This is movie is somewhat of an adaptation of the Beowulf story – but instead of the serpent there is an evil tribe of monsters coming to attack the town at night.

Pros – great scenery for once, natural colors, surprisingly consistent atmosphere, the not-so-cheesy dialogues, no boss-bitch character or cringe over-acting yet (1999).

Cons – “cultural exchange & diversity” theme, de-sacralization of myths and legends as well as native European artefacts (The Venus of Paleolite as an evil symbol? come on).

An Arab fighting alongside Europeans, exchanging culture and bonding around common experiences later – the 90s were big on such happy multicultural mumbo-jumbo.

The Norsemen are obviously rude and dirty, they spit into the same bowl where they wash their faces, there’s a disgusting shaman, and so on. The Arab is nice and tidy, controls his temper, and contributes his wisdom.

These myths seemed cute and harmless back then, but got really old by 2025.

However, the worst subversion in the movie is in the desacralization of our folklore and mythology.

It’s that very familiar trope “nothing happens due to Gods or demons, it’s all just people and their tricks”.

This is the opposite of what we see in native European epos, where both Gods and humans exercise their will and pursue their goals.

Movies like “Hercules” with Dwayne Johnson do the same desacralization but on steroids & even more blatantly.

Kids like watching these films because of all the action – but you need to hold discussions and help them see through the propaganda.

Pagan Father score – 4/10