Thale a Norwegian indie film written and directed by Aleksander Nordaas, starring Erland Nervold, Jon Sigve Skard and Silje Reinamo was one of my favourite films of the TIFF 12 festival. Based on the Norwegian folk lore of “The Huldra”: A seductive creature that lures men into the woods, Thale focuses on Elvisand Leo, two life-long friends who work at the “ No Shit Cleaning Service” a service specializing in the removal and cleanup of body parts and fluids. One day while out on a job them come across a remote cabin in the woods with an abandoned (and grotesque) lab in the basement. In it they find a mysterious woman with a hose down her throat, emerged in a bathtub filled with a strange milky substance. Its apparent she’s been there for a while, but what she is, is the real mystery.

Dark Norwegian fairy tales are on the rise as the next big thing North American audiences are dying to see. With films such as Sundance sweetheart, Troll Hunters setting the precedence for this trend of fresh faced, folk-lore story telling, it’s no wonder viewers are flocking to stories like Thale, while the rest of the market is saturated with the same Creature of The Night re-tellings of stories about Vampires, Zombies and Werewolves.

Thale is an enchanting and disquieting story that never commits to a particular genre of horror or drama, toeing the line between the two for a harmonious blend that keeps you riveted, scared and hooked on each character. Following in the footsteps of similar Norwegian thrillers such as Tomas Alfredson’s ‘Let The Right One In’; the script is subtle and beautifully written, allowing each character to blossom, yet never really reach a full and complete transformation. For me this lends to Thale’s ability to live realistically and powerfully, in a fairytale world. If you’re the type that prefers to see a complete 180 in a character’s’ development over the course of a full length feature than this one may not be for you.