There is a great tradition of folklore in the Nordic countries that offers rich pickings for filmmakers looking to try something a little different with creature features. Recent offering have included Draug and the two Troll movies, with André Øvredal‘s  Troll Hunter remaining the high watermark. Hoping to make a splash is Pål Øie’s environmentally-focused Kraken, which sees the legendary cephalopod emerging from the depths to terrorise the fjords. It’s a solid premise, but its tone is too self-serious given the inherent silliness of its story, and there’s also a few instances of generative AI that further detracts from the positives of the project.

In a tiny town on the banks of the Sognefjord, the largest of all the Norwegian fjords, the boss of a hi-tech fish farm is wooing potential Japanese investors with their exceptional salmon. Their immaculate product is achieved through the use of a prototype sonic device to rid the fish of parasites. The CEO has made the decision to maximise the the frequency of the machine, which has awakened something massive and ancient that has begun picking off luckless tourists. It’s up to marine biologist Johanne (Sara Khorami) to figure out a way to soothe the best and stop the carnage being inflicted on the village.

Making use of the spectacular scenery of the fjords, Øie gradually builds up tension very gradually, never missing an opportunity to showcase the natural beauty of the landscape (partly filmed in Finland). There are occasional glimpses of the titular beast, mainly obscured through darkeness or debris in the water, but the first half is largely spent establishing the minutiae of the salmon farm operation, and Johanne’s previous association with the village, not least old flame Erik (Mikkel Bratt Silset), with whom she’d worked on an early version of the ‘Sonic Lice’ contraption. While the village residents are thinly-sketched, there’s enough broad stroke characterisation to pull us in.

The Kraken itself is a malleable beast in terms of the influences Øie can bring to the table. Jaws will always loom large in practically every creature feature, especially those with an aquatic bent. The parasites shed by the beast will bring to mind the facehuggers from Alien, and the Kraken’s tentacled shape gives the film a touch of Lovecraftian cosmic horror as well. Thematically, beside the environmental message there’s a generally anti-capitalist thread which is, again, far from uncommon in in this subgenre.

Sadly, the patient buildup is largely squandered with a generic third act that never quite gets the pulse racing. Partly, this is down to some obvious budgetary issues – and the use of AI is always egregious, but slightly more understandable for a small indie – which limits the use of the Kraken itself. This mitigation only goes so far however. For the most part it’s apparent that Øie is more comfortable with the film’s quiet moments than with its action sequences.

Where the film fails most obviously is in the hectoring tone of its environmental message. It’s fairly didactic and overly stern. More levity would have been appropriate with a premise that is essentially a massive squid on a rampage, munching down on canoeists. The rigidity to the film’s message extends to the beast bizarrely choosing to spare those it somehow knows has good intentions, like teen eco-warrior Maria (Jenny Evensen), which only makes the movie more predictable, given it becomes apparent who is likely to survive.

While there things that work in Kraken; the patience of its setup and some lovely cinematography for example, it’s a largely forgettable piece that only gets a little mitigation for its limited budget. The sense of scale Pål Øie attempts is laudable, and there are moments where its less-is-more approach to the screen time of the monster works with this, but it’s far too generic and ultimately bland to be anything other than a little fish in the massive creature feature pond.

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