If you think your last couple of therapy sessions were rough, just be glad it didn’t involve ancient pagan deities, isolation in the Nordic wilderness, and a survival rate close to zero.
Cranked Up Films has officially announced that Alex Noyer’s highly anticipated folk-horror nightmare, Love Is the Monster, is locked and loaded for its exclusive US streaming release on Prime Video on June 23.
After tearing up the festival circuit with celebrated stops at the Screamfest Film Festival, Morbido, and Night Visions, this deep dive into dark Finnish mythology is finally ready to ruin date night for audiences nationwide.
Midnight Sun, Pagan Rituals, and Zero Romance
The premise takes the concept of a “transformative relationship retreat” and drops it directly into a wood chipper.
Ana (Madeline Zima) and Justin (Leonardo Nam) are a young couple desperately trying to piece their marriage back together after it gets rocked by a massive infidelity scandal.
A highly exclusive, remote couples’ retreat tucked away in Finland, beneath the golden, eerie glow of the summer’s midnight sun. The duo joins a handful of international couples to absorb the supposedly healing teachings of a mysterious guru named Tiina.
Tiina’s curriculum isn’t based on communication exercises. It’s heavily inspired by Lempo, the ancient, deeply devious Finnish goddess of Love and fertility.
Naturally, Ana’s initial skepticism turns out to be entirely justified. What starts as an attempt at emotional healing rapidly devolves into a brutal, claustrophobic battle for survival as the pagan rituals turn deadly. It turns out that couples’ problems make for great fuel when a jealous divinity enters the chat. Ana quickly discovers she has an unwitting, incredibly specific role to play in Tiina’s grand, sinister design.
A Premium Global Ensemble
To pull off this toxic-relationship-slaughterhouse, Noyer has assembled a stellar, genre-fluent cast. That includes Madeline Zima, Leonardo Nam, Kimberly Sue-Murray, and Moe Jeudy-Lamour.
Kristina Tonteri-Young (Warrior Nun), Milla Puolakanaho (Attack on Helsinki), and veteran actress Sheila McCarthy (Women Talking) round out the cast.
Straight from the Source
Love Is the Monster marks Noyer’s sophomore feature effort following his hit body-horror outing Sound of Violence (which starred Jasmin Savoy Brown). For this project, Noyer decided to head home, shooting the film in his native Finland to draw directly from local folklore. He co-wrote the script alongside Sound of Violence collaborator Hannu Aukia and indie horror staple Blair Bathory.
Reflecting on the perfect timing of the digital drop, Noyer released a wonderfully ominous statement:
“Releasing Love Is the Monster during Finnish midsummer couldn’t be more fitting, as it’s when our story unfolds. While a real trip to Finland is far less eventful, our devious goddess Lempo is ready to welcome audiences.”
You can rent or own the film on Prime Video starting June 23. Maybe don’t watch it with your significant other if you’ve been arguing over whose turn it is to do the dishes.
