Dir: Roar Uthang
Norway. 1363. Ten years after the black death ravaged the country, families with little to lose venture into the lawless, plague swept regions to make a claim to the natural resources and start afresh. One such family, mother, father, daughter and son lead their horse drawn cart into a mountainous region. There they are ambushed by a group of thugs led by Dagmar (Ingrid Bolso Berdal who starred in the director's COLD PREY), who live off the land and travelers. The family is brutally slaughtered save the daughter Signe (Isabel Christine Andreasen). Taken back to the thug's camp, Signe learns why Dagmar spared her life. Dagmar is barren and the young female Frigg that was kidnapped to be raised as Dagmar's daughter is asking for a sister.
Realizing the fate that awaits her, Signe puts into action a plan to escape.
While the plot is simple and straight forward, much of the running time being comprised of chase sequences, the motivations of the characters are not. Dagmar, a strong leader and fighter, aches to be a mother. She longs to hear Frigg call her Mother. Dagmar does not see herself as a villain, she sees herself as someone willing to do what it takes to create a family.
The character of Signe is well rounded. When we first see her she is carving an amulet for her younger brother to wear, she values family. Over the course of the film we see Signe use her brains and will to survive. Her compassion for Frigg comes through and they become sisters. Signe seems to be like a younger Dagmar only the toll paid for survival was too great for Dagmar.
Director Roar Uthang co-wrote and directed the recommended slasher film COLD PREY. Both that film and this film highlight the natural beauty of Norway and Uthang's adeptness at creating action sequences. One can hope he'll return again to horror but until then I will not complain if he continues helming solid action / adventure films like ESCAPE.
*** out of ****
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