A group of foreigners gets a ride on a whale-watching boat in Iceland. Things get really bad. But upon getting rescued, things find a way to get tragically worse... getting killed or lost at sea is the least of their worries.
Let me say this film's strength: it has plenty of good gore shots, and some gross-out moments with vomit and open wounds. If you like a film that has blood splattering every few minutes, this is a good choice (though not the best of recent years, I assure you).
Unfortunately, it has plenty of flaws. The blend of languages (English, Icelandic, French and Korean) make it a bit hard to follow, there are a few characters who are hard to tell apart (none has a back story at all), and the overall plot is so complicated, I actually do not even know what happened (and have little motivation to see the film again to find out).
The draw of the film for American audiences is Gunnar Hansen. Gunnar is an awesome guy and a great actor, but his part is small here -- so do not rent or buy this just to see him. Not worth it. Also, among recent Scandinavian flicks, this one is not top of the heap. Check out "Next Door" for a real mind bender.
If you get all the way to the end, you will hear an obnoxious band. And, believe it or not, it is not Bjork or the Sugarcubes or Quarashi. There is also a lengthy list of thank yous, including Brad Pitt and Clint Eastwood. I am unclear how they are in any way related to this film...
In short, I am not endorsing this film. Maybe if I watched it again and actually understood it, but the fact it was only 84 minutes, I was paying attention, sober, and still not clear on half of what was going on, that does not bode well for this film. In the case that I give it another try, we will see...
Let me say this film's strength: it has plenty of good gore shots, and some gross-out moments with vomit and open wounds. If you like a film that has blood splattering every few minutes, this is a good choice (though not the best of recent years, I assure you).
Unfortunately, it has plenty of flaws. The blend of languages (English, Icelandic, French and Korean) make it a bit hard to follow, there are a few characters who are hard to tell apart (none has a back story at all), and the overall plot is so complicated, I actually do not even know what happened (and have little motivation to see the film again to find out).
The draw of the film for American audiences is Gunnar Hansen. Gunnar is an awesome guy and a great actor, but his part is small here -- so do not rent or buy this just to see him. Not worth it. Also, among recent Scandinavian flicks, this one is not top of the heap. Check out "Next Door" for a real mind bender.
If you get all the way to the end, you will hear an obnoxious band. And, believe it or not, it is not Bjork or the Sugarcubes or Quarashi. There is also a lengthy list of thank yous, including Brad Pitt and Clint Eastwood. I am unclear how they are in any way related to this film...
In short, I am not endorsing this film. Maybe if I watched it again and actually understood it, but the fact it was only 84 minutes, I was paying attention, sober, and still not clear on half of what was going on, that does not bode well for this film. In the case that I give it another try, we will see...