News

Exclusive: Nordic noir inspired by infamous real-life Icelandic murder case.

Sverrir Gudnason, the actor who plays Bjorn Borg in Janus Metz’s sports drama anticipated Borg/McEnroe, is attached to star in Nordic noir feature Imagine Murder.

The film will shoot in Iceland in 2018 and is inspired by the true story of an infamous Icelandic murder case from 1974, when a young couple was accused of murdering two disappeared men and were systematically broken down by the police until they confessed. The case recently inspired the documentary Out Of Thin Air.

Thorsteinn Bachmann (Trapped) will also star.

Eagle Egilsson, whose credits include The Blacklist and CSI Miami, will direct.

Producers are Icelandic veterans Ingvar Thordarson and Julius Kemp, whose credits include box office hit Life In A Fishbowl and Bothersome Man.

Deals already done include to Pandastorm for Germany and to Scanbox for Scandinavia.

Iceland has selected Baldvin Zophoníasson’s Life in a Fishbowl as its entry for the 2015 Best Foreign Language Oscar.

Life in a Fishbowl, is directed by Baldvin Zophoníasson, who also writes along with Birgir Örn Steinarsson, and is produced by Júlíus Kemp and Ingvar Thordarsson of The Icelandic Film Company.

The film premiered in Reykjavik in May and has been enjoying a local box office success. It had its international debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September and will play at Zurich Film Festival (Sept 25 - Oct 5).

Q&A: Baldvin Zophoníasson

The multiple-narrative drama tells three distinct stories of people living in pre-crisis Iceland; a struggling single mother, an ex-footballer fast-tracking in the accelerating banking world and a troubled writer who has turned full time drunk.

Iceland has previously had two nominated films in the Oscar race: Children of Nature by Fridrik Thor Fridriksson was nominated as the Best Foreign Language Film in 1992; and...

This year’s European Film Awards are officially out of the gates with a not so lean 50 film submissions to select from. The 27th edition collects titles that date back to last year’s Venice and Toronto Int. Film Festivals moving into Sundance-Rotterdam-Berlin and finally Cannes of ’14. Among the 31 European countries represented, we’ve got likes of the Palme d’Or winner Nuri Bilge Ceylan leading the huge pack of contenders including Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin and Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida. Here’s the complete list of 50!:

Alienation

ОТЧУЖДЕНИЕ (Otchujdenie)

Bulgaria

Directed By: Milko Lazarov

Written By: Milko Lazarov, Kitodar Todorov & Georgi Tenev

Produced By: Veselka Kiryakova

Amour Fou

Austria/Luxembourg/Germany

Written & Directed By: Jessica Hausner

Produced By: Martin Gschlacht, Antonin Svoboda, Bruno Wagner, Bady Minck, Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu & Philippe Bober

Beautiful Youth

Hermosa Juventud

Spain/France

Directed By: Jaime Rosales

Written By: Jaime Rosales & Enric Rufas

Produced By: Jaime Rosales,...

Kiwi comedy horror wins the “Narcisse” for best feature; Eskil Vogt’s Blind wins Silver Melies.

Anaïs Emery, artistic director of the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (Nifff), has hailed the 14th edition of the event as the strongest yet.

With a smattering of high profile guests including Terry Gilliam, Game Of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin, Clerks director Kevin Smith and Henry, Portrait of A Serial Killer director John McNaughton, the festival has sparked unprecedented interest in the Swiss and international media.

“On the level of visibility, Niff really made a big step forward,” said Emery.

At Saturday night’s awards ceremony, international jury president Edouard Waintrop presented the “Narcisse” for the best feature film to Housebound by Gerard Johnstone.

A Silver Melies award was given to Blind by Eskil Vogt. The film will now go forward to compete for the Golden Méliès which will be presented in October 2014 at the 47th edition of the Festival...

Who doesn't love a good snow-covered horror flick? Movies like The Thing and Adam Green's Frozen have shown that horror stories and winter make for a damn fine pairing, and the found footage flick Frost is the next one set to splatter blood in the snow.

We've been talking about the film for a long time here on Dread Central, and Entertainment One has just announced that it's headed to DVD over in the UK on February 10, 2014. And we just love the quote they decided to use on the cover.

Check out the art below along with the film's trailer!

Icelandic filmmaker Reynir Lyngdal directs Frost, which was shot in the Icelandic highlands. Ingvar Thordarson and Julius Kemp produced for Kisi Production, with Markus Selin and Jukka Helle (Solar Films) and Karla Stojáková (Axman Production) co-producing. It also had backing from the Icelandic Film Centre.

Synopsis:

Filmmaker Gunnar (Björn Thors...

With director Reynir Lyngdal’s icy thriller Frost set for its Los Angeles premiere Thursday, October 10, at 7:45pm at Screamfest, read on for our exclusive chat with producer Ingvar Thordarson along with the trailer and a new still!

Produced by Thordarson and Julius Kemp from a script by Jon Atli Jonasson, Frost stars Anna Gunndis Gudmundsdottir and Björn Thors and revolves around a young couple, physiologist Agla and filmmaker Gunnar, who wake up at a glacier drilling camp only to find it mysteriously abandoned and their co-workers gone. While searching for the lost team, they realize they’re up against an unknown and deadly force.

Chatting with Thordarson (who previously produced the 2009 horror feature Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre, itself a previous Screamfest selection), he stated of what drew him to Frost, “The script writer came to me, and immediately after reading it I decided to do it. It fit the mythology of Iceland,...

The 2012 American Film Market is winding down (tomorrow, November 7th, is the final day), and we have a look at some new artwork and stills from a film we've been talking about for a while now, Frost from Icelandic director Reynir Lyngdal.

Frost was shot in the Icelandic highlands. Ingvar Thordarson and Julius Kemp produced for Kisi Production, with Markus Selin and Jukka Helle (Solar Films) and Karla Stojáková (Axman Production) co-producing. It received backing from the Icelandic Film Centre.

Synopsis:

A young couple, physiologist Agla and filmmaker Gunnar, wake up at a glacier drilling camp only to find the camp mysteriously abandoned and their co-workers gone. When searching for the lost team, they realize they’re up against an unknown, deadly force.

Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!

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Stay frosty in the comments section below!

Aside from a couple of titles Iceland's not exactly known for its horror movies. Even though our folk tales are ripe with monsters, ghosts and ghouls local filmmakers have never looked at horror as something to pursue or be particularly proud of, I chalk it down to arrogance mostly.  Producers Julius Kemp and Ingvar Thordarson are basically the only ones who can see the potential in genre fare and their Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre (aka Harpoon) is now the most distributed Icelandic film in history. Why? Because it's horror and horror sells very, very well. The production duo along with director Reynir Lyngdal is now back with another genre film, a found footage horror/sci-fi mashup that has lofty goals and fantastic surroundings to play...

We've been talking about the foreign flick Frost for quite some time around these parts, and now a full trailer has come, complete with English subtitles. That's sort of akin to saying it's ribbed for her pleasure. Well, not really, but the word ribbed always makes us smile.

Icelandic filmmaker Reynir Lyngdal directs Frost, which was shot in the Icelandic highlands. Ingvar Thordarson and Julius Kemp are producing for Kisi Production, with Markus Selin and Jukka Helle (Solar Films) and Karla Stojáková (Axman Production) co-producing. It has backing from the Icelandic Film Centre.

Synopsis:

A young couple, physiologist Agla and filmmaker Gunnar, wake up at a glacier drilling camp only to find the camp mysteriously abandoned and their co-workers gone. When searching for the lost team, they realize they’re up against an unknown, deadly force.

Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!

Got news? Click here to submit it!

Stay frosty in the comments section below!

Alrighty, kids! It's teaser trailer time! Get out your winter coats because this one definitely comes with a chill factor - both on your skin and down your spine. Check it out!

Icelandic filmmaker Reynir Lyngdal directs Frost, which is currently in production and is being shot on a glacier in the Icelandic highlands.

Synopsis:

A young couple, physiologist Agla and filmmaker Gunnar, wake up at a glacier drilling camp only to find the camp mysteriously abandoned and their co-workers gone. When searching for the lost team, they realize they’re up against an unknown, deadly force.

It was presented as a work in progress at the Nordic Film Market in Gothenburg last week.

Ingvar Thordarson and Julius Kemp are producing for Kisi Production, with Markus Selin and Jukka Helle (Solar Films) and Karla Stojáková (Axman Production) co-producing. It has backing from the Icelandic Film Centre.

Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!

Scandinavian sales company TrustNordisk has released the first ever trailer for the sci-fi-thriller Frost, first reported here on Bloody back in February. Icelandic filmmaker Reynir Lyngdal has directed the film which is currently in production and is shot on a glacier in the Icelandic highlands. "A young couple, physiologist Agla and filmmaker Gunnar wake up at a glacier drilling camp only to find the camp mysteriously abandoned and their co-workers gone. When searching for the lost team they realize theyre up against an unknown, deadly force." Ingvar Thordarson and Julius Kemp are producing for Kisi Production, with Markus Selin and Jukka Helle (Solar Films) and Karla Stojáková (Axman Production) co producing. It has backing from the Icelandic Film Centre.

More foreign distro news on the way that's guaranteed to give someone the chills. Screen Daily reports that Scandinavian sales company TrustNordisk has picked up international sales rights (meaning they'll sell to distributors) to sci-fi thriller Frost.

Icelandic filmmaker Reynir Lyngdal directs the film which is currently in production and is being shot on a glacier in the Icelandic highlands.

"A young couple, physiologist Agla and filmmaker Gunnar, wake up at a glacier drilling camp only to find the camp mysteriously abandoned and their co-workers gone. When searching for the lost team, they realize they’re up against an unknown, deadly force."

It was presented as a work in progress at the Nordic Film Market in Gothenburg last week.

Ingvar Thordarson and Julius Kemp are producing for Kisi Production, with Markus Selin and Jukka Helle (Solar Films) and Karla Stojáková (Axman Production) co producing. It has backing from the Icelandic Film Centre.

Scandinavian sales company TrustNordisk has picked up international sales rights (meaning they'll sell to distributors) to sci-fi-thriller Frost, reports Screen Daily. Icelandic filmmaker Reynir Lyngdal has directed the film which is currently in production and is shot on a glacier in the Icelandic highlands. "The film is about a young couple who arrive at a glacier drilling camp only to find it mysteriously abandoned." It was presented as a work in progress at the Nordic Film Market in Gothenburg last week. Ingvar Thordarson and Julius Kemp are producing for Kisi Production, with Markus Selin and Jukka Helle (Solar Films) and Karla Stojáková (Axman Production) co producing. It has backing from the Icelandic Film Centre.

Each year horror sites, newspapers, magazines and other forms of media like to compile these silly "Best of," or "Worst of" lists. Here at 28Dla, we like to follow the crowds, but in a different way. This year's lists will consist of various categories including "Top Five Indie Horror Films," "Top Five Major Horror Release," "Top Five Foreign Horror," "Worst Horror Films of 2010," and "Most Anticipated Horror Films of 2011." These lists will be a little more focused. So, let us start with this first list titled "Top Five Indie Horror Films."

Now, this is a year where close to fifty independent films were reviewed on this site. There was the pain of Danny Dyer's Basement from Revolver Entertainment to highlights like Die-Ner, Get It? and the over-the-top and disturbing Harpoon: Whale Watching Massacre. This list will give you the "Best of" in this competitive genre, as this reviewer has seen the gamut.

Got some great first run releases hitting DVD and bluray today as well as a few genre classics hitting Bluray for the first time, so without any more preamble let's just dive right in.

First up we have Inception, Chris Nolan's dream-hoping, mind-bending, psuedo scifi romp that blew the roof off the box office to, I think, many people's surprise. Hell, when a mainstream movie with Leo Dicaprio impresses even quietearth, you know you've got something different on your hands. Is it perfect? No. I personally think Nolan's brick and mortar obsession with keeping a "reality" aesthetic hurt the film. I mean, it's about dreams. Let loose a little! But there is so much to love about this film that I would rate it a must-buy release.

Next up we have Sandy Collora's first original scifi feature Hunter Prey (trailer). In case you forgot, Collora's the dude who made the fan film,...

*Full disclosure: A DVD of this film was provided by Image Entertainment for review.

Director: Julius Kemp.

Writer: Sjon Sigurdson.

Harpoon Whale Watching Massacre aka Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre is a film shot in, yes you guessed it, in Reykjavik, Iceland. The film is also set in this locale and the film was made for $4 million from a trio of production companies including Solar Films. Image Entertainment is distributing this horror title on DVD December 7th and this is a film that you need to take notice of. This film left this reviewer stupefied from the sheer gore if it all. People are harpooned by long distance in the water, there are attempted rapes, and people die by fire multiple times e.g. flare shot to the eye. The visual effects and cinematography are stunning, while the acting, and characterizations leave something to be desired.

The film's tagline is: "the catch of the day.

It is a very light week for horror DVDs with a few re-releases on Blu-ray of newer classics, starting with the "New Flesh" that is Videodrome as well as Guillermo del Toro's Cronos.

Other releases this week that are worthy of any mention include a blood-soaked whale-watching trip, an entomologist who started a human collection instead, and a television mini-series about exorcism.

Videodrome (Criterion Collection) (1983)

Directed by David Cronenberg

Starring James Woods, Deborah Harry, Sonja Smits, Peter Dvorsky, Leslie Carlson

When Max Renn goes looking for edgy new shows for his sleazy cable TV station, he stumbles across the pirate broadcast of a hyperviolent torture show called Videodrome. As he unearths the origins of the program, he embarks on a hallucinatory journey into a shadow world of right-wing conspiracies, sadomasochistic sex games, and bodily transformation. Renn's ordinary life dissolves around him, and he finds himself at the center of...

A look at what's new on DVD today:

"Cronos" (1993)

Directed by Guillermo Del Toro

Released by Criterion Collection

After years of being out of print, Guillermo del Toro's feature debut is getting the Criterion treatment and del Toro has gone all out to make it one of the best discs ever with new interviews, his 1987 short "Geometria," two audio commentaries, a video tour of his home office, and more.

"300 Killers" (2010)

Directed by Matt Jaissle

Released by Midnight Releasing

A police chief (Johnny Andrews) who sees his city falling under the thumb of a ruthless drug dealer and sends out his best detective (Anthony Tomei) to put a stop to it in Matt Jaissle's action film.

"Across the Line: The Exodus of Charlie Wright" (2010)

Directed by R. Ellis Frazier

Released by Maya Home Entertainment

Aidan Quinn stars as a billionaire who flees to Tijuana after he's on the run...

Tucson and Phoenix: Prepare to be rocked, shocked and defiled. Blasting its way into its third — and biggest — year on Sept. 18-25, the Arizona Underground Film Festival is a cacophonous concoction of angry transsexuals, bumbling hit men, slacker superheroes, living dolls, aliens, dead hookers, adventure-seeking blondes and other crazies.

This year the fest is screening 30 feature films, some of which are making their U.S. and even world debuts. The opening night film is the U.S. premiere of the German hit man comedy Snowman’s Land, directed by Tomasz Thomson,while closing the fest is the controversial and violent A Serbian Film by Srdjan Spasojevic, which you have to be over-18 to get into.

Don’t worry, there’s plenty of homebrewed films as well, such as Dead Hooker in a Trunk by Jen Soska & Sylvia Soska; Nude Nuns With Big Guns by Joseph Guzman; 1,001 Ways to Enjoy the...

Julius Kemp's Harpoon: Whale Watching Massacre is going to make its U.S. debut, sans the original title's reference to Iceland's capital of Reykjavik. The film was released overseas as Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre . Image Entertainment will release the film on DVD December 7. The story concerns a group of whale watchers whose ship breaks down and they get picked up by a whale fisher vessel. The Fishbillies on the vessel have just gone bust, and everything goes out of control. Gunnar Hansen turns up for a small role.

Year: 2009

Directors: Júlíus Kemp

Writers: Sjón Sigurdsson

IMDb: link

Trailer: link

Review by: quietearth

Rating: 3 out of 10

[Editor's note: This begins our coverage of the Another Hole In the Head Film Festival in San Francisco]

The only things this film had going for it were some great, washed out cinematography and some cool, albeit cliched, kills. It was completely unoriginal, has a weak script, stereotypical characters, and reads like the instructions on how to put on a condom. To sum it up, it's utterly forgettable. Don't waste your time, but if you want to know more, read on.

A thin setup of tourists composed of rich Chinese, a couple of blonde party girls, a drunk and obnoxious Frenchman (I take it Icelanders don't like the French?), among others get onto a former whaling boat. I say former because the first part of the film is intercut with how the Iceland whaling industry has been decimated by the government and the "American tree huggers". Admittedly, I dug this overtone,...

[Our thanks to Peter Galvin for offering his review to the Twitch readership.]

I wonder how often filmmakers work backwards from a good title, as director Júlíus Kemp has admitted to doing with Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre (2009). The film itself seems to work its way backwards as well, opening threateningly with real whale-hunting footage and a gritty look, but perhaps sensing its slim chances of living up to the similarly titled Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Reykjavik drops the grit about a half hour in to focus on black comedy. It's a smart move, and the film is often darkly funny, I only wish the filmmakers had gone back and reworked the whole thing because I can see a lot of viewers shutting it off before they get to the good stuff.

Harpoon: The Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre comes to DVD in May 2010 courtesy of E1 Entertainment and promises to be one of the most talked about horror releases of the year. Directed by Julius Kemp (Wallpaper: An Erotic Love Story) and written by award winning novelist and lyricist Sjon Sigurdsson (Dancer In The Dark), the film stars old ‘Leatherface’ himself, Gunnar Hansen (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), as the ill-fated captain in charge of a tourist whale watching trip that takes a horrifying turn.

Although awkwardly titled, “Harpoon: The Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre” certainly delivers on its billing, being a film which is indeed about visitors to Iceland being murdered while on a whale spotting trip. The film from director Júlíus Kemp (also responsible for the equally intriguingly titled “Wallpaper: An Erotic Love Story”) is actually the country’s first proper exploitation genre release, something which surely marks it as being of interest for horror fans, as does the fact that it was written by Sjón Sigurdsson, a noted Icelandic poet, novelist and lyricist who works regularly with Björk and who collaborated with Lars Von Trier on “Dancer in the Dark”. Following a successful run at festivals and having garnered positive word of mouth, the film now arrives on region 2 DVD via E1 Entertainment. The plot is pretty generic stuff, with the usual “Texas Chainsaw” style rural slaughter being transported to the chilly seas...

We’ve missed the early boat (geddit) slightly with this one, but we thought it still well worth a mention. ‘Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre,’ Iceland’s first foray into the sticky red world of slash horror is to get an English subtitled R2 DVD release from E1 Entertainment. Now pre-fixed with “Harpoon” (because that’s obviously so much scarier?) in the title, Reykjavik is the brainchild of Julius Kemp, and a blatant homage - ‘Leatherface’ actor Gunnar Hansen even makes an appearance - to its ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ namesake. The blood starts flying May 10th. Synopsis: When a freak accident leaves the captain of their Whale watching boat mortally wounded and the first mate jumps ship following his attempted rape of a passenger, a small group of tourists are forced to seek refuge on a passing former whaling vessel manned by a family of ‘Fishbillies’ with a psychotic score to settle.

We’ve missed the early boat (geddit) slightly with this one, but we thought it still well worth a mention. ‘Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre,’ Iceland’s first foray into the sticky red world of slash horror is to get an English subtitled R2 DVD release from E1 Entertainment. Now pre-fixed with “Harpoon” (because that’s obviously so much scarier?) in the title, Reykjavik is the brainchild of Julius Kemp, and a blatant homage - ‘Leatherface’ actor Gunnar Hansen even makes an appearance - to its ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ namesake. The blood starts flying May 10th. Synopsis: When a freak accident leaves the captain of their Whale watching boat mortally wounded and the first mate jumps ship following his attempted rape of a passenger, a small group of tourists are forced to seek refuge on a passing former whaling vessel manned by a family of ‘Fishbillies’ with a psychotic score to settle.

E1 Entertainment have announced the UK DVD release of Harpoon – The Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre, which recently sold out the Glasgow Film Theatre during February’s Glasgow FrightFest. The DVD (Rrp £12.99) is set to street on May 10th 2010.

The Icelandic film industry’s first ever bona fide foray into in-your-face exploitation horror movie territory, Harpoon: The Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre is a blackly comic and supremely gory affair that is directed by Julius Kemp (Wallpaper: An Erotic Love Story) and written by award winning novelist and lyricist Sjon Sigurdsson (Dancer In The Dark); and stars old ‘Leatherface’ himself, Gunnar Hansen (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), as the ill-fated captain in charge of a tourist whale watching trip that takes a horrifying turn. From the official press release:

When a freak accident leaves the captain of their boat mortally wounded and the first mate jumps ship following his attempted rape of a passenger,...

How can you not be intrigued by a title like “Harpoon: Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre”? It got me with “Harpoon”. Of course, a blurb calling it “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre on a whaler” didn’t hurt, either. I mean, how many slasher films have you seen set on a whaler? That’s a new one. Great harpooning fun is guaranteed when the film lands on DVD in the UK May 2010 courtesy of E1 Entertainment. Check out a teaser trailer below. An epic tale about a group of whale watchers, whose ship breaks down and they get picked up by a whale fisher vessel. The Fishbillies on the vessel has just gone bust, and everything goes out of control. Starring Pihla Viitala, Nae, Terence Anderson, Miranda Hennessy, Aymen Hamdouchi, Carlos Takeshi, Miwa Yanagizawa, Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, Guðlaug Ólafsdóttir, Snorri Engilbertsson, Gunnar Hansen, and directed by Júlíus Kemp.

This fall we've seen the premiere of four features and one feature documentary. Julius Kemp‘s English language Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre opened in early September. A horror-comedy hybrid with a strong surreal flavour, it depicts a brutal and bloody battle between whalers hellbent on major mischief and hapless whale watchers who get in their way. Sales company E1 Films has picked up UK rights, with other territories pending. - [Editor's Note: I'm extremely pleased to introduce Ásgrímur Sverrisson to our readers, he'll be providing us with a monthly lowdown on the cinematic happenings from his native Iceland. Despite its miniscule population, they've got a thriving film industry that extend beyond their nation. Visit any film festival that programs international cinema and you're bound to find some Icelandic offerings. You'll find below the basic set-up of our World Film Reports (reporting on the local and international film business) and for starters, Ásgrímur provides us with a basic breakdown on movie-going habits from the land of reindeer, tundra, Björk and Sigur Rós.] To begin with, some background: Iceland has a tiny population of around 320.000 people, but we are avid moviegoers with over 1.6 million tickets sold annually (with Hollywood product at around 85% market share and local films around 10%). That‘san average of five annual trips to the movies per person, one of the highest averages around. We make between 6-8 features a year and 3-5 feature documentaries. Local films are quite popular, with over 6% of the population attending them on average &ndash...

This scribe hit Rachel Belofsky’s Screamfest La in Hollywood, CA, last night (as I do every night – extensive video and stills below), where Ti West, the director of The House of the Devil (review here) (screening as the fest’s "Centerpiece Film"), talked up his new series "Dead and Lonely", which begins airing on IFC Monday, October 26th, as well as the dust-up surroundng his Cabin Fever 2 (sort of).

Star of The House of the Devil Jocelin Donahue chimed in about her role in West’s legitimate recreation of early 80’s horror as seen in The House of the Devil , and Icelandic director Julius Kemp of the Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre (the film plays at Screamfest La tonight) spilled on the distribution of that film (which will be at Afm – hopefully American audiences will see it soon).

Perennial badass and actor Marc (The Lost, Cabin Fever 2) Senter showed up...

At the recent Rock and Shock convention in Worcester, Ma, Fango caught up with genre vet Gunnar Hansen and queried him about his latest fright flick, the wonderfully titled Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre. Directed by Julius Kemp (a co-producer on the Lordi vehicle Dark Floors), it’s about…well, exactly what you’d think it’s about.

“There’s a family in it that really resembles the one in Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” the original Leatherface tells us. “They’re called the Fishbillies, ’cause they’re whale hunters,” and they do indeed massacre a group of whale watchers whose boat, piloted by Hansen’s Captain Pétur, has broken down. Despite the camp-suggestive title, however, the actor assures that the film is “played straight; it’s a hardcore horror movie, and very bloody.”

Clearly, the filmmakers knew what they were doing when it came to pitching the project to Hansen, who was actually born in Reykjavik,...

  Cologne, Germany -- Iceland has picked Oskar Jonasson's action thriller "Reykjavik-Rotterdam," the only film from the territory to qualify this year, as its entry in the 2010 foreign-language Oscar race.

Despite being rocked by the international financing crisis, Iceland still managed to produce a few films this year, but the others -- such as Dagur Kari's "The Good Heart" and Julius Kemp's popular horror titles "Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre" -- had too much English dialogue to qualify. So "Reykjavik-Rotterdam" won by default, and was not voted for, as is usual, by the Icelandic film and TV academy.

The film stars Baltasar Kormakur -- known to international audiences as the director of "Jar City" and "White Night Wedding" as a man tempted back into the smuggling business. The violent, funny and action packed feature swept the Icelandic film awards, the EDDAs, winning five trophies.

"Reykjavik-Rotterdam" was produced by Iceland's Blueeyes Pictures...

London -- British indie distributor E1 has harpooned U.K. rights to Julius Kemp's comedy horror "Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre" from the Icelandic Film Company and Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me).

The deal was brokered by F&Me's Sam Taylor and Mike Downey on behalf of subsidiary Portpic and Jon Bourdillon for E1.

Ingvar Thordarson, Gisli Gislason and Julius Kemp produced the comedy horror flick for the Icelandic Film Company.

Written by Sjon Sigurdson, the movie details the story of a group of whale watchers who end up stranded on a boat with murderous sailors. Downey says the humor is "as black as it gets."...

The horror film with quite possibly one of the most bizarre titles ever, Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre, has gotten itself a trailer today for you to watch along with the whales, and said massacre of course.

Directed by Julius Kemp, the Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre tells the tale of a group of whale watchers who end up having a really bad day once their boat goes to crap and they're picked up by a whale fishing boat. The great Gunnar Hansen is set to star, and who better to be around anytime a massacre is afoot?

Check out the trailer below courtesy of Twitch Film.

- Uncle Creepy

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Okay horror fans, this one is for you! Thanks to Twitch, the trailer for Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre has arrived, and it's about as odd and creepy as you can get for a horror/thriller set on the open sea. First things first, yes, this is in English, even though it's a Icelandic production and directed by a Icelandic filmmaker. Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre is "an epic tale about a group of whale watchers, whose ship breaks down and they get picked up by a whale fisher vessel. The Fishbillies on the vessel have just gone bust, and everything goes out of control." It's actually looks pretty damn cool, so check it out. Watch the trailer for Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre: For more info, head over to the official website: kisi.is/movies/rwwm/ Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre is directed by Icelandic filmmaker Júlíus Kemp, of Blossi/810551 and Wallpaper:...

Twitch Film scored the trailer for Dark Floors producer Julius Kemp's latest directorial effort, The Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre (or Rwwm) - and while the title may be a whole lotta silly, there's a lot to like in this clip. The flick stars original Leatherface Gunner Hansen and is described as 'An epic tale about a group of whale watchers, whose ship breaks down and they get picked up by a whale fisher vessel. The Fishbillies on the vessel have just gone bust, and everything goes out of control'. In my opinion this description does Not do the flick any justice. Hit the jump for the artful trailer and let us know what you think! Worth checking out in your opinion? Check out more stills and info at...

Details and images from Julius Kemp's Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre float in at random, so it doesn't come as a surprise that a trailer has suddenly washed up. Thanks to Twitch Film, here's your first look at this tale about a group of whale watchers whose ship breaks down and they get picked up by a whale fisher vessel. Those on the vessel "have just gone bust," and everything goes out of control. Gunnar Hansen ( The Texas Chainsaw Massacre ) has a small part. No word yet on U.S. distribution, so you'll have to hang tight.

That's right, kids, the trailer for the movie with what has to be the damned strangest name for a horror movie ever, The Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre, has just hit online, and of course we've got a peek at it for ya!

The good folks over at Twitch Film nailed the first glimpse at Julius Kemp's slasher film that features Gunnar Hansen in a small role. Honestly? It's just not a massacre without Gunnar. No word on release or even distribution yet. Dig on the trailer below.

- Uncle Creepy

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After all of the bloody stills from Julius Kemp's Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre, it's hard to not be excited. And even though the title is cheesy, and it stars Texas Chainsaw Massacre vet Gunnar Hansen, the teaser beyond the break proves that this could be more than just hype. The film is a tale about a group of whale watchers, whose ship breaks down and they get picked up by a whale fisher vessel. The Fishbillies on the vessel have just gone bust, and everything goes out of control. Its a cross between the original Texas Chainsaw MASSAcRE and The Blair Witch Project, combined with the dark and bloody humor of Evil Dead.

We’ve been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Julius Kemp,s Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre for a good while now, drawn in both by the prospect of a slasher-comedy set on a fishing vessel and the presence of one Gunnar Hansen - that’d be Leatherface from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre - headed back to his native Iceland to appear in the English-language production. We’ve run story boards for this one along with stills and I had the chance to see an extended - and very bloody - promo for it a good while back but we’ve had no footage to share until now.

The first teaser for the picture has just arrived and while they’re definitely being careful not to spoil any of the major gore moments this early in the game you do get a solid feel for the look of the thing, a...

How much does it take to rip off someone else's story when producing a television series? Apparently in Iceland, not that much. Ingvar Thordarson and Julius Kemp, two producers who worked on the 2007 film "Astropia," have filed suit against NBC Universal claiming a recent episode of "Heroes" used a plot line directly from its movie. The news was reported on an Icelandic-language Web site, and was partially translated by The Right Perspective blog, although it's not clear if the suit was filed in the United States or in Iceland. What's also not revealed is what kind of damages Thordarson and Kemp are looking for, except that they are asking for injunctive relief -- something that may be hard to get since the episode of "Heroes" in question has already aired. Their claim is that Claire ...

Here's some pretty bloody stills from "Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre", which stars original Leatherface Gunnar Hansen. Directed by Julius Kemp, the "Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre" tells the tale of a group of whale watchers who end up having a really bad day once they're boat goes to crap and they're picked up by a whale fishing boat. It's said to be a cross between the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Blairwitch Project", combined with the dark and bloody humor of "Evil Dead"....

Ah, Iceland. It's a truly scenic stretch of our lovely planet indeed. That being said, what better place to have a massacre? A Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre to be exact!

Directed by Julius Kemp, the Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre tells the tale of a group of whale watchers who end up having a really bad day once they're boat goes to crap and they're picked up by a whale fishing boat. The great Gunnar Hansen is set to star, and who better to be around anytime a massacre is afoot?

Twitch Film is hosting a still gallery for the film so click the image below to see the goods!

- Uncle Creepy

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Twitch is hosting a recently updated photo gallery for the Icelandic horror film Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre . Click on the image below for more. Directed by Julius Kemp, the flick tells of a a group of whale watchers whose ship breaks down and they get picked up by a whale fisher vessel. The Fishbillies on the vessel have just gone bust, and everything goes out of control. ShockTillYouDrop.com caught up to co-star Gunnar Hansen to talk about his role, click here to check out that story.

Earlier today one still was discovered, and now three more have followed from Júlíus Kemp's horror film from Iceland,THE REYKJAVIK WHALE WATCHING MASSACRE, which stars Gunnar Hansen. Beyond the break you can chew on all of the new images for the epic tale about a group of whale watchers, whose ship breaks down and they get picked up by a whale fisher vessel. The Fishbillies on the vessel have just gone bust, and everything goes out of control. It's said to be a cross between the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Blairwitch Project, combined with the dark and bloody humor of Evil Dead.