Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre (2009)

An epic tale about a group of whale watchers, whose ship breaks down and they get picked up by a whale fisher vessel. The Fishbillies on the vessel has just gone bust, and everything goes out of control.

Director:

Júlíus Kemp

Writer:

Sjón (as Sjón Sigurdsson)

Stars:

Pihla Viitala, Nae, Terence Anderson

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pihla Viitala	...	Annette
Nae	...	Endo (as Nae Yuuki)
Terence Anderson	...	Leon
Miranda Hennessy	...	Marie-Anne
Helgi Björnsson	...	Tryggvi
Guðrún Gísladóttir	...	Mamma
Stefán Jónsson	...	Siggi
Aymen Hamdouchi	...	Jean Francois
Snorri Engilbertsson	...	Anton
Gunnar Hansen	...	Captain Pétur
Thor Kristjansson	...	Bjorn (as Thorvaldur David Kristjansson)
Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir	...	Hannah Traschle
Carlos Takeshi	...	Nobuyoshi
Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir	...	Helga
Hanna María Karlsdóttir	...	Signy

Storyline

An epic tale about a group of whale watchers, whose ship breaks down and they get picked up by a whale fisher vessel. The Fishbillies on the vessel has just gone bust, and everything goes out of control.

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Plot Keywords:

animal in title | place name in title | murder | homosexual | death | 

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Taglines:

Hunting humans in the cold Icelandic waters

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for bloody violence, language, some nudity and drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gunnar Hansen portrays Captain Pétur but during post-production, his voice was dubbed.

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Quotes

Mamma: Sing sing sing like a whale

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Alternate Versions

There are two US DVD releases, released in 2010, one the R-rated cut and one an Unrated Cut.

User Reviews

Icelandic slasher needs a good dose of style

HARPOON: THE REYKJAVIK WHALE WATCHING MASSACRE is billed as Iceland's first horror film and their answer to THE Texas CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, with the action shifted to an inhospitable landscape and a ship. Unfortunately, it turns out to be as dull-witted and laughable as many a Hollywood slasher sequel, a film that strives to be horrific and entertaining and yet which ends up a mess.

The first half of the film sets up the cast, which is fair enough, but it doesn't help that most of the characters are intensely irritating (with the exception of the black guy and the Japanese girl). Gunnar Hansen pops up for a worthless cameo, but after that we're mired in a mess of horror film clichés and predictable death sequences. It's all badly written and quite badly directed, two things which sap enjoyment from the production.

One thing HARPOON does have going for it are some explicit gore sequences, although these aren't quite as grisly as you'd expect, with the emphasis being on the staging of each effect rather than going all-out to gross-out the viewer. But such moments aren't enough to save what is another forgettable, lamentable horror yarn.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Iceland

Language:

English Icelandic Japanese French

Release Date:

4 September 2009 (Iceland)

Also Known As:

Harpoon

Filming Locations:

Reykjavík, Iceland

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$43,476

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Icelandic Filmcompany, Film and Music Entertainment (F&ME), Solar Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1