Norway has already mastered the art of the rampaging mountain troll and the claustrophobic tunnel collapse. Now, it is setting its sights on the coastline.
Kraken, the latest creature feature from the land of the midnight sun, is officially headed your way. The verdict? Some Scandinavian legends are better left rotting at the absolute bottom of a fjord.
If you are looking for a visceral addition to the “Nature Strikes Back” subgenre, Samuel Goldwyn Films is handling the distribution to ensure this beast gets the showcase it deserves. Kraken hits select theaters and digital on June 12. Just make sure you know what kind of cruise you are booking before you buy a ticket.
Something Fishy in the Fjord
The eco-horror trouble starts, as it so often does, with the seafood. When wild salmon begin exhibiting “unnatural behavior”—which, in horror movie terms, is the universal signal to sell your boat and move to Nebraska—inexplicable deaths begin piling up in Norway’s deepest fjord.
The culprit isn’t just a beast. It is a sentient, ancient, multi-armed crushing machine that reacts entirely to movement and sound. If you breathe too loudly or drop your keys, you are instantly turned into high-end sushi.
From 13th-Century Horror to Modern CGI
Before it became a catchy pop-culture command for Liam Neeson to bellow, the Kraken was the primary reason 13th-century sailors refused to close their eyes at sea.
1250 AD: The legend first surfaced in the Old Norse manuscript Konungs skuggsjá (The King’s Mirror), describing beasts so massive they were routinely mistaken for habitable islands.
1752: Erik Pontoppidan, the Bishop of Bergen, penned The Natural History of Norway. He described a mile-wide leviathan with tentacles capable of dragging the largest warships into the abyss. Crucially, he noted that an “unnatural abundance of fish” always preceded a sighting—a clever historical detail this new film directly honors.
While real-world science eventually downgraded the myth to the giant squid (Architeuthis dux), which rarely exceeds 40 feet, the cinematic Kraken remains comfortably in the “large enough to swallow a nuclear submarine” category.
The Creative Crew and a Side of Soap Opera
Director Pål Øie, who previously mastered the art of claustrophobia with The Tunnel, shifts his camera from suffocating concrete to the crushing, to the cold watery abyss. The script is a collaborative effort by Vilde Eide, Kjersti Jelen Rasmussen, and Natasha Arthur, brought to life by a powerhouse Norwegian ensemble including Sara Khorami, Mikkel Bratt Silset, and Øyvind Brandtzæg.
By grounding a mythical titan in atmospheric, freezing waters, Øie successfully captures the crushing weight of a hostile environment. That being said, viewers should prepare themselves for a few unexpected passengers on this monster voyage.
If you are expecting a wall-to-wall, non-stop giant monster slaughterfest, you might want to recalibrate your expectations. CGI is incredibly expensive, and as a result, the monster spends a fair amount of time playing hide-and-seek in the dark.
Tenticles and Drama
To fill the runtime between tentacle attacks, the movie serves up a heavy helping of relationship drama. Alongside a solid amount of gore and some sharp social commentary about global warming and ocean pollution, you will have to wade through a noticeable amount of teen angst and ex-lover drama that makes the story feel a little heavy.
It is still very much a fun monster movie at its core—just be prepared for the human story to feel just a little bit fishy.
