Sauna Sickness is proof that a vacation is the true, tried, and tested method of figuring out if you’re a good match with someone. In this Swedish short film from director and writer Malin Barr we have Cleo and Tobias. They’re on vacation in her mother’s nice little house in the countryside with a sauna. And what started as a casual vacation turns into a real threat when they’re locked out of the main house.
Them getting locked out is where the short film wants us to believe the problem started. But it was obvious that Tobias was an incompetent partner when he didn’t take into consideration Cleo’s pleasure when they were in the sauna. And every single second afterwards when they were trying to figure out how to get back into the house, he continued to show how incompetent he was, how he thought she was beneath him, and how they’re not on the same wavelength when it comes to anything.
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As the short film gains momentum, Tobias makes excuse after excuse until Cleo sets out to get help on her own. And when she returns after a really weird encounter with the neighbors, she gets the perspective needed to choose herself. Because he isn’t doing what he promised to do aka the reason why he didn’t want to go with her. Instead he was just sitting there in the sauna proving how incompatible they were as she trudged through the snow and bitter cold to get help all by her lonesome. And I support her decision to get out of there and let him deal with his own problems.
Barr’s Sauna Sickness is ultimately an exploration of manipulation and how those we trust with our heart can be the ones inflicting the greatest pain. It’s also a prime example of how sometimes we make ourselves smaller to keep the peace. We sacrifice bits of ourselves to the point where when someone points out how bitter and twisted the situation you’re in actually is, you lash out. Thankfully Cleo woke up. Also, thankfully Tobias got what was coming to him.
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It’s also really great to see another side of Thea Sofie Loch Næss in Sauna Sickness.
Recently I saw her as Agnes in The Ugly Stepsister. And the woman that she was in that film is like night and day in comparison to Sauna Sickness. In this short film she’s giving final girl who would figure out who the killer is and make it alive out of the sticky situation she’s in. And she did it all while on a picturesque set that makes me want to go on vacation in the countryside. But hopefully that won’t destroy any of my friendships along the way.
Sauna Sickness screened at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
