There haven’t been nearly enough sea monster movies. Not way back then, and certainly not now. If you ignore Jaws rip-offs and crappy-cheapo-CGI fests from the mockbuster studios and streaming channels, the only ones that really stick out from a genre perspective are Deep Rising (1998) and maybe Underwater (2020). We’d slip in Tentacles (1977) as a guilty pleasure as well, despite the similarity to Jaws. The first two are very underrated and extremely effective in their differing ways…at least IMHO. This brings us to Kraken, which is an intriguing and potentially enjoyable proposition for aquatic horror lovers. It becomes even more promising when you appreciate that it’s another Norwegian monster-mash, after the success of the Troll films on Netflix, which were both directed by Roar Uthaug. This time, we have an unabashed (and mostly serious) film directed by Pål Øie, who is well known in Nordic cinema for genre films such as The Tunnel (2019), Dark Woods (2003) and Hidden (2009). However, this 2026 release should not be confused with the 2025 Russian movie called… err… Kraken, about an undersea rescue mission being hampered by a… well, you can guess. So, it’s not just Hollywood that does the unintentional copycat thing in movies? It stars Sara Khorami from Troll 2, so she has form with giant Nordic cryptids. The outdoor photography actually took place in Norwegian fjords, using an eclectic mix of aerial, underwater, and practical effects to depict the monster. It premiered at Tromsø International Film Festival in early 2026 and has been showing on the festival circuit since then, now sliding its way onto VOD in the UK and the USA. So, let’s dive in.

 

It starts with a promising prologue, where two dudes on a jet ski are swallowed by a vortex caused by a monstrous undersea creature in a Norwegian fjord. This would appear to be some kind of legendary monster, glimpsed by locals in days past (as shown by Black & White TV footage). So far, so Nessie. We’re then introduced to Johanne (Khorami), highlighting the fact that no one is deserving of a surname in this story… for some reason. She works as a marine biologist in the city, whilst her roots are in the small fishing town of Vangsnes on the south side of the Sognefjorden, which is the longest and deepest fjord in Norway, don’t you know? (Yes. Real places). Her offscreen boss demands that she returns to Vangsnes to conduct an inspection on a salmon fishing farm, as local sea life is going loopy and throwing themselves onto the shore. Turns out that her old flame Erik (Mikkel Bratt Silset) has been perfecting a sonic pest deterrent to ensure that their salmon is parasite-free. Having never seen The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue, he is unaware that this is probably not a good idea. The sonic frequency has awoken an abnormally large cephalopod, who has its own parasites to shed, and it’s not staying down there anymore…  

 

What’s slightly frustrating about Kraken is that there’s some really good stuff in there. Like, really good. It’s B-movie plot rises above the Mega Shark Vs Giant Octopus sensibilities and provides some great imagery, as well as a more modern slant on ecological themes. Sure, it’s pure Jaws in plot structure. We even have the police rush to a small beach and utter the words “Get out of the water” and “We’re closing the beach”. And yup… there’s even a nefarious executive cutting corners and doing things he shouldn’t to make a fast buck. All of that is forgivable, as long as there’s some gruesome entertainment to be wrung out of the concept itself. And we get that. Sort of. Let’s just say that the ingredients are there, and it could have been a contender, but there are notable reasons as to why it didn’t get a theatrical release.

 

Let’s start with some stuff that is absolutely nailed. At its best, the film exploits that fear of deep water and lurking abominations to the nth degree. Overhead birds-eye shots show vessels and floating victims being absolutely dwarfed by a writhing “something” milling around underneath. Ice-cold, diaper-filling stuff. We never get that gigantic “eye see you” sequence in the posters, but it’s still good stuff with believable FX. This is supplemented by shots on the surface and occasional disturbances. Oddly enough, even though we know it’s an octopus-thing, the film takes the “Bruce the Shark” approach, and we barely glimpse anything until the final third act. This works extremely well with the canoe sequence and in the beginning. The absolute piece de resistance comes through at other key moments. One stunning shot has two lofty tentacles reaching towards the Northern Lights in the night sky. You just cannot get any more Lovecraftian than that! Impressive. Likewise, the couple of sequences where flailing tentacles emerge from sea mist, and the climax where the multi-armed menace is framed in a red flare (suspiciously close to the climax of Jurassic World: Rebirth), belie the fact that it’s not a bigger budgeted movie. And speaking of imagery, the cinematography takes full advantage of the stunning scenery around Sognefjord, offering natural beauty as well as some creepy isolation at the same time.

 

If only the rest of the film lived up to those premium moments and the sheer majesty of the location. Because it unfortunately falls a little flat in most other areas. The film runs for roughly 93 minutes (including lengthy end credits, as per bloody usual), and a lot of that is non-Kraken stuff. After the first (ambiguous) attack, it’s halfway through the narrative before we get another one. Then there are a couple of offscreen encounters (apparently). It’s only in the final third act that ol’ Kracky finally decides to stop messing around, come up for air, and mess up the salmon-farming unit, that it fully embraces its B-movie heritage and goes a little apeshit. Slow burning is okay, but when you have only two attacks in the first hour, you’re prodding your intended audience a bit too much with the teasing stick. Up until that mad last section, we have to endure dull paper-thin characters mooch around the town and the salmon farm, occasionally listening to stuff underwater and moaning about things. We spend more time with the crafty executive, attempting to sell his farms to Japanese dignitaries, rather than exploring the depths or the motives of other characters.

 

The sheer transparency of the characters is a bit weird. There’s a hinted history around the status between Erik and Jonanne, but that’s it. Hinted. Nothing is ever established, and the only thing we can be sure of is that the sonic machine is doing something bad to the fjord and that one of the would-be eco-terrorists who is hanging around the area is a bit of a dick and badmouths Greta Thunberg. There are a couple of other weird narrative decisions as well. Apparently, it’s not enough that a gargantuan cephalopod is snacking on tourists; it is also shedding horseshoe crab-like parasites that fancy human-nom-noms. Think of the parasites from the Cloverfield monster or from Godzilla in some of the early manga. Why though? The practical effects aren’t bad, but it just seems like extra filler for a film that is “slow-burning” and waits plenty of time before revealing its nasty nature anyway.

 

Speaking of FX, the tentacles of the Kraken start pretty good for a film like this (especially when compared to something like “Bermuda Tentacles” or its ilk). A solid-looking gloopy mass of suckers that waves and glides over prospective victims. But as the film goes on, that creepiness and heft are lost as it grabs human prey, and the actors react unconvincingly with them, taking away the frisson of genuine fear. This is a shame, as there’s a potentially nightmare-fuel moment when one character is pulled underwater and tossed into the creature's “mouth” like a soggy cocktail sausage! Otherwise, the dénouement consists of CG tentacles pursuing people down metallic corridors of the floating farm, like a slightly dud cross between Deep Rising and Deep Blue Sea. For such an ambitious idea and a stunning location, it all feels like a lost opportunity, especially given some of the more effective scenes, like the pulled-in-half canoeist.

 

This is then capped by a bizarrely rushed and very downbeat ending that feels entirely unnecessary. Because of this, and as a whole, Kraken misses out on being a fun monster movie in the style of “Troll” or other creature features. It’s just a little too po-faced and serious for its own good. Whilst fans of aquatic horror will get a kick out of the ideas and some of the splendid tentacle-waving-in-the-fog atmosphere, it just doesn’t hit the spots that were promised by the trailers (which contain practically all the Kraken scenes but ignore the parasites). For a 90-minute film, it takes too long with the reveal and doesn’t menace the locals… well, at all really. There’s a really low body count and an absolutely pointless ripoff of a certain scene from The Meg. Easy to please fans of giant octopi will really appreciate the ambition and some of the sequences; everyone else is going to feel a little shortchanged by Krone during the currency swap. Let’s hope we get our dream sea-monster movie one of these days, though. Krack on.