Horror as a genre has a lot more nuance than just blood, guts, and jump scares. The term ‘elevated horror’ became popular in the last ten years or so because there was a surge of horror films like Hereditaryand It Follows that, while still frightening, focused on more high-concept, psychological terror and atmosphere. But the two styles aren’t mutually exclusive, and it’s totally possible to have a movie that both leans into traditional horror tropes and fleshes out its characters to create something with a message. Viking Wolf is a perfect example of that middle ground, as director Stig Svendsen tells a heartbreaking story of teenage struggle without skimping out on the werewolf action. The Norwegian horror-thriller follows Thale (Elli Rhiannon Müller Osborne), a teenage girl with normal teenage problems made infinitely worse by the fact that she’s turning into a werewolf, and it’s not nearly as fun as Michael J. Fox or MTV made it out to be. The movie nicely blends scares and emotional depth, offering something for fans of traditional or elevated horror to enjoy.
