‘Rendel’: The bizarre Finnish superhero movie released with promotional condoms
Superhero movies have always been the domain of Hollywood, but the borders of costume-wearing crimefighters hardly end at the edge of the United States. Countless other countries have gotten in on the act to varying degrees of success, with the first-ever Finnish example even deploying a unique marketing tactic to drum up awareness.
The rampant debate over whether or not comic book adaptations herald the end of cinema as we know it is one that’s caused some of the industry’s leading lights to weigh in with their two cents on the matter, but international filmmakers have been paying absolutely no heed to what Martin Scorsese things as they continued ploughing ahead with their own unique takes on the format.
For writer, director, and producer Jesse Haaja, he decided to ignore the history of existing characters in favour of creating his own, which bore fruit when 2017’s Rendel emerged as Finland’s maiden foray into territory occupied by such globally-renowned icons as Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, and Iron Man.
Deciding that Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy wasn’t dark or gritty enough, Haaja plunges his cinematography into an even deeper shade of blackness, with rain-lashed settings becoming the order of the day. While budgetary restrictions probably drive part of it, Rendel is often a challenging film to decipher, from the perspective of being caked in so much inky black that it’s often hard to figure out precisely what the hell is going on.
The fairly standard story follows Rämö, a financial director, devoted husband, and loving father who refuses to invest in the nefarious company called VALA. For declining the opportunity, he ends up being fired from his job and drops into financial misery before his family is murdered to tick off the final origin story trope that necessitates his evolution into a masked vigilante with a thirst for vengeance.
The nonsense MacGuffin at its heart is a vaccine being developed by the shady VALA that’s been so improperly tested that it’s caused a number of resultant deaths after bonding to the skin of its hosts. Still, that doesn’t dissuade Rämö from smearing it all over his face to create the visage of his alter-ego, where he proceeds to seek retribution by beating the shit out of his enemies and carving his name into their bodies.
Rendel is a violent, brutal, and uncompromising superhero story that isn’t particularly good, but based on the tone and content of the film, it’s a real head-scratcher that tie-in condoms were decided as the best way to maximise its marketing potential. Emblazoned with ‘Do It Like a Superhero’, rubbers were dispensed to patrons with the insistence that the best way to get down to the nitty-gritty of copulation was to adhere to the advice of a man who slathered himself in toxic chemicals and went on a crazed spree of bludgeoning, maiming, and murder.
