In Finnish Body Horror ‘Tick Fever,’ Lyme Disease Is the Least of Your Worries (EXCLUSIVE)

No one likes ticks – least of all “Tick Fever” director Sebastian Granskog.

“Every Finn has learned to live in fear of ticks since the summers of their childhood. It’s a tiny insect that latches onto your body, breaks through your skin, starts drinking your blood and grows bigger as it takes what it wants from you,” he explains.

“They’re pretty much the perfect metaphor and monster for a horror movie,”

Producer Mia Palmgren agrees: “When Sebastian mentioned ticks, it instantly clicked. How has there not been a horror film about these little monsters before?”

In upcoming “Tick Fever” – an absurd body horror about “bloodsucking ticks, growing anxiety and a relationship way past its due date,” says Palmgren – they represent the anxiety the lead characters feel.

“And, as is usually the case with anxiety, the more you try to fight it, the stronger it grows,” adds Granskog.

The film, presented for the very first time at the Finnish Film Affair, is produced by Palmgren for Character House, also behind “A Mother” and comedy “Wingman the Movie: All In,” the third most-watched film in Finnish theaters in 2024.

Its leads, Victor and Stella, are a codependent couple who can’t live together but also can’t break up. Actors Elias Salonen (“Kalevala: The Story of Kullervo”) and Anna Böhm (“Valhalla Project”) portray them in the exclusive first concept art for the film.

“It’s pretty much over between them, but the world is a scary, anxiety-inducing place, so they keep trying to hold onto their relationship. Eventually, fear and anxiety start to seep through the cracks of their safe bubble and manifest as a tick that latches onto Victor,” explains Granskog.

Victor tries to get rid of it, slowly losing his grip on reality and pushing Stella further away.

“They need to decide if they’re going to keep doing this to themselves or just let go of each other and move on.”

“I was in a relationship like this in my early twenties,” chimes in Laura Laaksonen, who also produces the film.

“It was sucking the life out of me, but I just couldn’t leave. I found Stella’s story incredibly relatable. She doesn’t want to admit the relationship has failed because she thinks that would mean admitting that she has failed too.”

Laaksonen says: “What fascinates me about body horror is how the threat can come from within, and how the characters’ attempts to regain control can make things worse. Beyond the gore, there’s room to explore who these people are and what drives them. That emotional depth is what makes the physical horror so compelling to me.”

The team – as well as the Finnish Film Affair, which spotlighted similar films with Nordic Lab Genre this year – agrees: the world needs more Nordic horror.

“We have so much to offer and so much to draw from. Our nature, our wacky mythology, our deadpan dark humor,” says Granskog, with Palmgren adding: “We have quite a dark sense of humor up here in the Nordics, and when it’s mixed with horror in the right way, it creates a brilliant sweet spot where you’re never quite sure whether to laugh or look away.”

“Sebastian brilliantly balances horror, relationship drama and social satire in this film, and the world he has created is horrifyingly relatable.”

Palmgren has already worked with Granskog before on the horror short “The Locker Room,” but “Tick Fever” will be their first feature film together. It’s currently being set up as a co-production between the U.K. and the Nordics.

And speaking of that Nordic sense of humor, for Granskog, “graphic and funny” go hand in hand.

“As a horror fan, gore has me giggling in my seat when I’m watching a movie. I would love to make this film with practical effects. I hope we can accomplish that, at least mostly,” he admits.

Palmgren adds, “Sebastian has made it pretty clear that he wants the tick to be made with practical effects. I don’t look forward to seeing giant ticks come to life on set. Or maybe a little bit.”