Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.12.2008, Side 8

LAMBSWOOL CINEMA
Caelum Vatnsdal
Icelandic filmmaker Arni Thor Jonsson has produced a different kind of holiday
treat for discerning filmgoers.
Unholy Night is a ten-minute
horror short centering on a
group of jittery, easily-enraged
young people trapped at an ex-
perimental drug addiction clin-
ic in the middle of the Icelandic
countryside. Christmas is com-
ing, and naturally the centre
is attacked by the bloodthirsty
Jólasveinar, or Yule Men, of
Icelandic legend.
No jolly, portly Clauses
are these fellows, as becomes
evident when they start a kill-
ing rampage. Of course, even
these drug-addled, squabble-
prone youths don’t quite be-
lieve they’re being attacked by
the supernatural sons of Grýla;
they prefer to assume that de-
mented hillbillies – such a
common phenomenon in Ice-
land! – are responsible for the
carnage. But a final confron-
tation with the hideous, sla-
vering Jólasveinar known as
Meat-Hook may first change,
and then remove, their minds.
The ten-minute version of
Unholy Night, produced by
Reykjavík-based Zik Zak Film-
works, begins as the attack is
underway, and ends just as the
towering Meat-Hook makes
his first appearance. It feels a
bit like an excerpt from a lon-
ger film rather than a satisfying,
self-contained short on its own.
There’s a good reason for this:
it was produced specifically to
attract funding for a feature-
length version.
This is a common practice
among filmmakers looking to
make a feature. A short version
gives funders an idea of what the
long version will look like, and
provides evidence that the film-
maker has the ability to pull it
off. Will the strategy work in this
case? It may, but the long version
will probably have to wait until
the Icelandic economy regains
some measure of strength.
There is also the question
of whether this story will travel
well beyond Iceland’s borders,
as it will have to if it is to be a fi-
nancially viable enterprise. The
killer Santa idea has been ex-
plored before in cheap B-movies
such as Silent Night, Deadly
Night, To All A Goodnight and
Christmas Evil; but the concept
of thirteen killer Kringles, who
in any case look more like burly
street-bums than Santas, may
seem a bit foreign to audiences
in North America and around
the world.
And there is the question
of whether it will even be le-
gal to show the movie in Den-
mark, since, according to the
filmmakers, the Jólasveinar
stories were outlawed in that
country in the 1700s for being
too scary, and remain illegal to
this day.
But the film remains an
effective entry in a very min-
iscule genre. Icelanders have
virtually no horror movie tra-
dition: if the feature version is
ever made, it will be only the
third or fourth such production.
However, given that horror
canons often emerge from na-
tional trauma (as the Godzilla
movies did in post-war Japan,
for instance), and that horror is
one of the most reliably profit-
able genres there are, we may
see quite a few more scary
movies coming from Iceland
in the next few years.
In the meantime, if you are
interested in a different sort of
Christmas treat, the trailer for
Unholy Night (which is not
much shorter than the film it-
self!) may be found at the Zik
Zak website: www.zikzak.
is. Enjoy, and have a merry
Christmas!
Visit us on the web at http://www.lh-inc.ca
8 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • 15 December 2008
Visual materials on hand
also include lovely shots of the
actual sagas and of creepy wax
figures of Sturluson and others.
There are also shots of contem-
porary Iceland and its people,
of historical paintings, and of
flaming-face graphics which
touch the soul.
Altogether the movie
serves as a fine, often visually
spectacular, history of Iceland,
as the story of the Sagas can-
not be told otherwise. There
are not many interviews in the
film, but we see present-day ar-
cheologists at work excavating
ancient Icelandic homesteads.
There are also many charming
shots of puffins, both at rest
and on the wing.
Finally, it must be said,
Myths and Sagas of Iceland fea-
tures innumerable actors sport-
ing large and bushy beards.
The two-disc box set will
make a handsome and informa-
tive gift for anyone fascinated
by Iceland, its history, its people
and its literature. Copies may
be ordered through Wokafilm
(simply email office@woka-
film.at) at a cost of 35 Euros.
HERITAGE TOURS TO ICELAND
VISIT THE LAND OF YOUR ANCESTORS
TOUR DATE
JUNE 3  JUNE 12
TOUR INCLUDES
Round trip airfare
Tour around the island (7 days)
Accommodation (double occupancy) while in Iceland
Continental breakfast
Tour guide
Assistance in finding relatives & original farmstead
DEPARTURES TO REYKJAVÍK
From Toronto TOUR PRICE $2085 CAD plus taxes
From Minneapolis TOUR PRICE $1905 USD plus taxes
FOR TOUR INFORMATION CONTACT
Jonas Thor at jonas.thor1@gmail.com
For registration & payments contact Joanne Sigurdson 204- 989- 4820 or jsigurdson@geo.ca
THORTRAVELS in Iceland and UNIGLOBE Geo Travel in Winnipeg are planning a heritage tour to Iceland in June of 2009.
Here is an opportunity to visit the land of your forefathers, meet your Icelandic relatives and friends — see the old farmstead.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ICELAND TOURIST BOARD
The history of
Iceland on DVD
Continued from page 1
Icelandic filmmaker offers grisly
Christmas wishes to one and all
Sutton Group Kilkenny Real Estate
Blair Holm
WinniPeg, MB
204.475.9130
Meat-Hook Banana-Nose.