No Rest for the Wicked (2026)
1862. Baldur lives a fisherman’s life on the isolated Faroe Islands far to the north in the Atlantic Ocean. His world is turned upside down when a stranger arrives: Helge, a rugged whaler, who awakens deep emotions within him. A mutual attraction starts to grow. When tragedy strikes, their forbidden passion unleashes natural forces so disturbing that the villagers rally to keep evil at bay. But Baldur and Helge refuse to let their love be buried. They will fight till the end – and after.
No Rest for the Wicked movie poster
Image courtesy Obscured Pictures
NO REST FOR THE WICKED, directed by Kasper Kalle, could almost be a romantic comedy except for all the folk horror and gothic atmosphere, including a sea, darkness, and fog that almost deserve their own character credits.
“Meet Cute” : Baldur runs his dead father’s rowboat aground when he tries to assist a voice in the fog calling for help - a voice belonging to handsome whaler Helge.
“Fall in Love”: They fall in love, unnoticed by Ásla, Baldur’s mother, starting with adoring glances and flirtation over dinner.
“Separation” : Helge is killed along with many others in a shipwreck.
“Grand Gesture”: I don’t want to get too spoilery, but you probably know there’s a vampire situation.
“Reconciliation”: Just wait until you see the film. It’s unusual and beautiful.
Image courtesy Obscured Pictures
This could be one of my top films of the year. It’s not just the film itself challenging society’s stand on same-sex romantic love, it’s years of work, thoughts, and feelings behind it: director Kasper Kalle’s own experiences growing up gay in a small conservative town, and the writer of the short story it’s based on, Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, was a gay German writer whose story Manor was published in 1884, between two notable vampire novels, Carmilla (1872) and Dracula (1897).
You can almost feel the weight of these experiences in the film - or maybe that’s the weight of my own experiences because one of the reasons I love it so much is that it feels so universal. Almost everyone can find something relatable in this film, whether it’s guilt from not meeting parental or societal expectations, yearning for experiences beyond your front door, or grief at the loss of a loved one.
Image courtesy Obscured Pictures
Image courtesy Obscured Pictures
NO REST FOR THE WICKED was screened at Fantastic Fest.
Stray Thoughts:
“You’re not one of the widows,” Ásla, to Baldur, because she wants me to slap her.
“What is grief, if not love persevering?” - Vision, to Wanda, in Wandavision .
It’s no surprise to me that Egor Venned, who played Baldur, was a model. It is surprising that this is his debut role. He and Pilou Asbæk (Helge) set the screen on fire with their chemistry.
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