Robert Eggers has been one of the best directors working today ever since he took the horror genre by storm with his 2016 haunting folktale The Witch. He followed that up with 2019s The Lighthouse which was equally beloved and terrifying. Now Eggers’ next film The Northman comes out later this month. It is a film that is set to take the director’s signature fierce style and applies it to an epic revenge thriller. Now Focus Films has released a new clip teasing what to expect from the film.
The contents of the 55-second clip titled “To Valholl” is pretty straightforward as it follows Alexander Skarsgård’s Amleth leading his crew into battle in a foggy forest. In typical Eggers’ fashion the camera tracks them as they charge toward a rival fortress. Finally, they epically climb the wall of the fortress and start hacking away at their enemies.
This clip is so cool for so many reasons, but mainly because the scene never cuts. It is an extremely effective tracking shot that makes us feel like we are charging into battle with this Viking army. It is a thrill that only the best video games like Ghost of Tsushima have given us. The slow walk-up with no sound that quickly turns into a vicious waltz is just immaculately executed and a great sign of things to come in terms of the overall quality of this film. Everything from the thick atmosphere to the heavy drum musical score, feels so satisfying. Also, on a more lighthearted note, this scene perfectly shows off Skarsgård’s workout routine. He is just ripped and ready for bloodshed.
From all accounts, The Northman appears to be Eggers’ most ambitious venture to date that combines the spooky tense atmosphere of The Witch and The Lighthouse with something along the lines of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator or Ben-Hur. It is hard in this day and age to make a film that feels truly distinct and like nothing that audiences have ever seen before, but from the early reactions, that is exactly what we are getting. There has been nothing but praise for the Viking epic so far with many first reactions calling out Eggers‘ insane direction and the haunting performances. The phrase “they just don’t make them like they use to” is overused when it comes to talking about modern films, but with this ghastly revenge thriller, we can make an exception. Eggers’ has such a unique eye for visual and emotional storytelling. There is no one quite like him in Hollywood today and, in a sea of sequels, Eggers’ has reinvented the way audiences look at genre filmmaking once again.
The Northman brutally hits theaters on April 22, 2022. The Film stars Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Björk, and Willem Dafoe. You can watch the full new clip and read the synopsis for The Northman down below.
From visionary director Robert Eggers comes THE NORTHMAN, an action-filled epic that follows a young Viking prince on his quest to avenge his father’s murder.
via Collider