''The Valhalla Murders'' ( is, Brot, literally "violation") is an eight-episode police procedural television series produced in
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
, originally airing there in 2019, then released worldwide in 2020 on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
and airing for free on
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002 in the UK.
This is the second Icelandic series to be featured on Netflix,
''Trapped'' (''Ófærð)'' being the first. The plot is loosely based on a real-life incident. As described in an article on the website MEAWW, "In the late 1940s, an almost similar event took place in remote Iceland. A state-run institution ... housed troubled, young boys, aged between seven and 14, where they were beaten and abused by the staff. Although in reality there was no murder, per se, as shown in the series, it caused quite a noise and the boys were eventually compensated in monetary terms."
Cast
*
Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir
Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir (born 25 February 1974) is an Icelandic actress and producer. She is known for '' Children'' (2006), '' Trapped'' (2015), '' Undercurrent'' (2010), '' The Valhalla Murders'' (2020) and ''Blackport'' (2021).
Early li ...
as Kata
*
Björn Thors
Björn Thors (born 12 January 1978) is an Icelandic actor. He is known for his role as Kenneth Máni in ''Fangavaktin'', Hugo Estevez in '' Sjáumst með Silvíu Nótt'' and Darri in '' Katla''.
Personal life
Björn is married to actress Unnur ...
as Arnar
*
Sigurður Skúlason Sigurður () or Sigurdur may refer to:
*Sigurður Bragason (born 1954), Icelandic baritone
*Sigurður Breiðfjörð (1798–1846), Icelandic poet
*Sigurður Eggerz (1875–1945), Prime Minister of Iceland from 1914 to 1915 and from 1922 to 1924
*Si ...
as Magnus
*
Bergur Ebbi Benediktsson as Erlingur
*
Tinna Hrafnsdóttir as Helga
*
Edda Björgvinsdóttir
Guðbjörg Edda Björgvinsdóttir (born 13 September 1952), better known as Edda Björgvinsdóttir, is an Icelandic actress, comedian, writer, director and motivational speaker. She is best known for playing the title role of the 1986 comedy c ...
as Svava
*
Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir as Hugrún
*
Anna Gunndís Guðmundsdóttir as Selma
*
Aldís Amah Hamilton as Dísa
Episodes
Reception
The series received mixed reviews. Writing in ''
The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
'', Brad Newsome says: "Gutsy performances and judicious rationing of the scenery make for terrific viewing." However, Euan Ferguson of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' writes: "Even halfway through it hasn’t quite got going: despite the dramatic backdrops, and a few stalwart performances, the word is glacial." Writing in ''
The List'', Brian Donaldson concludes his review: "''The Valhalla Murders'' is certainly distracting enough, but while it aims to send chills straight down your bones, this Icelandic drama is ultimately a lukewarm bowl of kjotsupa."
See also
*
Nordic noir
References
External links
*
*
RUV (Icelandic)RUV (English)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valhalla Murders, The
2019 Icelandic television series debuts
Icelandic drama television series