★ 6 / 10
A very competent film for how low budget
Judson E
A very competent film for how low budget it is, this is very much in the style of A24, very slow burn with good acting. There is only a single battle scene in…
A very competent film for how low budget it is, this is very much in the style of A24, very slow burn with good acting.
There is only a single battle scene in this movie and that is unfortunate because it was the highlight of the film for me. Very realistic and well choreographed.
The biggest negative is when the draug starts taking center stage, it just felt incredibly underwhelming, the whole time I was desperately hoping the characters would actually fight back against these creatures but nothing really happens, the film turns into characters just running around the woods and slowly just dying because they saw a ghost.
Overall it wasn't bad, I would really love to see another film much like this but with some more substance and some action.
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★ 8 / 10
A complete summary and review. Hopefully to clear up the confusion some are having about this film.
havenceles
I've noticed quite a bit of confusion about this film and what was going on. First I am going to touch on the film itself. It's beautifully shot and the acting…
I've noticed quite a bit of confusion about this film and what was going
on. First I am going to touch on the film itself. It's beautifully shot and
the acting is great. It stays very truthful to the time period it was based
in and with folklore. I found it to be a very good and entertaining
watch.
Now on to where people are getting confused. I hope this clears things
up for those that are feeling completely lost with the last part of the
film. I will now break down the entire movie and hopefully explain what happened and why for all of those that are confused.
Complete and total spoilers ahead:
Definition of "Draugr" - From Wikipedia - The draugr or draug is an undead creature from the Scandinavian saga literature and folktale. Commentators extend theterm draugr to the undead in medieval literature, even if it is never explicitly referred to as that in the text, and designated them rather as a haugbúi or an aptrganga, literally "again-walker"
This story takes place in a time when Christianity was beginning to sweep through Scandanavia. When this happened, a purging of "pagan" traditions began, and those that started to follow the Christian faith tended to handle their pagan neighbors with a very heavy hand.
Two of the main characters, Kettil and Hakon, were part of this purging.
They had in their past taken a local witch and her husband, hung them and then burned the bodies. After which they discovered their child, Nanna. Instead of killing her, Hakon took her on as his foster daughter and raised her in the Christian faith. During these years Nanna has "visions" which are actually flashbacks to when she was a child and to her family before they were murdered.
Fast forward about 18 years (this is an educated guess as they don't actually give a time reference in the movie). A friend of Hakon and Kettil disappears in a local forest while escorting a Christian missionary. This is the same forest where Nanna's family had lived and were killed. The locals shun part of this forest because they believe that it is cursed and that an evil lives within in it. Hakon, Kettil and Nanna get a group together and travel to this forest in search of the missing group. Here they areambushed and they make a run into the area that is known to be cursed.
This is where they encounter the Draugr. The Draugr are the result of a blood curse that was created when Nanna's family was murdered. As the story develops Nanna begins to remember more from her childhood including a ritual that her mother performed and where she kept her magickal tools. During this time Kettil is convinced that Nanna has to die in order for the curse to end and tries killing her only to fail and become a prisoner to Nanna and their remaining two companions.
Nanna performs the ritual she remembers which brings her consciousness into Hel where she then learns about the blood curse and realizes that to make it end that she must kill Kettil as he is the last of the ones that murdered her family. Before she regains consciousness, the Draugr attack again. An unconscious Nanna is carried to the boat that was found by the remains of her families cabin, where Kettil and Kol jump into the boat and try to escape as their last companion is killed by the Draugr.
Just as Nanna begins to awaken, Kettil knocks Kol unconscious with the boat oar and attacks Nanna. The two fight it out, ending up in the river and being swept downstream. Upon reaching the shore, Nanna realizes that she has no chance of killing Kettil while she is still alive and shackles herself to him. Before he can strangle her to death, she throws the key into the river. The act being witnessed by the Draugr of her sister (I believe it's her sister anyway. It's another child, but they don't make it clear as to who she is exactly). As the life leaves her body, Kettil believes he has ended the curse by killing her, only to look up to find that she is now a Draugr and is there to kill him, thus ending the curse.
Kol awakens, alone, in the the now swamped boat. He slowly rises and looks around, instinctively knowing that the forest is different. It's brighter, clearer and the look/feeling of dread is gone. He then swims to shore. The End.
So she let herself die because she knew that is what she had to do in order to kill Kettil. Thus bringing an end the curse for her family and to finally allow their souls to rest in peace.
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Thankyou FREEMAN!!!!!