The trailer for the new thriller movie from Robert Eggers has been released, and it looks appropriately wild. The Northman is a grisly, Viking-themed revenge action movie, and our first footage shows the familial backdrop that contextualises the bloodshed.
Alexandre Skarsgård plays Amleth, a Viking prince who swears vengeance while watching his father be executed. Years later, and now a hardened warrior, he’s decided now is right for Fjölnir (Claes Bang) to pay for the lives he’s taken. In between bits of young Amleth, we get glimpses at muddy village raids, and firelit killings. Between horror movies The Witch and The Lighthouse, Eggers has become known for his vivid, memorably grungy settings, and The Northman looks to be continuing that trend.
Similar again to The Witch, the plot draws from folklore, this time of Scandinavian origin. Amleth is part of Scandinavian legend, and his story of getting back on his father’s killer in order to save his mother actually inspired William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Needless to say, not sure we’d get quite as many topless men throwing spears if this was a Shakespeare adaptation.
Eggers directed and co-wrote the film with Sjón, who also contributed to surreal family monster movie Lamb. You can check out the trailer in full below:
Joining Skarsgård and Bang in the cast is Willem Dafoe, Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, Anya-Taylor Joy, Murray McArthur, Bjork, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, and Kate Dickie. Like his previous movies, Eggers is once again joined by cinematographer Jarin Blaschke, who makes his backdrops look all the warmer and more lived in.
We’ll be able to see The Northman in theatres April 22, 2022. Check out the best horror movies of 2021 if you’d like more chills.