The Girl with the Needle

The Girl With the Needle (Danish title Pigen med nålen) is a 2024 Gothic psychological horror / historical drama directed by Magnus von Horn, co-written with Line Langebek.

Set in 1919 Copenhagen, the film tracks Karoline (Vic Carmen Sonne), a destitute factory worker who, after becoming pregnant and losing her home, is taken in by Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm), who runs an underground adoption agency disguised as a sweets shop.

Karoline becomes a wet nurse and grows close to Dagmar and a young girl named Erena, but she soon discovers that Dagmar’s operation hides horrifying secrets: infants she accepts never find real homes—they are murdered.

Blending gothic horror, social critique, and period detail, The Girl With the Needle explores themes of motherhood, desperation, abandonment, and the collateral damage of a society that discards its most vulnerable.

The film premiered in competition at Cannes 2024, was submitted as Denmark’s entry for Best International Feature for the Oscars, and has been praised for its stark cinematography, chilling atmosphere, and powerful performances.