THALE

Thale (15) / Director: Aleksander Nordaas / Screenplay: Aleksander Nordaas / Starring: Silje Reinåmo, Erlend Nervold

In a cellar, dark and deep, I lay my dearest down to sleep; A secret they would like to keep

Norwegian Horror seems to be going through a renaissance period at the moment, which is a sentence I never thought I would type! Over the last few years, we’ve had “Dead Snow”, the “Cold Prey” films, and (of course) “Troll Hunter”. And not a stinker amongst them! Now another scary flick has emerged from snowy climes of Norway, fresh from the Toronto Film Festival, and has just been released on UK DVD. Directed by Alexander Nordaas on an extremely limited budget (as well as writing, producing, and editing … and shooting in his father’s basement!), it delves into the folklore of the country and melds it with a modern setting, which was something that “Troll Hunter” did very well.

Leo (Jon Sigve Skard) is the cool and taciturn boss of a crime scene clean-up company (called “No-Shit” apparently). He currently employs his friend Elvis (Erlend Nervold) as his working partner. Elvis is a bit of a dumb-ass and continually throws up at crime scenes, but he needs the job for the money for his estranged daughter. Called to a cabin in the woods (Seriously … never buy a cabin in the woods … doesn’t matter what country you’re in, no good will come of it!) to clear away the aftermath of an elderly man’s death (of which we never learn the reason for), they discover several hidden rooms. In one such room they stumble across a wide-eyed young woman, who is seemingly mute and possibly the victim of sustained torture. Due to scattered tapes and books, they find out she is called “Thale” (pronounced “Tul-lah”).Beautiful as she is, there’s something a little “off” about her, and as they settle in to await the return of the police, they realise that they are not alone in the woods …

Just before we get into the film itself, a question. Why are the publicists and designers of covers for DVDs, so intent on blowing plot points and narrative twists before you even view the film? You only have to glance at the box art or the pictures on the back of this film to see a major plot reveal regarding Thale, and some important climatic shots! I mean what the hell?! I’m betting that if they released “Sixth Sense” these days, there would be a transparent Bruce Willis walking through a door! Or with “Seven”, there would be a blood-dripping box with Gwyneth Paltrow’s noggin peaking over the top! Just stop it!

Anyway, “Thale” is a fairly short film, just clocking over 70 minutes if you ignore the credits. Most of the events take place within a small area and over a short time. Despite this, it still feels as if the middle section drags somewhat, with most of the “action” consisting of Elvis and Leo, sitting in the cabin watching over Thale and revealing a couple of personal secrets. Incidentally, much is made of Elvis having an “illegitimate” child. Is that still a big concern in Norway? God knows how “The Jeremy Kyle show” would go down over there…

In fact, as a whole it seems that the intriguing premise, as to where Thale has come from and what is chasing her (which takes a whole new twist towards the end) is never really fleshed out or expanded as much as it could have been. That may be a fault of the budget, or an intentional decision to keep everything low-key.

Having said that, there is still much to enjoy in the film. Silje Reinamo, who plays Thale, is a dancer and actress, and this is her first part in a feature film. With her large brown-eyes, and fluid physicality, she is marvellous as the mysterious woman, without ever uttering a word. What is refreshing as well is that the two guys never view her in an overtly sexual way, or attempt to take advantage of her. In my cynical mind, I can’t help feeling that if this was shot in the US or remade there, one of the characters would come onto her or be inappropriate in some way.  Exerting vulnerability and spending a fair portion of the film (yes, I have to mention it) unclothed, she nevertheless becomes something convincingly opposite this portrayal, when the end of the film comes. In fact some of the climactic scenes are breath-takingly beautiful scenes of violence that rivals John Woo for slo-mo brutality and elegance. Just watch the sequence where an assault rifle and a horseshoe are used as unconventional weapons!

There is a fair amount of visual poetry and cold beauty to the film. But then, that goes without saying when shooting in the Norwegian “wilderness”. There are some nicely creepy scenes as well, especially when one character is standing in a road, and something spindly in the far distance scampers across the horizon. When we do get full-on glimpses of these enigmatic “somethings” the CGI is effective enough, without being mind-blowingly realistic, but it’s still way better than the average SyFy “mockbuster”.

So, whilst it does have its issues, and you do feel frustrated that a lot more could have been done with the story, it’s still not a bad little way to indulge in Norwegian culture, and get a spooky horror fix at the same time. I would be very interested in seeing the next film from Nordaas.

And remember, whilst Nature is fierce, it’s Man that’s the real monster…
Extras: More vanilla than a choc-ice. Nothing … as I am NOT going to include “audio set-up” as an extra!

It does drag during the middle section, and so much more could have been done with the source material. However, it does have an ethereal performance from the lead actress, marvellous cinematography, and some deliriously poetic scenes of violence. Definitely worth a view.