The Horrors of the Huldra
Ever heard of a huldra? Before watching Aleksander Nordaas’ Thale (2012), I hadn’t either. According to Norwegian folklore, a huldra is a mythical female forest spirit whose origin goes back to early Christianity. After a charcoal burner didn’t clean up all of her children when God came to visit, God decided the dirty ones should be hidden from humanity. And the huldra were born. Nice move, God.
Elvis (Erlend Nervold, Serkel) and Leo (Jon Sigve Skard, Serkel, Hidden) are crime scene cleaners. When they’re called to clean up a man who was torn to shreds near his wooded home, they discover a strange young woman imprisoned in his basement. Who or what she might be will change both men forever.
Thale is another interesting entry into the recent slew of Norwegian horror films. If you haven’t already seen Cold Prey, Troll Hunter or Dead Snow, you better take the afternoon off and prepare yourself for a movie marathon. You can add Thale to the schedule, though it’ll probably leave you with some mixed feelings. The film mostly plays out in the small room where the woman named Thale was imprisoned. This keeps things constrained and mysterious for the most part. But then the men in white show up and it briefly turns into a different movie. I didn’t mind it so much but it would have be interesting to see what might have happened with only the three characters in that room.
Nonetheless, Thale was an enjoyable watch. Though having Silje Reinåmo (Dunderland, Absolute Zombies) naked for most of the film may have slightly skewed my judgement. Slightly. Recommended.
Availability: Netflix US
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