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Denmark is known as the land of thrillers and abysmal dramas. Fantasy adventures, on the other hand? Only very few people think of that when talking about the films of Germany's Nordic neighbour. But exceptions confirm the rules, as we all know. And these exceptions can be traced back almost without exception to Lene Kaaberbøl, one of Denmark's best-known authors of books for children and young people. Among other things, the novels about Dina and her peculiar ability of Shaming go back to the writer.

In 2016, the first part, "The Shamer's Daughter" ( boxd.it/1AzFOt ), was even shown in German cinemas. This was not the case for the sequel, the second adventure was released directly for home cinema. This is certainly understandable, the combination of young adult reading and large-scale fantasy adventure is not an easy sell without the appropriate level of awareness. It is a bit of a pity, because in the muddy, down-to-earth pseudo-medieval world there are one or two images that could have been shown a bit bigger.

Of course, the budget of the Danish production cannot compete with that of the Hollywood version. Whenever the team wants to reach into the bag of tricks, the result tends to be of a mixed nature. Sometimes it is not so noticeable, especially in the night shots, when details disappear in the darkness anyway. Other places are more conspicuous, for example in a large fire scene. This is because it is less easy to hide. Then again, there are scenes where one would have liked to see more, but for other reasons this was not possible.

While this can be ignored with a little indulgence, the disappointment in the content of "The Shamer's Daughter 2-The Serpent Gift (German title "Hüterin der Wahrheit-Dina und die schwarze Magie" -Guardian of Truth-Dina and the Black Magic) is more serious. Of all things, Dina's strange ability, which made the first part special, is now relegated to the background. Instead, the film follows the question of whether the young woman should follow the legacy of her hitherto unknown father. Because he was really bad, says the mother. After all, it looks dark. And black magic doesn't sound much like a hero.

A thrilling conflict could have been made out of that: How far am I willing to go to save other people? Can evil be justified if it has a good goal? However, "The Shamer's Daughter 2" doesn't want to go quite that far, and also seems strangely indecisive and without a real draw due to the split plot - Dina on one side, the prisoners on the other. And this despite the fact that the running time is only about an hour and a half. The second part cannot compete with its predecessor, but the fantasy adventure is atmospheric and, due to the elements of self-discovery, a significant topic for young people.