{"id":3060,"date":"2010-05-05T22:27:54","date_gmt":"2010-05-05T21:27:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/news\/?p=1145"},"modified":"2014-03-29T08:11:42","modified_gmt":"2014-03-29T07:11:42","slug":"the-reykjavik-whale-watching-massacre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2010\/05\/05\/the-reykjavik-whale-watching-massacre\/","title":{"rendered":"Reykjavik Whale-Watching Massacre"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
The Reykjavik Whale-Watching Massacre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

\nFormat:<\/B> DVD

\nRelease date:<\/B> 10 May 2010

\nDistributor:<\/B> E1 Entertainment

\nDirector:<\/B> Júliús Kemp

\nWriter:<\/B> Sjón Sigurdsson

\nCast:<\/B> Pihla Viitala, Nae, Terence Anderson, Miranda Hennessy

\nIceland 2009

\n90 mins\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Director Júliús Kemp and screenwriter Sjón Sigurdsson’s attempt to bring a breath of fresh air into the survival horror genre concerns a group of whale-watchers whose vessel breaks down after their captain dies during an unfortunate accident. They are picked up by a shady-looking man who promises to rescue them but instead takes them to his family of inbred whale-hunters who now spend their time tormenting a different kind of prey.<\/p>\n

On a technical level the film looks promising: the dull, moody greys of the Icelandic sky are matched by the crumbling whaler, which makes a suitable equivalent to the house in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre<\/I><\/A> – the obvious point of reference here. The gore effects are reasonably well done, but there’s nothing here we haven’t seen a million times before – although, having said that, special mention must go to a unique rendition of a Bjí\u00b6rk song.<\/p>\n

Despite its technical qualities, most of the film is flat and boring, and the intended ironic humour never quite comes across. The lack of a central character tosses the plot hither and thither, causing the audience to quickly lose interest. The performances are mostly average, with only Nae standing out as Endo, a put-upon translator for a Japanese businessman and his wife. Trying for a broader comedy-horror feel seems to have encouraged most of the actors to ham it up like there’s no tomorrow. <\/p>\n

Although the director and the screenwriter should be applauded for trying to imbue a classic plot with an Icelandic sensibility, they might have done much better if they had focused on a more original script. The film was billed as Iceland’s first horror film and it’s hard to shake off the feeling that the country deserved something a little more unique for that special occasion.<\/p>\n

Evrim Ersoy<\/I><\/B><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Director J&#250li&#250s Kemp and screenwriter Sj&#243n Sigurdsson’s attempt to bring a breath of fresh air into the survival horror genre concerns a group of whale-watchers whose vessel breaks down after their captain dies during an unfortunate accident.
\nReview by Evrim Ersoy<\/I><\/B><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11,3],"tags":[656],"class_list":["post-3060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-check-it-out","category-dvds-and-blu-rays","tag-icelandic-horror-film"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","wps_subtitle":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/purUP-Nm","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":818,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2009\/12\/01\/texas-chain-saw-massacre\/","url_meta":{"origin":3060,"position":0},"title":"The Texas Chain Saw Massacre","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"December 1, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was scored with the same mix of pragmatism, rawness and experimental sensibility that imbues its cinematography, editing, and particularly art direction. 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