Reykjavík Grapevine - aug. 2023, Side 16

The Reykjavík Grapevine 12 / 23 16Culture
WORDS Iryna Zubenko
IMAGES Art Bicnick
& Supplied Film Stills
During my research
prior to the interview, I was slightly
confused about the genre of Erlin-
gur Óttar Thoroddsen’s upcoming
film. Is it a crime drama? Is it horror?
It wasn’t until later that I found out
about Erlingur’s plan to release not
just one, but two movies this au-
tumn. Although the primary focus of
our ensuring conversation was the
film with the earlier premiere date, I
can assure you that there’s more to
anticipate.
SPOOKY PASSIONS
I meet Erlingur on an unusually
sunny day in Reykjavík – the neigh-
borhood coffee shop is bustling with
tourists, so we take a walk to the
nearby sculpture park. Erlingur has
spent the past decade splitting his
time between the USA and Iceland,
but during COVID, he made the
not-so-unusual decision – at least
among Icelandic filmmakers – to
return home.
A self-proclaimed “movie kid” with
a profound passion for horror films,
Erlingur confesses.
“I grew up watching a lot of mov-
ies. Instead of playing sports, I was
inside watching TV.” In his teenage
years, he would make short movies
with his VHS camera. “As I got older,
it became more serious. At a certain
point, I realised that maybe there’s a
career here.” A decade later, Erlin-
gur, now an alumnus of Columbia
University, has written and directed
a number of short movies, as well
as features such as Child Eater and
Rift (Rökkur). Autumn 2023 will be
particularly busy for Erlingur as he
prepares to premiere his next two
features.
THE DOUBLE FEATURE
CREATURE
How come two of Erlingur’s films
– Kuldi (Cold) and The Piper – are
coming out one after another, with
Kuldi premiering on September 1
and The Piper slated for a bit later in
the autumn?
“The weird thing about COVID was
that from 2020 until now, it’s been
the busiest time in my career,” Er-
lingur admits. While The Piper was
shot back in 2021, post-production
delays have seen its release date
slide. “It’s a coincidence that Kuldi
started filming the year after The
Piper, but they’re coming out at the
same time,” he says. “I thought The
Piper would probably come out last
year.”
Even though we met to talk about
Kuldi, I’m curious to hear about The
Piper. “It’s my version of a main-
stream horror movie,” Erlingur
explains. “It’s basically an American
movie even though it wasn’t shot in
America, and most of the actors are
from the UK, but it’s set in America.”
The storyline revolves around a
flautist working for a symphony
orchestra who accepts an opportu-
nity to complete her late mentor’s
concerto. “In the process of writing
the third part of this concerto, she
starts to realise that there’s some-
thing inside the melody itself that is
dangerous,” says Erlingur.
HAUNTING LAYERS
Circling back to Kuldi, Erlingur ex-
plains it’s based on an eponymous
crime novel by Yrsa Sigurdardóttir
(published in English as The Un-
desired). “I wouldn’t call it a crime
Film Feature Doubling The Thrills
With two films on the horizon, director Erlingur Óttar Thoroddsen
is set to make a splash in cinemas
There’s not a lot of horror ei-
ther in books or movies in Ice-
land. Being a horror kid, I’m
always very excited when any-
body dips their toes into that.