Thale (2012)

Written and directed by Aleksander Nordass

Starring Silje Reinåmo, Erlend Nervold & Jon Sigve Skard

Runtime 76 min. - Not Rated

In Norwegian with English subtitles

1 Star (out of 4)

Now available on Vudu and in select theaters

I rented "Thale" for a few reasons. Firstly, the trailer looked absolutely excellent. Secondly, I've been writing some sci-fi stories lately and this looked like a film that could provide some inspiration. Lastly, and this is probably the best reason, Scandinavia has been on a roll with films. "Troll Hunter", the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, "Klown", and "Rare Exports" are all prime examples of Scandinavian filmmaking. Oh and there's that guy....what was his name....Lars von Trier! And while I wasn't expecting a von-Trieresque masterpiece, I at least hoped this low-budget Norwegian sci-fi/horror film would continue the region's fine film-making tradition.


The film is 76 minutes long, but could use about 60 of those minutes trimmed away. Because at least an hour's worth of film is filled with expressionless characters staring at something or each other. It seems to be a fad these days. It's as if the entire indie community had an overreaction to the "Transformers" franchise. Instead of all that flashy action-filled story-less computer-generated mayhem, they've decided to do just the opposite by offering the viewer static shots that are beyond long enough for the audience to contemplate and dissect each tiny plot advancement. There's a word for that sort of thing; boring.
 
"Thale" opens with a pair of 20-something crime-scene cleaners, Leo and Elvis, scraping up the remains of some anonymous victim. At least one of them is, the other is puking into a bucket. What do we learn about these characters? Well, Elvis is bad at his job and Leo rarely speaks or even offers a facial expression. If they had both been killed violently I wouldn't have mourned the loss. Leo does reveal that he has cancer later on in the film, a fact that seems to have been added in post-production so the writers could have an example of their creation's healing powers.

This is the only pretty huldra in the movie.

Actually, the writers didn't create the monster in this story. A huldra is a tailed-woman of Norweigan folklore. The one found by Leo and Elvis is drop-dead gorgeous and often naked. The others in the film are CGI monsters that look like they were stolen from a SyFy original movie. The disparity in beauty is never explained. Or if it was I wasn't paying attention.


My wife and I took a 10 minute break at about the halfway point of "Thale". We used the intermission to grab a beverage and walk around a bit, just trying to get blood back to our brains. If we hadn't taken these measures I would have probably fell asleep and this review wouldn't exist. And since I wouldn't want to rob my adoring fans of another mediocre review of a terrible movie.......oh nevermind.