2 of 31: Thale (2013)

A vain attempt by a formerly prolific blogger to review 31 new (to me) horror films in the 31 days of October. We did it last year and it was a gas. Can we do it once more? Let's find out.

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Platform: Amazon Prime on Roku
Starring: A bunch of Norwegian cats. 

I'm loving some Norway right now. TrollHunter was so much fun as a Norwegian found-footage horror film. They have ice hotels in the Winter in Norway, and I wanna stay in one of those things one day. And Black Metal. Glorious, glorious Black Metal. OK...not much of a fan of Black Metal myself, but Gia loves it. And I get a kick when we have friends over for a ramble and we have a nice soft mix going on with our iPOD when all of a sudden...BLACK METAL!!! So much fun.

Thale is a Norwegian horror film based on Norwegian myths and legends starring Norwegian people with names like Silge and Morten. So I knew I was in before I even clicked play.

The film focuses on two regular guys named Elvis (nervous and empathetic) and Leo (taciturn and unflappable) who run a crime scene cleanup business. They come across an especially gruesome death scene and discover what appears to be a young woman-ish kind of creature who seems to have been held captive in the basement. Thale, as she is called, is a most definitely NOT human. From a tape player at the scene, they learn of her life in captivity and about the medical experimentation that was performed on her to make her appear more human.

That's because Thale is most likely the living embodiment of a Norwegian legend called huldra. Tall, female, seductive, woodland creatures with animal characteristics such as hooves and cow tails. Also with superhuman strength, longevity and supernatural abilities. She was found in the Norwegian woods as a baby and raised by her savior/captor/protector/mutilator. It's his death that our lunky schmoes have come to clean up. And who knows how long he had been dead or how long Thale was alone.

The simple drama of the film is finding out exactly what Thale is, and what is the extent of her abilities. And that there are those who are trying to find her. Either to exploit those abilities or, perhaps, to save her from captivity.

Thale was made on an extremely low-budget of around $10,000. Most of the action takes place in a cellar and the woods surrounding the cabin. But it's well-done, even when compared to much higher costing horror films. No immense frights or gore...well, some gore. But it's power as a horror film comes from it's claustrophobic setting and the fear of the unknown experienced by our protagonists. Nothing ground-breaking, but a nice, little horror film. Perhaps even a sweet horror film. You decide.

Norge er kjempebra!

Verdant Dude Rating: 2.5 out of 5 pumpkin ales