2096 – The Northman (2022)

spacetime coordinates:  AD 895  island of Hrafnsey / AD 914 land of the Rus, Iceland (during the early settlement of Iceland, also known as the “landnámsöld” (literally “age of land-taking”), before the establishment of the Althing.)

The Northman is a 2022 American epic historical fiction film directed by Robert Eggers, who co-wrote the screenplay with Sjón.

Very loosely based on the legend of Amleth, the film stars co-producer Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Björk, and Willem Dafoe.

The plot follows Amleth, a Viking prince who sets out on a quest to avenge the murder of his father. (wiki)

It’s no great insult to suggest that The Northman, for all its impeccable craft and diligent verisimilitude, possesses an intrinsically adolescent appeal. This is teenager cinema par excellence, an opera of old-world mayhem fit for Beavis and Butthead. Eggers is drawing on The Icelandic Sagas, milestones of ancient Scandinavian storytelling, but in doing so, he’s also evoking a whole library of violent pulp entertainment distantly indebted to them: Comic books of barbarian combat, baroque fantasy novels of magic and murder, hack and slash dark-age video games. Certainly, few filmmakers have ever come closer to approximating the horns-up sensibility of heavy metal; were someone to adapt both the album art and lyrics of Swedish Viking-metal titans Amon Amarth for the screen, the results would surely resemble Eggers’ epic. (The Northman review: Viking mayhem for adolescents of all ages By A.A. Dowd)

imdb   /   rt   /  << the-13th-warrior-1999/

2009 – Beforeigners (TV Series 2019– )

spacetime coordinates: season 1 takes place in 2019 Oslo, where sudden flashes of light appear in the bay in Bjørvika. People from different time periods—the Stone Age, Viking Age, and the 19th century—suddenly appear in the present. 

Beforeigners is a Norwegian sci-fi buddy cop series created and written by Eilif Skodvin and Anne Bjørnstad and directed by Jens Lien. The main protagonists are Lars (Nicolai Cleve Broch), an Oslo police detective, and Alfhildr (Krista Kosonen), a Viking-era recruit, who investigate the murder of a Stone Ager. (wiki)

imdb   /    Shield-maiden   /   Thorir Hund   /   Olaf the Stout   /  Battle of Stiklestad   /   neo-Luddism

1939 – Pathfinder (unrated version, 2007)

spacetime coordinates: a Viking Age expedition arrives in North America, intending to subjugate or slaughter the native “Skræling” population.

Pathfinder (also known by the alternate title Pathfinder: The Legend of the Ghost Warrior) is a 2007 American epic action film directed by Marcus Nispel. It stars Karl Urban, Clancy Brown, Ralf Moeller, Moon Bloodgood, Russell Means, Jay Tavare, and Nathaniel Arcand.

The film was loosely based on a 1987 Norwegian film Pathfinder. It was also adapted into a graphic novel by Dark Horse Comics. (wiki)

imdb

1786 – Valheim (2021 Early Access Game)

timespace coordinates: Valheim, the tenth Norse world.

A brutal exploration and survival game for 1-10 players, set in a procedurally-generated purgatory inspired by viking culture. Battle, build, and conquer your way to a saga worthy of Odin’s patronage!

Valheim is an upcoming survival and sandbox video game by the Swedish developer Iron Gate Studio, released in early access on 2 February 2021 for Windows and Linux on Steam. It was made by five people. 

The premise of the game is that players are Vikings in an afterlife where they have to craft tools, build shelters and fight enemies to survive.  The game uses stylized 3D graphics with a third-person perspective and a combat system inspired by action games. Co-operative gameplay with up to nine people and optional PvP gameplay are also supported. 

The game was a surprise hit. Three weeks after its release, it had sold three million copies and was one of the most-played games on Steam.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS (Windows / MINIMUM): Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system / OS: Windows 7 or later / Processor: 2.6 GHz Dual Core or similar / Memory: 4 GB RAM / Graphics: GeForce GTX 500 series or similar / DirectX: Version 11 / Storage: 1 GB available space

steam   /   valheimgame

1446 – Redbad (2018)

timespace coordinates: 7th – 8th century Frisian–Frankish wars

Redbad is a 2018 Dutch drama film directed by Roel Reiné. It is based on the life of Redbad, the medieval king of Frisia. The film was intended as the middle part of a trilogy about iconic Dutch heroes, starting with the film Michiel de Ruyter about 17th century admiral Michiel de Ruyter and ending with a film about William of Orange. Most likely the biggest box office bomb in Dutch movie history, the film also received overwhelmingly negative reviews from the major Dutch newspapers.

Historical inaccuracies   /   imdb

0955 – The 13th Warrior (1999)

timespace coordinates: 922 A.D Kievan Rus’ > Scandinavia

The 13th Warrior is a 1999 American historical fiction action film based on Michael Crichton‘s novel Eaters of the Dead, which is a loose retelling of the tale of Beowulf combined with Ahmad ibn Fadlan‘s historical account of the Volga Vikings. It stars Antonio Banderas as Ahmad ibn Fadlan, as well as Diane Venora and Omar Sharif. It was directed by John McTiernan. Crichton directed some reshoots uncredited. (wiki)

imdb

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Ibn Fadlān and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travellers in the Far North

0897 – Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (2017 video game)

timespace coordinates: late 8th century at the border of Helheim

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a dark fantasy action-adventure game developed and published by the British video game development studio Ninja Theory. Self-described as an “independent AAA game“, it was created by a team of approximately twenty developers led by writer and director Tameem Antoniades.

Inspired by Norse mythology and Celtic culture, Hellblade follows Senua, a Pict warrior who must make her way to Helheim by defeating otherworldly entities and facing their challenges, in order to rescue the soul of her dead lover from the goddess Hela. In parallel, the game acts as a metaphor for the character’s struggle with psychosis, as Senua, who suffers from the condition but believes it to be a curse, is haunted by an entity known as the “Darkness”, voices in her head known as “Furies”, and memories from her past. To properly represent psychosis, developers worked closely with neuroscientists, mental health specialists, and people suffering from the condition.

The game blends several genres, including hack and slash, puzzle solving, and psychological horror. Voice acting is an integral part of the game, while its cutscenes combine motion capture by Melina Juergens, and live action performances by other actors. (wiki)

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS MINIMUM: OS: Windows 7, 8, 10 / Processor: Intel i5 3570K / AMD FX-8350 / Memory: 8 GB RAM / Graphics: GTX 770 with 2GB VRAM / Radeon R9 280X 3GB / DirectX: Version 11 / Storage: 30 GB available space / Additional Notes: Minimum spec screen resolution: 1280×720

steam / death mechanic  / fiction_with_unreliable_narrators