Films by country: Norway

NORWEGIAN HORROR [1950-1990]

Like in most other countries, the Norwegian film industry sprung up in the early 1900s, with the first short (about fishing) produced in 1907, the first silent feature filmed in 1911 and the first sound feature made in 1931. What there wasn't much of until here recently was horror films. The first genre film didn't crop up until the late 50s but at least it was a good one: director Kåre Bergstrøm's wonderfully-shot and eerie De dødes tjern / "Lake of the Dead" (1958). While it was a success in its home country (and later subject of a 2019 remake), it wasn't distributed here in America nor in most other countries and failed to build up any kind of reputation over the years outside of Norway. Following that, I could find just one horror film from the 60s (Klokker i måneskinn, also from Bergstrøm), one horror film from the 70s (Et lite grøss?; listed on IMDb as a TV miniseries) and three horror films from the 80s, a TV movie, a vampire comedy (Noe helt annet / "Something Completely Different") and Apprentice to Murder, a Canadian / U.S. co-production starring Donald Sutherland that was filmed in Norway but shot in English.

In addition to the above was a late 80s video collection of four amateur, camcorder-shot gore films from someone named Jon Christian Møller, who is probably akin to a Nordic Todd Sheets. These have enticing titles like Cannibal Massacre and The Norwegian Drillbit Massacre and were self-distributed on the label "Videogore Inc." complete with xeroxed black-and-white cover art. While most certainly awful, these are possibly the very first Norwegian horror films made specifically for the video market and I certainly wouldn't mind them being leaked online so I could at least take a look.

Many later Norwegian films have had crossover commercial appeal here in America, like the Dead Snow (a revival of the Nazi zombie theme), Cold Prey and Dark Woods series'. Director André Øvredal is another recent success story. After receiving a lot of attention for his found footage mockumentary Trollhunter (2010), he came to America to make the well-received The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) and then the Guillermo del Toro-produced wide release Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2018).

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1950s

- Lake of the Dead (De dødes tjern) (1958; Kåre Bergstrøm) ▼

1960s

- Watches in Moonlight (Klokker i måneskinn) (1964; Kåre Bergstrøm)

1970s

- A Little Horror? (Et lite grøss?) (1974; Bob Williams, Kent Nilssen, Henning Mankell, Bernt Christian Middelthon) [TV miniseries?]

1980s

- Galgemannen (Gallows) (1983; Magne Bleness) [TV]

- Something Completely Different (Noe helt annet) (1985; Morten Kolstad) ▲

- Apprentice to Murder (1988; Ralph L. Thomas) [co-Canada, USA]

- Cannibal Massacre (Kannibal massakren) (1988; Jon Christian Møller) [SOV]

- I Hate You (Kill or Die) (Jeg Hater Dere (Drep Eller Do)) (1988; Jon Christian Møller) [SOV] [short]

- Norwegian Drillbit Massacre, The (Den Norske Drillbor Massakren) (1988; Jon Christian Møller) [SOV] [short]

- Oslo Terror (1988; Jon Christian Møller) [SOV]

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TOTAL:

10

NOTES:

- While Et lite grøss? is listed as a miniseries on IMDb, the fact it has four different directors and the "episodes" they directed hints that this was some kind of short-lived anthology TV show.

- The 1978 3-part TV miniseries Blindpassasjer ("Blind Passenger") is a potential entry. Based on what I've read, it's a whodunit set in space. Many viewers have commented they they found it scary.

- I'm leaving off the 1987 film Turnaround (dir: Ola Solum) for the time being. While it was marketed as a horror film, many viewers claim it's not. I'll decide whenever I watch it.

- Oddvar Bull Tuhus 1976 "thriller" Angst (aka: Anguish) involves a babysitter receiving strange phone calls. It may qualify.

- The 1972 film Et Forlatt Hjem / "An Abandoned Home" features a detective investigating the titular residence and is described as "chilling" on a Norwegian film site. Also a possibility.

- I've ruled out Bortreist på ubestemt tid / "Away Indefinitely" (1974) after skimming through it. While it involves a man killing his wife, putting her body in the freezer and then deciding on what to do with said body (he eventually opts to hide it in the concrete foundation of a house being built) it's mostly mild suspense / drama.

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