TRAILER
PLOT
In the late 9th century, the Viking king Aurvandill War-Raven returns home to the island of Hrafnsey after a campaign overseas. He reunites with his wife, Queen Gudrún, and their young son, Prince Amleth, performing ritualistic ceremonies to prepare Amleth to one day inherit the throne. During a secret rite led by the shaman Heimir the Fool, father and son howl like wolves and symbolically consume a heart, binding them as kin under Odin’s gaze.
Soon after, Aurvandill is ambushed and mortally wounded by his half-brother Fjölnir, who stages a coup to seize the kingdom. Amleth witnesses Fjölnir’s men murder his father and seize Gudrún. Before they can capture him, Amleth escapes by boat, vowing vengeance:
"I will avenge you, Father. I will save you, Mother. I will kill you, Fjölnir."
Years pass. Amleth grows into a fearsome berserker warrior, hardened by battle and raiding across Eastern Europe. Having abandoned all traces of his royal past, he lives only for war, rage, and revenge. After a brutal raid on a Slavic village, Amleth encounters a seeress (portrayed by Björk) who reminds him of his destiny — to avenge his father and rescue his mother from Fjölnir’s grasp. She foretells that his fate is intertwined with a maiden-king — a woman of royal spirit — and that his path will be guided by a mystical sword known as the Draugr blade, which can only be unsheathed under moonlight or at the gates of Hel.
Determined, Amleth disguises himself as a slave and sneaks aboard a ship bound for Iceland, where Fjölnir has fled after losing his stolen kingdom. Fjölnir now lives as a chieftain of a modest farm, stripped of royal power but ruling a household through fear and cruelty.
Among the slaves, Amleth meets Olga of the Birch Forest, a Slavic woman accused of witchcraft. Drawn to her strength and cunning, Amleth allies with Olga, who becomes both his lover and spiritual partner in his quest. The two secretly invoke Norse rituals, combining her earth magic and his berserker spirit to plot revenge from within.
Amleth locates the Draugr sword in a haunted burial mound, defeating its undead guardian in combat. With the weapon now bound to his destiny, Amleth begins a campaign of terror — stalking Fjölnir’s men at night, impaling them, and leaving their bodies displayed as sacrificial warnings. His acts sow fear and superstition among the household, leading many to believe that a vengeful spirit haunts them.
As the killings escalate, Amleth reveals himself to Gudrún, expecting to be reunited with his mother. Instead, she shocks him by revealing the truth: she was never a captive — she willingly chose Fjölnir, despising Aurvandill’s brutality. She even urges Amleth to kill her and take the throne himself if vengeance is truly his purpose. Horrified, Amleth learns that his own conception was born of assault, and that Gudrún views Fjölnir as her true husband.
This revelation fractures Amleth’s world. Yet his fury reignites when Gudrún’s and Fjölnir’s young son, Gunnar, mocks him, unaware that they share the same bloodline. When Amleth kills Fjölnir’s eldest son in a ritual combat trial, the farm descends into chaos. Fjölnir vows revenge while Amleth and Olga flee into the mountains.
As they escape, Olga tells Amleth she is pregnant with twins — the “maiden-king” foretold by prophecy, meaning their bloodline will rule. Amleth realizes his fate is sealed: if he leaves with her, his family’s vengeance remains unfulfilled, but if he stays, he ensures his children’s future. He parts from Olga, entrusting her and their unborn heirs to safety on a passing ship.
Returning alone to Fjölnir’s farm, Amleth frees the remaining slaves and slaughters Fjölnir’s guards. He kills Gudrún and Gunnar after they attack him in desperation, weeping over their bodies with anguish and guilt. Fjölnir discovers the carnage and demands a final duel “at the Gates of Hel,” a volcanic crater glowing with molten fire.
In a climactic battle beneath the erupting volcano, Amleth and Fjölnir fight to the death — both mortally wounded, neither yielding. As Fjölnir is beheaded, Amleth collapses, his wounds fatal.
In his final vision, Amleth sees a Valkyrie carrying him toward Valhalla, ascending through storm clouds toward the afterlife, while Olga safely escapes by sea, caressing her pregnant belly — the promise of a new lineage.
Rating: 10 Stars
