The Northman is an intense, violent and cinematic experience

You’ll be putting down the popcorn within minutes of the movie starting because food and The Northman don’t mix well.

On a scale of Paddington 2 to Quentin Tarantino, The Northman definitely tips in at the extreme end of the violence scale.

There are disbowelments, beheadings and more stabby-stabs than you can count. If you’re squeamish, The Northman is going to send you into a spin, and you’re definitely going to stop wolfing down that bucket of popcorn. Food and The Northman don’t mix.

Starring Alexander Skarsgard, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Nicole Kidman and Claes Bang, The Northman is an epic Viking tale of vengeance and fate. And you can’t exact revenge without spilling a lot of blood.

The Northman is an extravagant and unshackled cinematic experience with a vibe akin to a rock opera performed at the foot of an active volcano – and yes, there is a scene set at the foot of an active volcano and it is insane in the best way.

Alexander Skarsgard channelling the primal energy of The Northamn. Picture: Aidan Monaghan/Focus Features

The Northman is heightened in every way, but it is also unequivocally engaging so that your attention never wavers. Even when you instinctively look away, – because, you know, the violence – your eyes will dart back immediately. You wouldn’t want to miss a moment.

The story and characters are based on a Viking legend that provided the basis for William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, so that should give you an idea about the scale of what’s at stake – all those grand human experiences between life and death such as honour and shame, love and hate, and betrayal and revenge.

Amleth (Skarsgard) was a child prince when he witnessed his father King Aurvandill (Hawke) murdered by his uncle Fjolnir (Bang), barely escaping and pledging to avenge his dad’s death and rescue his mother Gudrun (Kidman).

Raised to kill, pillage and plunder by a group of Vikings, the adult Amleth has an unquenchable bloodthirst, one which he directs at his uncle when he spots an opportunity to infiltrate Fjolnir’s chiefdom.

Disguised as a slave, Amleth plots his revenge, aided by Olga (Taylor-Joy), a fellow slave with sorcery powers, and with the push of a seer (Bjork) and a he-witch (Ingvar Sigurdsson) who talk of prophecies and fate.

The Northman is not for the queasy. Picture: Aidan Monaghan/Focus Features

Filmmaker Robert Eggers made his splashy debut in 2015 with The Witch, which launched his and Taylor-Joy’s careers. His follow-up The Lighthouse was a disturbing black-and-white two-hander with Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe that easily crossed the line into grotesquerie.

With The Northman, Eggers hasn’t dulled his instincts to challenge, but it is less scrappy than his previous works – perhaps that’s due to the epic scale of the story, which required a more even-keeled tone. There’s no question though, that Eggers is in command of his primal and raw vision.

The near-monochromatic visuals, punctuated at times with vivid reds (fire and blood) and greens (the Icelandic landscape), often captured in confronting close-ups or elaborately staged long takes, are extraordinary to watch on a large screen.

Everything about The Northman is intense, from the fierce performances to the pounding score, an all-consuming experience that elicits visceral reactions.

It’s not for everyone, but those who vibe with it will be blown away.

Rating: 4/5

The Northman is in cinemas now