Psycho's Movie Reviews #305: Thale (2012)

Thale is a 2012 Norwegian supernatural horror film directed and written by Aleksander L. Nordaas. The film was released in Norway on February 17, 2012, with a following worldwide release, sold to over 50 countries.

Plot

Elvis and Leo run a crime scene clean-up business and are hired to clean up after a death, when they discover Thale, a female humanoid creature with a cow's tail that appears to be incapable of human speech, hidden in a basement. Playing a tape left behind by her captor, Elvis and Leo learn of her life in captivity, and that she has been the subject of medical experimentation. Later, paramilitary soldiers come to recapture Thale. Thale's fellow creatures, Hulders that are more satyr-like, come to the rescue and leave Elvis and Leo alive. Thale later rejoins the Hulders in the wild.

Production

Thale was shot on a budget of $10,000.[1] Aleksander L. Nordaas served as the film's writer, director, co-producer, cinematographer, editor, and the set designer. He built the sets and shot most of the film in his father's basement. Nordaas has published a clip on YouTube where he talks a bit about the process.

Thale lead actress Silje Reinåmo commented that she found the role challenging and that the character's nudity made her "very vulnerable and naked, in the true sense".

Release/Reception/Box Office

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 55% of eleven critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 6.2/10. Michael Calore of Wired.com called it "a little film" that is "large in scope". Calore wrote, "And while some of the gentler, emotional material falls flat, Thale (pronounced 'tall-eh') does prod the brain and the heart enough for me to recommend it." In a mixed review, John Anderson of Variety called it creepy but "too wordy by half, saying what it should be showing." Owen Williams of Empire wrote that the film is "beautifully enigmatic and eerie" and Mark L. Miller of Ain't It Cool News said that it is "a truly unique and amazing film". John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that film is "intriguing to a point but unable to exploit its mysteries in a satisfying way". Serena Whitney of Dread Central rated it 2.5/5 stars and wrote, "Although Nordaas does a competent job directing an ambitious low-budget indie creature feature with very little money, the laughable social commentary, failed boo scares and unbelievably cheesy ending make Thale a mediocre, yawn-worthy disappointment." Noel Murray of The A.V. Club rated it C− and wrote, "Thale takes over an hour to get to where it should be by the end of the first reel. And then it ends."

Thale won the Best Screenplay ifab Award at the International Film Awards Berlin. It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, and later won the Audience Award at Fantasporto Film Festival.

Budget $10,000

Box Office $296,500

My Review

Just finished watching Thale and found myself more than impressed. Made on a shoe string budget by rising Norwegian director Aleksander Nordaas, the film explores the Huldra a mythical being from Nordic folklore. Without giving anything away I will just say that the acting, especially that of the very beautiful Silje Reinåmo in the title role, was excellent for such a low budget picture. The CGI and cinematography in the movie also impressed offering another breath-taking view of the Norwegian countryside. The film is let down slightly by some holes in the storyline and ultimately by the ending which I found could have been done so much better. This said Thale is an excellent example of what an imaginative director can fulfil within the confines of a small budget.

I've seen a lot of low budget movies but this one would have made a great movie if it had more funds. It starts with the friendship between Leo and Elvis who work together. You can see the opposite chemistry in them when Elvis seems to be the more emotional, soft sided type and Leo is the one more calm, more tough that keeps it all together. The journey takes them to a basement where they find a woman named Thale, the Huldra. Despite other reviews of the movie concentrated more on misogynism I see it as this. The Huldra appears first as a frail woman, naked which for her seemed natural and defenceless which would be psychologically a natural state. She had just lost the one taking care of her and met with the two strangers after no contact with other humans . The storyline of the movie is pretty good but a bit lost also . The author did a great job in telling the Huldra's story and why she was like she was but the narration from the tapes and of her description is actually wrong. The Huldra only acted violent when threatened which was a primary instinct but in the end it only shows that she was unknowledgeable to the world around her and had her own sense of right and wrong.

This successful film works on every level. Proof that filmmakers don't need blockbuster budgets to create believable and suspenseful sci-fi/fantasy films. Even the subtitles didn't detract from the story given the minimal dialog (and I generally hate subtitles). The pacing was perfect, the dialog very natural, and the story intriguing (as well as easy to buy into even without knowing the folklore behind the mystery). It was easy to feel for every character as a fully realized personality (and very quickly) without the need of exposition--or even much of a back story. The mystery and suspense are maintained throughout the film without leaving the viewer feeling left out or confused (as many modern films of this type seem to do) and while there is some violence, it is not overtly graphic. However there are quite a few scenes of nudity.

If you enjoy dark fantasy or brooding and atmospheric horror films, then this supernatural tale will be well worth your time. Leo and Elvis may not be the most engaging characters, but they are believable, and you don't find yourself cheering for their demise as so often in horror flicks in which the protagonists are anything but worth your empathy and time. Thale steals the show--Silje Reinåmo owns her role as a mysterious woman held captive; she conveys more by not uttering a word than any of the other characters do--and I doubt that the English subtitles did the dialog much injustice. The mystery of how and why she has been hidden from society is revealed gradually and tantalizingly--fortunately, the bulk of the film concerns this development, and it is nothing but great storytelling. The beginning and end do drag on at times, as is the case with many films that would be excellent at 45-50 minutes but feel the need to plod on for 90 minutes or more. I'm looking forward to Aleksander Nordaas' next offering. 9.5/10