While certainly not what you expect from its trailer, Koko-di Koko-da (2019) is a psychological horror film that is more than a bunny trail.

Koko-di Koko-da introduces us to Tobias and Elin, whose marriage fell apart by the death of their eight-year-old daughter, Maja. In an effort to reconcile, they head out into the forests of Sweden and set a camp outside established grounds. Their attempt at peace is abruptly broken by a trio of nursery rhyme characters and their dog, who assault and presumably kill the couple over and over in a ghastly form of Groundhog’s Day. Even with the slow progression of trying to escape the forest, it is clear that these twisted fictional characters aren’t the main adversary.

Regardless of how it presents itself, the movie is about the personal horror shared between Tobias and Elin. Even without the elements that signify Koko-di Koko-da as a horror movie, the movie prioritizes its own brand of fridge horror, through its extended and surreal metaphor of grief. The repetitive and seemingly unavoidable danger from the physical manifestations of the tragedy, the struggle to overcome and find alternative solutions to a problem that may have none, and the unintentional damage they inflict on each other have painted a grim yet realistic depiction of what is a worst-case-scenario for parents and couples. That, in itself, easily allows the audience to identify the figurative cycle of blame, frustration, and resignation in their progress to resolve their emotional (if not physical) separation. This specific horror, however, hinges on the audience themselves to be unsettled by the otherwise accurate portrayal.