Film

In Order of Disappearance

Name: In Order of Disappearance
Genre: Thriller, Action, Comedy, Crime
Released: 2014
Cast: Stellan Skarsgård, Bruno Ganz, Pål Sverre Hagen, Jack Moland, Stig Henrik Hoff

A Norwegian man methodically hunts his son's killer through a criminal underworld, triggering a brutal gang war. This is a darkly funny revenge thriller that balances graphic violence with wry, deadpan humour—tense one moment, absurdist the next. For anyone who wants their vengeance served ice-cold and slightly ridiculous.

TMDb rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like revenge stories told in deadpan, with a bleak sense of humour that treats violence as absurd and grief as something you carry quietly.

Skip it if the violence is frequent and deliberately cold, and if you need the bloodshed to land with real weight rather than be styled into punchlines, the tonal swings will grate.

What it asks of you: Expect a 115-minute run with close attention to a plot that keeps shifting gears, the mood swinging between bleak and absurd rather than settling.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

A Prophet2009

Mathieu Kassovitz's prison drama has the same grim, escalating tension and the same eye for how power operates in hidden worlds. A young man rises through criminal hierarchy with intelligence and ruthlessness. Utterly gripping.

But It's a French-language film set almost entirely in prison, so if claustrophobic dialogue-heavy dramas feel like work to you, this won't change your mind.

Hell or High Water2016

A methodical man with a plan pursues vengeance across a landscape of crime and corruption. David Mackenzie directs with the same control and dark wit, and the cat-and-mouse game has real stakes and intelligence behind every move.

But It's slower-burn than you might expect for a crime thriller. If you need constant momentum, you'll feel the pacing.

The Drop2014

Tom Hardy in a Brooklyn crime story where a quiet man gets pulled into a underworld that demands violence. It shares the same tonal balance—mundane life, sudden brutality, moral questions that don't have clean answers.

But It's quieter and more introspective than *In Order of Disappearance*, so some of the propulsive energy is replaced by mood and silence.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from In Order of Disappearance

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Guard2011

Both are Scandinavian/Irish crime stories where an outsider (to crime, to the underworld) enters it with their own code, finding dark humour in the collision between their morality and the criminals' logic.

Brendan Gleeson as an Irish rural policeman who tangles with a Peruvian drug cartel. Like *In Order of Disappearance*, it finds comedy in the collision between small-town life and organized crime, with Gleeson's bewildered decency against the underworld's chaos. Same director as *In Bruges*.

But It's more overtly comedic than the Norwegian film, which means if you want relentless tension, the humour might undermine it.

Valhalla Rising2010

Nicolas Winding Refn's hypnotic meditation on violence and obsession. If you want a film that takes the brutality seriously while also being visually stunning and philosophically strange, this goes places most thrillers won't.

But It's deliberately obscure, meditative, and violent. Very slow. The plot is secondary to the atmosphere, which frustrates viewers who want a tight narrative.

The Gentlemen2020

Guy Ritchie's interconnected crime caper with a similar blend of dark humour and genuine menace. Stellar ensemble cast, clever script, and that same sense that everyone in this world is playing a dangerous game with specific rules.

But The plotting can feel overstuffed and the humour occasionally tips into smugness. If you don't like characters winking at the audience, it'll grate.

In Bruges2008

Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson in a hitman story that finds profound humanity in brutal situations. Martin McDonagh balances grief, violence, and dark comedy with complete control—funny and devastating at the same time.

But It's deeply concerned with sin, guilt, and redemption, which gives it a philosophical weight that can feel heavy-handed if you're just here for the crime.

The Hunt2012

Mads Mikkelsen as a man falsely accused, pursuing justice through a hostile community. Thomas Vinterberg builds unbearable tension from a single accusation. The Scandinavian setting and moral bleakness align perfectly with *In Order of Disappearance*.

But It's harrowing and grim without the dark humour to balance it. If you need relief from the pressure, you won't find much here.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang2005

Shane Black's LA noir with Ryan Gosling and Robert Downey Jr. has the same self-aware tone—funny about violence, smart about corruption, and unafraid to let the darkness show. A criminally underrated pleasure.

But The narrative deliberately disorients you, and the LA sleaze might feel dated depending on your tolerance for 2000s irony.

Killing Zoe1993

Roger Avary's neon-soaked Paris heist film finds beauty in chaos and has a similar tonal instability—moments of real violence alongside darkly comic situations. It's stylish and strange in a way that rewards patient watching.

But It's a 90s indie film, so the pacing and style will feel dated. The plot is secondary to the mood, which not everyone wants.

Cold Comfort Farm1995

Same structure—methodical man, dead son/family, pursuit through the underworld—but *Cold Comfort* proves the engine works without humour, making it clear the comedy in *In Order of Disappearance* is an intentional choice that changes everything.

A Danish revenge thriller about a man whose family is murdered, and his systematic hunt for the killers. It has the same Scandinavian coldness and the same escalating body count, but plays it entirely straight—no humour, pure vengeance as slow-burning moral decay.

But Relentlessly grim with no comic relief. If you came to *In Order of Disappearance* partly for the dark wit, stripping that away leaves only bleakness.

The Killing2011

Both use crime as a lens to examine a community and its hidden corruption. *In Order of Disappearance* compresses that into 115 minutes of dark comedy; *The Killing* expands it into a meditative, tragic portrait of how violence touches everyone.

Danish crime series following detectives investigating a murder. The obsessive investigation and Scandinavian mood are identical to *In Order of Disappearance*, but this is a 20-hour examination of how a crime ripples through a community. If you want the world of that film expanded and deepened, here it is.

But It's a commitment—three full seasons, and the pacing is methodical by design. If you watched the film for momentum, this will test your patience.