Todd Terwilliger

If a Viking takes a dump in the woods, does he make sound? Yes, yes he does. How do I know this? Because I made the mistake of seeing Severed Ways at the Angelika Film Center on Saturday.

The premise of the film reads like a teenage boy’s wet dream:

Abandoned by a Western exploration party and stranded in the New World, two lone Vikings wade through a grand primeval landscape, struggling for survival while still in the grip of their Norse ways. An impressive DIY epic, SEVERED WAYS features a frosty black metal soundtrack, including Burzum, Morbid Angel, Judas Priest and Dimmu Borgir.

How could something that sounds so good turn out so horribly, awfully wrong? Where should I begin?

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