Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #902 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-08-31
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 110 minutes

Synopsis
It is 709AD and Norway is in a state of unrest; tensions between Viking clans threaten to spill over into all-out war. However, in-fighting is the least of their worries when, from out of nowhere, an alien spacecraft crash-lands on to their territory, bringing with it a danger far greater than they could possibly imagine. Emerging from the wreckage is Kainan (James Caviezel, PASSION OF THE CHRIST), a soldier from a distant planet who they mistake for an enemy and take prisoner. Little do they realise that their real enemy is still at large; a fearsome and malevolent creature known as the Moorwen that also arrived aboard the alien craft. When the Moorwen starts wreaking havoc on neighbouring villages, an unholy alliance is formed between the warring Vikings and Kainan is called upon to slay the beast. But such is its might, that it will take a combination of Kainan's advanced alien technology and the Viking's Iron Age weaponry to defeat it.
Science fiction and fantasy collide in this special effects-laden adventure, which also stars HELLBOY's Ron Perlman and John Hurt.

Customer Reviews

Decent sci-fi B movie with some surprisingly intelligent touches
The plot of this movie has been well described. I guess my liking it is a matter of taste. It doesn't try to be anything profound, but the attention to science fictional detail won me over. In fact I was sold on it in the first five minutes when we see Kainen has to be taught Norse by a dangerous and painful machine learning technique - imagine that, a universe where everyone does **not** speak American English!!! Apart from that you have brave hero, spunky heroine, 'orrible monster (excellent CGI) and reasonably non-insulting picture of Viking society. Hell, 5 out of 5.

Underrated, under-promoted ... but quite excellent nevertheless
At first glance this movie appears to be a strange mixture of "hard" sci-fi and mythological history flick, given the ancient nordic "Beowulf" saga an unexpected twist, with the hero actually being a marooned space-farer who unwittingly brought a monstrous extra-terrestial creature with him to early medieval earth. Monstrous Grendel and the dragon of beowulfic origins as alien lifeforms ? We have seen stranger explanations and plot-devices, haven't we ? And don't worry, not much wielding of laser's or futuristic tech to spoil the tone of the viking setting, mud and harsh conditions included.

What follows is well-filmed with a good sense for editing and sound mixture, lovingly outfitted , mostly superior acting by the cast including John Hurt and Ron Perlman in lesser, but memorable roles, more than just one-dimensional villains and as a nice bonus a fittingly epic soundtrack. Not to forget some dry wit by the local vikings, even if it does not dominate the movie, and an understated romance with the not-so-meek female lead, feisty Sophia Myles.

Yes, some factual liberties are being taken - such as oddly capable blacksmith shops and volcanic caves in Norway amongst the more noticable ones, not to mention the Sci-Fi elements - though mostly to facilliate the flow of the story, BUT..... show me one recent movie or even documentary that doesn't...
Even if the CGI is not quite cutting edge "Outlander" ends up being a far superior historical adventure flick than its obvious direct competitors "the 13th Warrior", the overly violent "Pathfinder" and the cheesy "Beowulf" of 2007 (or the even worse 90ies one...*shudder*)... or basically any historical/fantasy movie with a heroic theme made in the last decade except the hard-to-eclipse "LotR"-saga. IMHO, of course...

Yes, it did not make the "big screen" anywhere but for some select festivals (I caught it in Hamburg's fantasy festival, lucky me ) , but in all honesty, that simply proves just how idiotic some studios treat the material they are given... so what else is new ?

Heartily recommended

Good fun
Having heard lots of good things about this 'blink and you missed it at the cinema' film, I picked it up.

This film is good fun and flows well. I was expecting all the good reviews i'd heard to be hype but, nope, they were pretty accurate.

Don't let the fact this film was poorly served at the cinema put you off, this is definitely NOT direct to DVD trash. The acting is convincing; high production values throughout; some superb location work and the CG was rather excellent. The film is a sci-fi re-telling of the Beowulf legend and it certainly clicked for me, it remained exciting throughout and I was impressed that I actually felt sympathy for the Moorwen, the poor creature was a victim as much as a predator.

I would easily rate this film as being superior to much of the "blockbuster" trash that came out this summer, I only wish i'd had the chance to see it on the big screen.