The Conference: A Workplace Thriller That Fails to Excel

The Conference opens with a jarring juxtaposition: a group of public sector employees engaged in a forced fun icebreaker exercise, their laughter abruptly silenced by the sight of blood pooling beneath a door. This moment sets the tone for Patrik Eklund’s 2023 Swedish horror-comedy, which attempts to merge workplace satire with slasher film tropes. The result is a film that oscillates between sharp social commentary and generic genre exercises, leaving its tonal balancing act perilously unsteady.

Eklund, known for his work on television dramas, co-writes the screenplay with Thomas Moldestad, adapting it from Mats Strandberg’s novel. The Conference follows a team of municipal employees—including Jonas (Adam Lundgren), the anxious project manager; Lina (Katia Winter), the pragmatic HR representative; and their colleagues Eva (Eva Melander), Nadja (Bahar Pars), Amir (Amed Bozan), Ingela (Maria Sid), Kaj (Christoffer Nordenrot), and Torbjörn (Claes Hartelius)—who gather at a remote holiday village for a team-building retreat. What begins as a series of awkward trust falls and forced small talk quickly devolves into a fight for survival when a masked killer starts picking them off one by one.

The film’s premise is undeniably intriguing, offering a fresh setting for a slasher narrative while also providing ample opportunity for social critique. The public sector workplace, with its bureaucratic inefficiencies and interpersonal tensions, serves as a rich backdrop for both horror and comedy. Eklund and Moldestad lean into the absurdity of their premise, using the team-building exercises as a metaphor for the futility of forced camaraderie in an environment where trust is scarce.

The performances are a mixed bag. Lundgren’s Jonas is the film’s emotional anchor, his anxiety palpable as he struggles to maintain control over both the retreat and his own fraying nerves. Winter’s Lina provides a compelling foil, her no-nonsense pragmatism grounding the more outlandish elements of the plot. Melander, in particular, stands out as Eva, delivering dry, deadpan lines that cut through the tension with razor-sharp wit. However, some of the supporting cast—particularly Pars and Bozan—are saddled with underdeveloped characters, their arcs reduced to mere plot devices rather than fully realized individuals.

Eklund’s direction is competent but unremarkable. He demonstrates a solid grasp of pacing and suspense, particularly in the film’s early sequences, where the tension builds effectively through a series of well-staged jump scares and creeping dread. However, his visual style is largely uninspired, relying on familiar slasher tropes—dark hallways, flickering lights, and sudden bursts of violence—to create atmosphere. The film’s cinematography is serviceable but lacks the distinctive flair that might elevate it above its peers.

Where The Conference truly falters is in its inability to fully commit to either genre. The horror elements are derivative, recycling familiar tropes without adding anything fresh or innovative. The comedy, meanwhile, often feels forced and out of place, relying too heavily on broad stereotypes and cringe humor that fails to land with the same impact as the film’s more genuinely tense moments. This tonal inconsistency is perhaps best exemplified by the film’s climax, which attempts to deliver a twist ending that feels more confusing than clever, undermining any emotional payoff or narrative coherence.

The film’s themes of workplace dysfunction and interpersonal tension are undeniably relevant, particularly in an era where remote work and digital communication have reshaped the nature of professional collaboration. However, The Conference struggles to translate these themes into a cohesive narrative, instead opting for a series of disjointed set pieces that fail to build toward any meaningful conclusion. The film’s social commentary feels superficial at best, reduced to a series of one-liners and throwaway gags that do little to explore the deeper implications of its premise.

In terms of genre fit, The Conference occupies a peculiar middle ground between horror and comedy that may leave some viewers feeling unsatisfied. Fans of slasher films will likely find the film’s scares too predictable and its kills too generic, while those looking for a sharp workplace satire may be disappointed by the film’s reliance on tired tropes and broad humor. The film’s strongest moments come when it leans into its ensemble dynamics, particularly the prickly chemistry between Lundgren and Winter, whose exchanges crackle with tension and wit.

Ultimately, The Conference is a film that tries to have its cake and eat it too, attempting to blend genres without fully committing to either. While it boasts some strong performances and a premise with undeniable potential, the execution falls short, leaving viewers with a film that feels neither fresh nor particularly memorable.