Harpoon Whale Watching Massacre and Hooking Viewers: A Movie Review

*Full disclosure: A DVD of this film was provided by Image Entertainment for review.

Director: Julius Kemp.

Writer: Sjon Sigurdson.

Harpoon Whale Watching Massacre aka Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre is a film shot in, yes you guessed it, in Reykjavik, Iceland. The film is also set in this locale and the film was made for $4 million from a trio of production companies including Solar Films. Image Entertainment is distributing this horror title on DVD December 7th and this is a film that you need to take notice of. This film left this reviewer stupefied from the sheer gore if it all. People are harpooned by long distance in the water, there are attempted rapes, and people die by fire multiple times e.g. flare shot to the eye. The visual effects and cinematography are stunning, while the acting, and characterizations leave something to be desired.

The film's tagline is: "the catch of the day...is you," (Image) and viewers will be hooked by the uniqueness of Nordic horror cinema storytelling. A plot breakdown involves several cliched tourists taking a ride on the local fishing boat captained by Petur (Gunnar Hansen) to see some whales. There is the obnoxious, drunk, Frenchman to grimace at, a perverted Japanese sightseer, one blonde antagonistic bimbette, and several panthers (one generation older than a cougar). A family of sea-going cannibals makes quick work of almost all of these, with a gay black man breaking down stereotypes of all kinds via spear and shotgun.

Harpoon Whale Watching Massacre has been called "Iceland's initial foray into the slasher/horror movie genre," (Image) and this reviewer cannot think of another off the top of his head. What is more important is that this is a strong outing in this genre by Iceland. As mentioned above, there are all kinds of vicious displays of violence, with one Japanese tourist showing that the Kamikaze is not dead, but will be soon. There are scenes of torture and this is not a film where one should wear their sensitivities on their sleeve.

One of the more shocking incidents involved this reviewer's first sight of the N word, in reference to a black man, in recent film. So, you know that director Julius Kemp (Jitters) is not pulling any punches. Instead, Kemp and writer Sjon Sigurdsson (Dancers in the Dark) are out to shock through images, language, and themes. There is even an underlining Fascist undertone alluded to by the constant use of the term Fuhrer (leader, often referenced to Hitler) and the denigrating speech aimed at foreign tourists. So, if you are easily offended take note and pass on this title. Others, including die-hard horror fans, know to expect the unexpected in this genre (horror).

Gorehounds, slasher fans and those looking for something off of horror's usual beaten pass, need to pick up a copy of this film, from Image Entertainment. Although the extra features on the DVD are sparse and only include a behind-the-scenes featurette, the story and destruction of characters is creative and hypnotic. Have a look at more details below on this film and then decide if whale watching is for you.

Overall: 7 out of 10 (-1 for some villainous protagonists, -1 for making one member of the cast a little too predictable - a lighthouse keeper, -.5 for offing the central villains too quickly, -.5 for underusing excellent actor Gunnar Hansen - very over the top over all).

Harpoon Whale Watching Massacre at Image Entertainment w/trailer:

Harpoon at Image Entertainment (distributors)

A second review of the film by Gareth Jones at Dread Central:

Harpoon Reviewed at Dread