Ciderhusreglerna”).

Watch the trailer for Hallström's movie here: Lars Kepler: Hypnotisören and a later version here: Hypnotisören, Official Trailer 2