It is the night before Christmas and all through the decrepit school house nothing is stirring, not even a mouse.
Well that is not exactly the truth, but what has happened in this weather beaten building in the barren Icelandic tundra is more akin to cruel fantasy than stark reality. A few days ago the participants of an experimental rehab clinic came there in order to cast out their inner demons, stay away from temptation and finally discover a little about their sober selves. That didn’t go quite according to plan, but they discovered Santa was real.
Not the jolly fat man of the Coca Cola variety, but the scary outlawish Yule Man from Icelandic folk tales. Legend tells us that they were 13: Peeping Tom, Meathook and other family friendly names; and they were the children of a cannibalistic ogre called Greela, who was as old as the Sagas. Throughout the centuries they were used to frighten children – to ensure they would stay in over the harsh Christmas period.
Being used to that every day is a constant struggle for survival and the next fix the participants manage to fend of the Yule Men’s first attack – suffering some casualties in the battle. “Unholy Night” takes place the night after the first attack
Credit
Director | Árni Þór Jónsson |
ORIGINAL TITLE | Örstutt jól |
ENGLISH TITLE | Unholy Night |
ORIGINAL LANGUAGE | Icelandic |
GENRE | Thriller |
PRODUCERS | Thor S. Sigurjónsson, Skúli Fr. Malmquist & Grímar Jónsson |
SCRIPT | Ottó Geir Borg & Ómar Hauksson |
CAST | Ari Matthíasson, Ísgerður Elfa Gunnarsdóttir, Laufey Elíasdóttir, Rúnar Jakobsson, Stefán Hallur Stefánsson, Þorri Jensson, Agnar Einar Knútsson |
Co production company | Republik Productions |
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY | Bergsteinn Björgúlfsson |
EDITOR | Árni Þór Jónsson |
PRODUCTION DESIGNER | Halfdán Pedersen |
SOUND DESIGNER | Kjartan Kjartansson & Ingvar Lundberg |
MUSIC | Barði Jóhannsson & Eberg |
MAKE UP | Ásta Hafþórsdóttir & Stefán Jörgen |