Kraken is the latest Kaiju-sized creature feature from Norway to summon mythical behemoths in response to prevalent environmental concerns. It even features star Sara Khorami, who recently battled a giant in 2025’s Troll 2. Khorami trades land for the fjords here as a marine biologist, taking on aquatic horror tropes when a company’s rush to profit off an untested invention awakens a terror from the deep. While handsomely crafted, Kraken better serves its didactic messaging than its monster.
After a pair of tourists goes missing to the beast in the opening, Johanne (Khorami) gets assigned to investigate strange salmon behavior at the Sognefjord. Her first stop is the local fish farm, run by Erik (Mikkel Bratt Silset), a former colleague with whom she harbors romantic history and developed a sonic tool that’s been completed to delouse the salmon. The problem is that owner Avaldsnes (Øyvind Brandtzæg) has dialed up the sonic blasts to the max in a desperate bid to clinch investors, wreaking havoc on marine life.
Director Pål Øie (The Tunnel), working from a script by Vilde Eide, Kjersti Jelen Rasmussen, and Natasha Arthur, bides his time releasing the Kraken. A curious tentacle here or there, an occasional demise, and parasites of its own inject a few action-horror moments to keep the proceedings chugging along as Kraken meticulously leans into the science of what’s happening. It’s a film that is more interested in capturing the natural beauty of Sognefjord and what’s at stake under the rule of capitalistic greed than spectacle. That’d be fine if it were more fleshed out.
While Kraken mentions the fjord’s deep depths with some regularity, that doesn’t extend to its plot or characters. Avaldnes’ teen daughter, Maria (Jenny Evensen), factors heavily into the plot as the younger gen whistleblower, but is never developed beyond a plot device. Similarly, it’s entirely left to Khorami and Silset to sell their characters’ romantic history and longing in a script that gives not even a hint of it. Fish farm employee Georg (Jon Erik Myre) consumes snacks and anime while spouting exposition, the closest to characterization this film dares to venture.
It’d be less glaring if Øie moved at a brisker clip or injected fresh aquatic horror ideas. While the filmmaker helms a stunning feature befitting of its setting, it’s also a collection of familiar aquatic horror tropes and moments. Waiting for the characters to draw the conclusions seasoned horror fans already arrived at much sooner can get frustrating when the scant horror moments rehash The Meg 2, Underwater, and especially Jaws, saving the full reveal of its beast until the climax. Its arrival is spectacular, of course, but the moral posturing eventually leaves its showstopping action finale with nowhere to go. Editing choices meant to build suspense instead confuse, though Khorami’s calm control at least carries the emotional beats through to the end.
Norway’s legendary sea monster traverses shallow but gorgeous waters in Kraken, rising like a natural guardian in response to human-made destruction. Øie approaches his latest with workman efficiency, delivering a well-made but slight eco-horror movie indebted to more prominent blockbusters.
Kraken releases in select theaters and on digital June 12.
