Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on April 2012

A mute, one-eyed, almost preternatural warrior slave (Mads Mikkelsen) viciously turns on his captors and escapes with a slave boy who speaks for him. They encounter and form a delicate alliance with a band of proto-Viking Christian crusaders, and they all get lost in some kind of new world that could easily be hell. There’s little dialogue and less plot in this existential, brutally stylish primeval picture from Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, Bronson). But it’s minimalist and mesmerizing, glacially paced yet ultra violent, and almost hallucinogenic. It’s a trip, but clearly not for everyone.