Norwegian Monster Movie ‘Kraken’ Unleashed at Berlin Market

Pal Oie is reuniting with the producers of his 2019 action thriller The Tunnel to direct the new Norwegian monster movie Kraken.

TrustNordisk is handling international sales for the thriller, starting at the European Film Market (EFM) at the Berlin Film Festival.

Kraken, now in development and targeting a late 2025 theatrical release, will be based on the tale of the legendary monster from the deep returning and set to wreak havoc.

There’s no word on casting, but the thriller will follow Johanne, a marine biologist who encounters several strange occurrences while researching a fjord, including the brutal deaths of two local teenagers. “At the bottom of Norway’s deepest fjord rests a mythical monster as large as a mountain, with a myriad of arms ready to crush and devour anything they can grab,” the film’s synopsis reads.

In Norway and Iceland, legend has it that the Kraken, a giant sea monster similar to a squid or octopus, is lurking in local seas, only to occasionally rise and go on a rampage. Kraken will be shot off the coast of Norway later this year.

John Einar Hagen and Einar Loftesnes are producing Kraken, which will be directed from a screenplay written by Vilde Eide. The Norwegian-language thriller will have Sjur Aarthun as the cinematographer and editor.

Oie is also known for his horror thriller Hidden and his breakthrough film Dark Woods. “We cannot wait to awaken the Kraken in the Fjords where it originated from and to do this together with Pal Oie and the team behind The Tunnel,” sai Susan Wendt, managing director of TrustNordisk.