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[Review] ‘The Wave’ is a Fun, Yet Typical Disaster Film With Heart

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Fantastic Fest The Wave Review

It’s been a while since we’ve had a really good disaster film*. Sure, we got San Andreas back in May, but even that one was mediocre at best. Norway’s submission for the 2016 Best Foreign Language Academy Award, The Wave, doesn’t really break the mold when it comes to disaster movies, but it’s a cut above the rest.

*Yes, I’m reviewing a disaster film on a horror movie site. It played at Fantastic Fest, a genre film festival, so I figured why not?

Based on the 1934 tsunami that hit Norway’s Tafjord, The Wave follows Kristian (Kristoffer Jonner, Dead Snow 2) and his wife Idun (Ane Dahl Torp, Dead Snow) as they prepare to move their family out of their small town after Kristian accepts a job at a large oil company. Their small town is situated on the shores of a fjord overseen by Norway’s Akneset mountain pass. At any time, the mountain could collapse in a giant rockslide which would crash into the fjord below, creating a tsunami large enough to destroy the entire town. Guess what happens?

What sets The Wave apart from other disaster films is its very small scope. Taking a page from the 2012 critical darling The ImpossibleThe Wave chooses to set the focus on Kristian and his family, with the titular natural disaster as the backdrop to the family drama. Unlike most American (read: Roland Emmerich-directed) disaster films, there isn’t a cast full of characters for us to know. We get some brief time with Kristian’s co-workers, but other than that it’s all on Kristian and his family.

Unfortunately, The Wave is first and foremost a disaster movie. It follows pretty much every disaster movie trope to a T, both the good and the bad ones. We have Kristian’s boss at his geology station who refuses to believe anything bad will happen and thus waits until the last possible minute (literally) to order his team to sound the alarm and warn the town. Whenever their state-of-the-art equipment tells them something funny is going on, they chalk it up to technological errors. Kristian’s son is listening to music when the alarm goes off and thus causes him and Idun to be trapped at the hotel she works at when the wave strikes. Also, I don’t really understand why anyone would willingly live in this town when they know a giant wave could strike at any moment.

Luckily, the good far outweighs the bad in The Wave. The 10-15 minute sequence of the wave strike is absolutely spectacular. The special effects are top notch and it is almost unbearably tense. Out of all the disaster movies I’ve seen (and I’ve seen many), this sequence stands out as one of the best. Adding to the tension is the score, which is particularly heart-pounding during the moments leading up to the wave strike. The chemistry between all the actors is great, and the performances are refreshingly grounded in a genre where actors can get a little hammy.

The Wave probably won’t get the Academy Award nomination Norway is hoping for, but it’s still a solid entry in the disaster movie genre that wisely wears its heart on its sleeve and, at 105 minutes, doesn’t overstay its welcome. If it does manage to get a theatrical release here in the states, it’s definitely worth a ticket purchase.

A journalist for Bloody Disgusting since 2015, Trace writes film reviews and editorials, as well as co-hosts Bloody Disgusting's Horror Queers podcast, which looks at horror films through a queer lens. He has since become dedicated to amplifying queer voices in the horror community, while also injecting his own personal flair into film discourse. Trace lives in Austin, TX with his husband and their two dogs. Find him on Twitter @TracedThurman

Indie

“Bite Size Short: Her House of Horrors” Announce Short Grant Program!

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Her House of Horrors, the horror division of Independent Production House WOMXNOGRAPHY, has launched its Bite Size Short Grant Program, ahead of its film festival Dollhouse of Horror, which will take place in March 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.

The Bite Size Short Grant Program awards $2,000 film grants to female-identifying and queer horror filmmakers. Shorts must be able to be made for $2,000, with a minimum runtime of 8 minutes. Submissions are now open on Filmfreeway, and are being judged by a panel of horror lovers and content creators.

The 2024 Bite Size Short Grant Program judge lineup is as follows:

“James H. Carter II- A documentary director, film producer, podcaster, marketing specialist, and writer. James is the founder and co-owner of Creepy Kingdom. Creepy Kingdom was founded in 2011 and is a multimedia website, and production studio specializing in creepy content. Their primary focus lies at the intersection of childlike fantasy and the macabre, covering horror films, theme parks, haunts, and much more. Beyond their extensive media coverage, Creepy Kingdom hosts events, offers original merchandise, and engages in film production under the Creepy Kingdom Studios brand producing original films like “Foolish Mortals”, exploring Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” fan culture, and “Georgie”, featuring Tony Dakota from the original “It” miniseries.

“In addition to founding Creepy Kingdom, James has won awards for his documentary work, including the award-winning “Foolish Mortals,” which has earned him recognition. He has been featured on Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween special.

“Ashleeta Beauchamp is the editor-in-chief of Peek-A-Boo! Magazine, a cheeky horror magazine created to uplift marginalized writers, artists, models and other creators within the horror community. She also runs The Halloween Coalition, a community group to provide support and marketing for horror and Halloween events around the Southern California area.

“Titeanya Rodríguez is a multi-hyphenate creative, and the founder and owner of HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, home of DOLLHOUSE OF HORROR and the horror division of WOMXNOGRAPHY. As a fellow storyteller and a self-proclaimed artivist, Titeanya’s mission is to create opportunities for women of color and queer women, across film, tv, sports, music, and beyond. She is also the creator of the BITE SIZE SHORT grant program.”

Winners will have a one-night theatrical screening at Regal Cinemas. Submissions Close April 8 at Midnight. Winners will be announced on May 27, 2024. Shorts must be shot and through post-production by June 30, 2024. The screening will take place on July 8, 2024, in Los Angeles, CA.

WOMXNOGRAPHY, HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, and Rodriguez are represented by Azhar PR, Granderson Des Rochers, and Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir.

To submit your short to the Bite Size Short Grant Program, go to the FilmFreeway link here.

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