MORTAL

OUT NOW / DIGITAL / CERT 15 / 104 MINS

DIRECTOR André Øvredal

CAST Nat Wolff, Priyanka Bose, Iben Akerlie

After his foray into horror with Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark in 2019, Troll Hunter director André Øvredal returns to his Scandanavian roots for Mortal, a cut-price riff on Thor.

Here, it’s Eric (Nat Wolff) who starts exhibiting hard-to-control God-like powers, eventually teaming up with Christine (Iben Akerlie), a local psychologist, to help discover the truth of his origins. It’s a spirited effort to reclaim the Norse mythology that American pop-culture has hijacked, and whether it’s sweeping shots of Norway or the lightning-heavy special effects, the movie is often impressive to look at. But Eric cuts a tormented figure who is hard to root for, and the choice to make his burgeoning love for Christine more than platonic doesn’t ring true.