I’ve recently watched two very odd movies that, in some ways, are also very similar: ‘Severed Ways‘ and ‘Valhalla Rising‘. Broadly speaking, they both deal with the Norse discovery of America. In Valhalla Rising, a one-eyed warrior escapes his captors and joins a band of Christianised Vikings on their way to the Holy Lands; they become lost en route and end up in the New World. In Severed Ways, two surviviors from a Viking expedition trek across a primal American wilderness in search of salvation, and a route home.
Where there are similarities, they are striking: minimal dialogue, metal soundtracks, chapter titles. And thematically they cover similar areas: the transition from Pagan to Christian belief; ‘primitive’ vs ‘civilised’ society; the descent into, and redemption from, personal Hells; the influence of the natural world.
The differences are also stark: whereas Severed Ways looks like it was filmed on DV with zero budget by some film students, Valhalla Rising has high production values with a known director at the Helm (Nicolas Winding Refn – also responsible for ‘Bronson’.)
For all that, I think Severed Ways is the better film (with a superior soundtrack) – it’s strangely meditative in the same vein as Terence Malick‘s works; it stays with you and gets under your skin. Valhalla Rising, while still a good movie, feels a bit plodding and doesn’t have that same hypnotic quality.
It would be interesting to watch them back-to-back. Thinking about it, Severed Ways pretty much begins where Valhalla Rising ends.
Severed Ways (51/100 at Metacritic)
Rating: 
Interview with Severed Ways director Tony Stone
Severed Ways film poster by Arik Roper (who has also illustrated my novel)
Valhalla Rising (61/100 at Metacritic)
Rating: 
Interview with Valhalla Rising director Nicolas Winding Refn
Interview with Valhalla Rising star Mads Mikkelsen