At the moment I'm writing this user comment Iceland is world famous, not so much for unleashing this particular horror movie upon the world, but because an active volcano started to erupt and the subsequent spreading of thick clouds full of damaging ashes makes any type of aviation impossible all over Europe. Perhaps this is another good idea for an Icelandic horror movie after "Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre"? Spectators of environmental phenomena traveling to Iceland to climb the volcano get brutally killed by local villagers who refused to be evacuated before the eruption and became irreparably damaged maniacs? How about that? I could be rich writing this nonsense instead of joking about it on the internet.
Anyway, about the actual movie "Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre", I regret to announce that I rarely ever witnessed a movie that used to little of its own massive potential. The title is terrific, the setting and scenery are astonishing, the basic concept is ideal horror material and the opportunities to go berserk with gore and bloodshed are immeasurable
And yet, unfortunately, RWWM is a mostly dull and derivative slasher imitation of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", with bland villainous characters, suspense-free rampages and uninspired murder sequences. A group of tourists of different nationalities, though including most stereotypes like photographing Japanese people and an obnoxious French guy, go on a whale watching trip in Icelandic waters. The captain (played by THE Gunnar Hansen of the original TCM) dies in a banal accident and the tourists get picked up by a wandering family of whale hunters. They're unemployed and quite frustrated due to the whale hunting prohibition, so they decide to relief some anger by slaughtering tourists.
I must admit I was quite disappointed after finishing RWWM. I was truly hoping for a deeply grim, sardonic and raw slasher, but the ambiance was not even half as disturbing as it could (and should) have been. The opening sequences are quite unsettling; with genuine whale hunting archive footage guided by eerie tunes, but the film almost immediately reverts to familiar slasher territory after the credits. The tourist characters are all insufferable beyond belief (although admittedly, people do become selfish bastards in hazardous situations) and the demented whale hunter family members are not the least bit menacing. There's only one kill that is truly worth mentioning (involving a harpoon, duh!) and the climax is a huge letdown. Naturally there are also references towards Iceland's most famous musical export product Björk and her tiresome song "It's oh so quiet". A missed opportunity.
