Genre: Historical/Thriller/Drama
Director: Ben Wheatley
Writer: Dwight Gallo
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Valter Skarsgard, Kristoffer Joner, Thekla Reuten, Clara Rugaard, Dolph Lundgren, Lars Mikkelsen, Sam Hazeldine, Rudy Youngblood, Michael Greyeyes
Plot: 990 AD. In the coastal Scandinavian village of Farbjerg, the great Viking sailor Skarde (Viggo Mortensen) lives with his family: his loyal wife Astrid (Thekla Reuten), their son Sune (Valter Skarsgard) and their beautiful daughter Liv (Clara Rugaard). Skarde's time as a battle-hungry Viking are over, and these days he mostly supervises the building of new ships. One day his younger brother Trygve (Kristoffer Joner), a gifted farmer and herbalist, finds him by the waters and informs him that King Frode (Lars Mikkelsen) has requested an audience with him. Skarde is surprised by such a request, but heads to Frode's long house. The guards let Skarde past. Frode gives his old friend a big hug before instructing him to have a seat. Frode informs Skarde that Odin has bestowed Skarde with a special gift and a special honor. Skarde is confused by Frode's cryptic talk and asks him to make himself clearer. Frode tells Skarde that he and his family are to help lead the creation of a Viking settlement across the seas in the newly discovered Vinland. Skarde asks what happened to the last party sent their ten years prior. Frode says that they never received word back from anyone on the expedition, so their ship most likely sank somehow on the journey - which is exactly why Skarde is the perfect man for the voyage as he is the best sailor the village has ever known. Skarde asks who else will be sent along with him. Frode says that along with Skarde's family, he has tasked Trygve to go for his farming expertise and the warrior Troels to go as well as an extra sword. Frode goes on to say that he wants Skarde to set up a settlement and then send a ship back piloted by Sune. Skarde laughs at the idea, insisting that Sune is more interested in reading tales of Odin's conquests and Thor's adventures than learning to tame the mighty seas. Frode tells Skarde that the orders stand as they are and that Skarde and the rest of his party are to begin packing their ship at once.
Skarde informs his family of the voyage they have been tasked with completing for the kingdom. Astrid and Sune are against going, but Astrid rallies her two children for Skarde's sake. As they pack up the boat, Skarde confesses to Astrid that he really does not want to make the journey or have the difficulty of starting a settlement from nothingness. Astrid comforts her husband, suggesting he look at it as the gods making sure his talents are recognized. The aging, but still massively strong warrior Troels (Dolph Lundgren) arrives at the ship. He was rendered mute many years prior after he was hit with arrow in the throat during battle. Skarde shows him his quarters on the ship. Troels nods in appreciation. Sune notices Trygve sneaking a bag of plants onto the ship and asks what they are. Trygve agrees to reveal what they are so long as Sune promises to never go near them. The plants are henbane. Sune is shocked he would bring them on board as they are poisonous to animals. Trygve says that they are only poisonous in large quantities, however they can enhance a warrior's ability in battle as well as having other medicinal uses. Sune asks if his father knows about the plants. Trygve says that Skarde wouldn't understand. The ship leaves the shores of Farbjerg. Liv and Sune are saddened at leaving the only place they've ever known as home. Astrid tells them that they can make a home anywhere as long as they stay together as a family. Sune points out that Trygve and Troels don't have a family. Astrid says that Trygve is part of their family, while Troels has been sent to help protect the family, so he might as well be a part of it. Liv, taking her mother's words to heart, goes over and introduces herself to Troels, who gently shakes her hand in return. Skarde calls Sune over to the helm of the ship to try to teach him how to captain a ship. Sune says that he isn't really interested in learning. Skarde tells his son that it is not an option as King Frode has specifically requested that he teach Sune how to captain a ship to make the return trip back to Farbjerg after the colony is set up. Sune is angered that his father did tell him this until after they were already out in the open seas. Skarde then pulls out a map and teaches Sune how to tell where on the map they are. Despite not having a passion for sailing, Sune does have a strong understanding of maps. Skarde asks how Sune knows so much about maps. Sune pulls out one of his favorite books and shows his father that there is a map at the beginning of the story to help show where the events took place. Skarde laughs, saying he never knew books could be useful.
The ship is ravaged by a heavy storm. Astrid and Liv take shelter in the cabin below the deck while all of the men struggle to keep the ship on course for Vinland. Waves crash over the sides of the ship. Seeing that Sune is having trouble hanging on, Skarde grabs a rope and ties his son to the ship so he cannot fall overboard. Once the storm finally breaks, the men all nearly pass out from exhaustion. Sune then points out to the horizon. Skarde gets up and looks. It is land on the horizon. They have made it to Vinland. Sune excitedly calls out to his mother and sister for them to come up on deck and take a look at the most beautiful sight he's ever seen - land. The women come up and look on as they come closer to the shoreline as the sun rises behind them. As they come closer, Skarde points out a river breaking up the shoreline. He suggests that is where they should settle as a river means fresh water to drink and use to grow crops. Once they reach land, Skarde tells Astrid and Liv to begin looking for water and any foods already naturally growing in the area. Before they wander off, he instructs them to run back to the ship as fast as they can and call out for him if they encounter any Skræling - native people. Skarde, Sune, Trygve and Troels all grab axes from the ship and begin cutting down trees for timber. Astrid and Liv find a patch of blueberry bushes and begin picking the berries when they hear rustling and whispers nearby. Astrid and Liv begin running back to the ship while calling out Skarde's name. Hearing the calls, Skarde also rushes back toward the ship, ax in hand. When they meet up at the ship, Astrid tells her husband that she heard whispers in some foreign tongue. Skarde tells his wife that she and Liv should sleep on the boat that night, while he and the men make a fire and keep guard. The next morning, Skarde, Sune and Trygve begin building a dwelling out of the cut down trees. Astrid and Liv continue searching for food, this time with Troels tagging along to protect them. '
Over time, the group finishes building a dwelling for shelter. Trygve has begun planting food crops - as well as a small amount of henbane. Skarde has begun to train Sune how to sail back to Farbjerg. One day while Skarde and Sune are out at sea, two Native men, Memet (Rudy Youngblood) and Keathut (Michael Greyeyes) sneak into the growing settlement. They sneak up on Troels, brutally and silently slitting his throat from behind. With blood gushing out of his neck, Troels draws his sword and tries to fight the men off. He charges toward them, but the blood loss is too much, and Troels collapses in a pool of red. A white man, Svend (Sam Hazeldine), then emerges from the woods. He gives each Native man a nod before entering the dwelling where Astrid and Liv are preparing a meal. Svend knocks Astrid and Liv to the ground, but no before they can scream. Trygve hears the scream and stops watering the crops. He looks out to the shore, but Skarde and Sune are still gone with the ship. Trygve grabs his long iron scythe and begins to quietly and nervously walk toward the dwelling. Trygve can hear the women crying as he comes closer. As he gets to the door, Trygve is hit in the stomach by an arrow and dies before he can reach the dwelling.
Skarde and Sune return to the shore after a long day sailing. Skarde commends Sune on his focus, believing that with his skill with maps it will only be a few more weeks until he is ready to sail the seas without him. Outside of the dwelling, they find the murdered Troels. Skarde and Sune both draw swords before they enter the dwelling. Inside, they find Astrid and Liv tied up with blood still slowly seeping from their throats and from between their legs. Skarde begins lets out a loud howl of anguish, realizing that both his wife and daughter have been brutally raped and murdered. Sune is unsure how to comfort his father, so he keeps his distance and quietly cries to himself. The sadness in Skarde is soon replaced by fury. He rises to his feet and storms out of the dwelling and begins looking at the tracks around the settlement. He tells Sune to head back to the ship and sail back toward Farbjerg at once. Sune says he isn't ready for such a trip yet. Skarde looks at his son and tells him that he no longer has the luxury of not being ready - he simply most do it. They soon see smoke near the shore and rush to find their ship has been set on fire. Sune panics and begs his father to tell him what they need to do. Skarde grabs his son by the shoulders and tells him to grab his sword - they must kill whoever has done this to them. While Sune is grabbing his sword, Skarde kneels down and prays to Odin for help punishing those responsible.
Skarde goes back to studying the tracks made around the dwelling. He sees three distinct tracks, but one of them stands out to him. He tells Sune that the man was wearing boots similar to their own, while the other two were not. All three tracks lead in the same direction toward the wilderness. As they continue to follow the tracks through the dense trees toward a peak, they begin to hear something rustling nearby. Skarde tells Sune to freeze every muscle in his body. The rustling gets louder and suddenly a massive black bear emerges and mauls Sune. Skarde stabs the bear through its skull and pushes it aside. Skarde then realizes that the bear attack caused Sune to stab himself with his own sword, killing him. Skarde brings Sune's body back to the dwelling and places his son next to the bodies of Astrid and Liv. Skarde also drags Troels into the dwelling. He then realizes that he never found Trygve's body and begins searching for it, finding it behind the dwelling. He drags it inside too before setting fire to the dwelling. Skarde kneels down in front of the flaming building. This time he tells Odin to ignore his prayers - he will get his revenge without any help from the gods.
Skarde arms himself with a sword and a shield. He walks over to Trygve's crops and picks some henbane. Skarde then goes back to the bear carcass. He skins the black bear and adorns himself with the skins, head and all. Skarde then begins consuming as much of the henbane as he can stomach. Skarde then continues his hunt for those who killed his family. After what feels like several hours of walking in the night of the cold, dark north, Skarde finally sees something. The light and smoke of a camp fire in the distance. Skarde grips his sword tightly as he continues to move closer. The henbane has taken over, with Skarde's eyes filled with pure rage. Soon he hears the men laughing in some alien language. He watches from the trees as Memet and Keathut sit around the fire. Keathut suddenly gets up and goes over to a tree, near where Skarde is hiding, to take a piss. Skarde expertly sneaks over to him and cuts his head clean off with his sword. Memet hears something and calls out for Keathut. There is no response until Skarde throws Keathut's severed head, landing it right at Memet's feet. Memet pulls out a tomahawk and scans his surroundings. Skarde walks out of the darkness and toward Memet. Frightened by the sight of Skarde covered in blood and a bear skin, Memet trips backwards and lands in the fire. He screams in agony as the fire begins cooking him alive. Skarde points his sword at Memet to keep him from escaping the fire pit. Skarde watches as Memet's flesh becomes charred, melted and smoking, and the life slowly leaves his eyes.
Skarde then begins searching the camp for the third set of footprints. He searches the first of two wigwams, but finds nothing inside. Skarde then quickly moves to the second wigwam, but it is booby-trapped and Skarde steps onto a group of sharpened sticks, impaling his foot. Skarde grimaces and rips his foot off of the spikes and leaves the wigwam where he finds Svend waiting for him with a bow and arrow trained on him. Svend laughs and says that he was shocked to see a Viking of Skarde's reputation banished off to the new world like he was. Skarde is confused by Svend's statements. Svend states that he was part a previous Viking expedition sent from Farbjerg several years prior. His ship hit an iceberg and sank not far from the shore. He was the only one to make it to the shore alive. Soon he befriended two men from the Beothuk tribe who had been banished by their chief. Together they have lived in the wilderness, surviving by hunting and foraging, for the past few years. Skarde tells Svend to get to the point where he defiled his wife and daughter. Svend smiles, stating that it was nice to do something that wasn't about simple survival for once and instead about physical pleasure. Skarde charges at Svend, who fires his ready arrow into Skarde's chest. Skarde stops for one second, then continues toward Svend with the arrow sticking out of his chest. Svend steps back, readies another arrow and fires it at Skarde. This one hits Skarde in the stomach, but he keeps moving like a man possessed, like a BERSERKER. Skarde begins moving more quickly toward his enemy. Svend unleashes several more arrows into Skarde's body, but it does nothing to slow him down. Once he gets close enough, Skarde raises his sword high above his head. He then brings it down with immense force, cutting halfway through Svend's head. Skarde lets go of the sword. Svend stumbles around for a moment toward his wigwam, with the sword sticking out of his head, until he falls onto his own trap. Skarde pulls the arrows out of his chest and goes to inspect Svend's body. In addition to the sword still sticking out of his skull, Svend's dead body has the sharpened sticks impaling his torso.
Skarde takes back his sword and begins to slowly walk away from Svend's camp. Just as the sun begins to rise over the horizon, Skarde makes it back to his settlement on the shore. He sits down on the wet sands of the coast as the blood from his wounds begins mixing with the tide as it comes in. Skarde lays down in the sand as he slowly succumbs to his wound. The tide comes in closer to the shore and eventually takes Skarde's dead body out to sea.
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