If asked to name a few Swedish alien invasion movies, you’ll have an almost impossible task ahead of you. In general terms, they simply don’t exist. However, there is an exception. Space invasion in Lapland is the 1959 American-Swedish film that was ahead of its time.
The alien invasion theme was a staple of 1950s film making in America, but not in the Nordic region, where local science fiction movies were practically unheard of at the time, and the following decades. Space invasion in Lapland is the rare exception; it was a co-production with Sweden (in a time when co-productions were not as common as today), and it was sci-fi. The story could have been set in Alaska or Canada, but it was set in Sweden, and filmed there too, probably with the idea of exploiting the exoticness of the Swedish mountains. Space invasion in Lapland is perhaps not a cult classic or even a cult favourite, but it is a cult film, and now that it is considered to be in the Public Domain, you can watch it right here, for free.
To be fair, there is one other Swedish alien invasion film. Hermit: Monster Killer is, however, barely in distribution at the moment of writing and in terms of budget and scope nowhere near its predecessor. There might be other amateur movies in the genre too, but no theatrical movie.
Before you watch the film, please browse these galleries of stills, poster art and publicity plans.
This version is the Swedish original edit. Recut American versions exist, called either Horror in the Midnight Sun, Terror in the Midnight Sun or Invasion of the Animal People.