The Guilty (2018)

Last updated:
December 28, 2025

The Guilty (original title: Den skyldige) is a minimalist yet emotionally devastating Danish thriller that proves you don’t need explosions or constant action to keep an audience on edge. With almost the entire film taking place inside a single room, it turns sound, performance, and moral tension into its most powerful weapons.

Table of Contents

Detailed Summary

A Policeman Behind a Desk

The story follows Asger Holm, a Copenhagen police officer temporarily assigned to emergency dispatch duty. From the very beginning, it’s clear something is off. Asger is impatient, short-tempered, and clearly frustrated with being stuck behind a phone instead of out in the field. Subtle dialogue hints at an upcoming court case, suggesting professional trouble.

The Call That Changes Everything

Mid-shift, Asger receives a disturbing call from a woman named Iben, who pretends to be talking to her daughter. Asger quickly realizes she’s actually been kidnapped and is calling from inside a moving vehicle. Using only his voice and listening skills, he tries to keep her calm while extracting crucial details.

A Race Against Time Through Sound

Asger coordinates with patrol units, tracks phone signals, and contacts Iben’s family. We never see the crime itself; instead, the tension builds through fragmented audio, background noises, and Asger’s increasingly emotional reactions. The film cleverly forces the audience to imagine events, often making them more terrifying than visuals ever could.

Assumptions and Escalation

Asger learns that Iben’s husband, Michael, has recently been released from prison and assumes he is the violent abductor. This assumption drives Asger’s decisions, pushing him to act aggressively and emotionally rather than objectively.

Cracks in the Narrative

As new information emerges, Asger begins to realize that the situation is far more complex than it initially appeared. Small inconsistencies in Iben’s story, combined with disturbing revelations about her mental health, start to dismantle his black-and-white view of the case.

Movie Ending

Asger finally learns the full truth: Iben was not abducted. She was having a severe psychotic episode and had killed one of her children, severely injuring the other. Michael, her husband, was not a violent criminal in this situation but a desperate father trying to protect his surviving child and get Iben help.

Realizing his catastrophic mistake, Asger tries to undo the damage. He convinces Iben to pull over and surrender peacefully, guiding her through calming breaths and grounding techniques. She survives, but the emotional devastation is irreversible.

The final blow comes when Asger confronts his own guilt. He confesses over the phone to his colleague that he shot and killed an unarmed young man during a previous police encounter—the reason he’s awaiting trial and stuck at dispatch. His aggression, assumptions, and desire to “fix” things stem from unresolved guilt and denial.

In the final scene, Asger quietly ends his shift, sits alone, and listens to the empty call center. There is no dramatic resolution, no redemption arc—just acceptance of responsibility. The film ends with him choosing to face the consequences of his actions, both legally and morally.

This ending forces the audience to confront uncomfortable truths about authority, bias, and the danger of assumptions.

Are There Post-Credits Scenes?

No.
The Guilty does not include any post-credits or mid-credits scenes. The story ends definitively with its final moment of silence.

Type of Movie

The Guilty is a tightly focused psychological thriller and crime drama that leans heavily on realism and moral ambiguity rather than traditional suspense tropes.

Cast

Jakob Cedergren as Asger Holm
Jessica Dinnage as Iben (voice)
Omar Shargawi as Rashid
Johan Olsen as Michael (voice)
Katinka Evers-Jahnsen as Mathilde (voice)

Film Music and Composer

The film features a minimalist score by Carl Coleman, used sparingly. Silence and ambient noise dominate the sound design, reinforcing the feeling of isolation and psychological pressure. Music appears only when absolutely necessary, making emotional moments hit harder.

Filming Locations

Copenhagen, Denmark
Almost the entire film takes place inside a single emergency dispatch center set

This confined setting is crucial to the movie’s impact. By limiting visuals, the audience experiences events exactly as Asger does—through sound, imagination, and incomplete information.

Awards and Nominations

Winner – Audience Award, Sundance Film Festival (2018)
Winner – Best Actor, Danish Film Awards (Robert Awards)
Denmark’s official submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards
Multiple European Film Award nominations

Behind the Scenes Insights

Director Gustav Möller wanted the audience to feel “trapped” inside Asger’s head.
Many phone calls were performed live on set, not pre-recorded.
Jakob Cedergren remained seated for most of the shoot, making performance intensity even more challenging.
The script was rewritten multiple times to ensure information was revealed only through dialogue.

Inspirations and References

Inspired by real emergency call recordings
Influenced by minimalist thrillers and stage plays
The film intentionally avoids showing violence to emphasize psychological realism

Alternate Endings and Deleted Scenes

No official alternate endings have been released. However, early drafts reportedly included more backstory scenes for Asger, which were removed to maintain ambiguity and focus entirely on the present moment.

Book Adaptations and Differences

The Guilty is not based on a book. It is an original screenplay written by Gustav Möller and Emil Nygaard Albertsen.

Memorable Scenes and Quotes

Key Scenes

Asger realizing Iben is pretending to talk to her daughter
The phone call with the injured child that changes everything
Asger’s emotional breakdown after learning the truth
The final confession call

Iconic Quotes

“You think you know what’s happening. But you don’t.”
“I tried to help… I made it worse.”

Easter Eggs and Hidden Details

The background noise in calls subtly hints at the truth before it’s revealed
Police radio codes foreshadow Asger’s past incident
The ticking clock sound grows louder as Asger loses control

Trivia

The film was shot in less than three weeks
Jakob Cedergren carried the film almost entirely alone on screen
A Hollywood remake starring Jake Gyllenhaal was released in 2021
The script uses fewer than 10 locations total

Why Watch?

If you enjoy films that respect your intelligence, challenge moral certainty, and rely on performance rather than spectacle, The Guilty is essential viewing. It’s short, intense, and emotionally unforgettable.

Director’s Other Works

The Dark Heart (2022) – TV series

The Guilty (2018)