Mini Film Review – Kraken

Yesterday I watched Kraken; and it was very intense! Directed by Pål Øie, and starring Sara Khorami, Mikkel Bratt Silset, and Jenny Evensen; Kraken is a Norwegian Monster Horror movie, about a marine researcher, sent to investigate strange goings on in a Norwegian fjord near a salmon farming facility! The best film I have ever seen featuring a Giant Squid, is the 1996 made for TV movie The Beast, based on the novel Beast by Jaws author Peter Benchley. It’s a really cool movie, with some great effects, and a really captivating story. To me, no Giant Squid film since, has come close to beating it; but this isn’t that far off. At it’s best, Kraken is a wonderful mystery thriller, as strange things happen, and build-up with an increased level of terror, before reaching the final act. So there are disappearances, strange sightings, a mass exodus of marine life, rediscovered body parts, and so on. But whilst that is going on, there is some science to explain, which is told at a gentle pace, leading up to the big reveal. Although saying that, the science can be a bit blink and you’ll miss it. Only now, nearly a day later, am I getting more of an understanding as to what happens and why. There’s also other unexplained details which can be forgotten about. And whilst the big scene at the end of the film is very intense, it does go on for a bit longer than it needs to. But these are just niggles really. Overall Kraken is a very interesting and thrilling film, featuring a narrative veiled in mystery; which all leads to a satisfyingly explosive finale!