Kraken, a new Norwegian action film directed by Pål Øie, blends monster movie tropes with an environmental message set against the stunning backdrop of Norway’s Sognefjord. The film follows marine researcher Johanne, played by Sara Khorami, who is called to investigate mass salmon strandings at a local fish farm run by her former flame, Erik (Mikkel Bratt Silset). The farm’s owner, Avaldsnes (Øyvind Brandtzæg), has pushed sonic delousing technology to its limits to impress Japanese investors, disrupting the fjord’s ecosystem and awakening a giant kraken.
The creature remains largely hidden for the first two-thirds of the film, building tension through glimpses and suggestive underwater movements. Early scenes show the kraken sucking jetskiers into a whirlpool, while later it glides beneath the surface, sparing only Avaldsnes’s whistleblower daughter Maria (Jenny Evensen) before targeting the businessman himself. The film uses close-quarters horror, with scuttling bloodsuckers evoking Aliens, but maintains a breezy pace.
Characterisation is lightweight, but Khorami brings a calming presence that makes the eco-lecture palatable. The film’s didactic messaging is hammered home through an old timer’s warnings, mass crab migrations, and grisly flotsam interrupting capitalist celebrations. Kraken ultimately serves as both a tourist promo for the fjord and a stern reminder about tampering with nature.
