Ian Phillips

Archetypal legend of the battle of good vs evil, set in the time of the Vikings. Quality cast and principal actors, backed up by a huge band of re-enactors on horseback, the army of evil, posing as terrifying "bear cult monsters", literally "hell bent" on destroying the genuine local Viking communities. These indigenous communities are ruled by local kings, but in a very pally way. There is much discussion among the good warriors who are set to defend the people against the evil army.......signs of democracy, no less! Out heroes finally unmask the bear cult, finding it to be ruled by a witch doctor couple, imposing a violent regime with plenty of gory horrors. Their army are essentially zombies. No mention of drug use to help the evil enter their minds, is a notable lack. For me this resonates alarmingly well with our current world with its "create a problem, find a solution" fear-inducing cults of climate and covid promoted by those who are using these fears to try to establish a world government ruled by the UN's WHO, as many are beginning to realise. The film was my domestic choice of our Friday night viewing, and we felt the characters rather shallow, with minimal love interest. The experience could easily be quickly dismissed as a "B-movie". But perhaps this shallowness in the personal/emotional expectations we might have, forces us to see beyond to the underlying, and timeless, philosophical and spiritual essence of the tale.