The Kingdom: Lars von Trier’s Surreal Horror Masterpiece

Hospitals, places of both profound tragedy and unexpected miracles, provide a uniquely unsettling backdrop for horror. It was this potential that Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier tapped into with The Kingdom (Riget), an absurdist horror series that premiered in 1994, continued in 1997 with a second season and remarkably concluded in 2022. This 13-episode series is a masterclass in creating a creeping sense of dread and remains essential viewing for horror enthusiasts, even inspiring Stephen King’s own, ultimately unsuccessful, series Kingdom Hospital.

A Hospital as a Character

Attempting a traditional plot synopsis of The Kingdom proves difficult. The series doesn’t center on specific character arcs but rather treats the hospital itself – Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen – as the central character. This setting is a place burdened by bureaucratic inefficiencies and haunted by supernatural forces. The unsettling atmosphere is punctuated by commentary from a chorus of dishwashers, who offer cryptic observations like, “What happens when the house is crying?” or “Swedes are human too.” The demonstrate thrives on unpredictability, consistently unsettling viewers.

The Haunting Aesthetic of Rigshospitalet

The show’s creepiness is deeply rooted in its setting. The Kingdom opens with a sepia-toned sequence depicting laborers working the land before the hospital was built, suggesting a disruption of the natural order. The hospital exists in a liminal space, blending technological modernity with a sense of ancient, spiritual unrest. While featuring familiar hospital elements like sterile hallways and advanced machinery, the series is visually distinct, drenched in a grainy, earthy palette with frequent depictions of grime and blood. The third season, released in 2022, employs a metafictional approach, emphasizing the hospital’s otherworldly nature; a new character, Karen (Bodil Jørgensen), watches the show on television, and the screen shifts back to the 1990s aspect ratio and color scheme when she enters the Kingdom.

Tonally Disparate Storylines

The Kingdom masterfully blends disparate genres and storylines, creating a uniquely unsettling experience. It functions as both a medical drama, exploring staff hierarchies, malpractice lawsuits, and the personal lives of doctors, and a supernatural investigation into unexplained phenomena, such as a girl’s cries in the elevator and a bizarre birth. This tonal whiplash is intentional, mirroring the duality inherent in a hospital – a place of life and death, science and mystery. The series doesn’t shy away from extremes, aiming to provoke a visceral reaction in the viewer.

Eccentric Characters and Inspired Performances

Beyond the setting, the characters of The Kingdom contribute to its surreal and unsettling atmosphere. Dr. Helmer (Ernst-Hugo Järegård), an arrogant and Danish-hating physician, delivers outrageously visceral tirades, while Drusse (Kirsten Rolffes), a spiritually-minded character, feigns neurological illnesses to gain access to the hospital and communicate with the astral plane. The performances of Järegård and Rolffes were central to the success of the first two seasons, and their influence is felt even in the third, despite their passing before its production.

The Kingdom is a decades-spanning project that defies uncomplicated categorization, combining hyper-reality and ultra-surrealism into a truly unique and unsettling viewing experience.