No Rest for the Wicked is a great title for a movie. With early marketing and reviews from the 2026 Fantasia Film Festival describing it as a queer love story wrapped inside a Gothic vampire drama, perhaps Lestat has a new rival. If we’re judging who wears the crown for best-looking vampire, Helge (Pilou Asbæk), the Danish whaler, wins hands down.
There’s also something to be said for stripping away the Gothic excess that vampire stories from this period embraced. Set in 1862 on the Faroe Islands, this tale exists on the edge of civilization, where survival comes before superstition and every stranger is met with suspicion. Young Baldur (Egor Venned) doesn’t have much to do, and he’s like every other kid from a small village: bored.
After his father’s passing, he can either take care of his mother, Ásla (Sofía Nolsøe), or learn to make it on his own. The only jobs available involve fixing boats or heading out to sea as a fisherman. After rescuing the whaler and discovering an attraction to him, Baldur has no idea that bringing him home to meet his mother will become a problem. Not only is this type of romance considered unacceptable, but when she spots them, well, doing the deed, even she is shocked.
Forbidden desire becomes even more prominent when the supernatural comes into play. While these moments are downplayed to highlight the beauty of this world, what’s presented cleverly foreshadows what’s still to come. There’s the mutilated cattle, where it’s easy to explain why so much blood is missing, and something flying through the air. No, that’s not Odinson riding his black mare over the sea!
My only question is whether vampires exist in Norse lore. They don’t, at least not in the traditional sense. The closest equivalents are the draugr. They’re rooted in Norse ideas about the dead returning and can spread disease, change shape and drink blood. Perhaps the marketing simply got the details wrong. Technically, I don’t remember hearing or seeing the word vampyr anywhere in the dialogue or subtitles.
As for the horror, the visuals lean into the uncomfortable situation Baldur finds himself in. When it comes to folklore and whatever lies beyond the safety of one’s community, even this kid is uncertain. By the time he meets Helge, everything the stranger represents raises the stakes, and nobody likes him.
The villagers find Helge strange, and by the time they drive him away, Baldur is ready to give up everything. Later, while tending sheep with others, he thinks he sees Helge hiding in the fog. In one particularly haunting scene, he’s ready to walk straight into danger. One wrong step could mean sudden death, until someone puts a hand on his shoulder. The warning is enough to suggest he might have fallen, since it’s impossible to see more than a few feet ahead.
This scene is beautifully constructed because it works on several levels. The danger is real. The identity of whoever is hiding in the fog leaves everyone wondering. And while curiosity often kills the cat, this kid doesn’t have enough lives left to risk another day.
That moment also reinforces Baldur’s journey still to come. When he stands at the village gate, he faces a choice: leave or stay behind. I believe he’s standing at a crossroads and what comes next isn’t as simple as surviving a Dungeons & Dragons-style encounter, or making a bargain with the devil.
Honestly, I couldn’t help making that joke because every checkpoint is here. We have the mysterious figure, the young hero, the dead father and the person who changes his path. After the prerequisite visit to the underworld, the big reveal concerns whether Baldur feels all grown up afterwards. While the imagery doesn’t evoke memories of Let the Right One In, I think the reference to finding safety is strong.
While I can easily get lost examining the shorelines of these islands for signs of Hiccup and the dragon riders of Berk, this film isn’t that either. The characters aren’t as cute, and the situation only gets worse as time marches on. People are dying, and nobody explains why.
For viewers willing to immerse themselves in a slow-burning drama steeped in folklore, No Rest for the Wicked offers plenty to dissect and a forbidden romance to explore. But for anyone expecting Interview with the Vampire, but they’re downplayed in favour of something more primal than aristocratic. This mashup will gel for some viewers. As for me, I’ll stick with championing Robert Eggers and A24 films, since they know how to interpret folklore properly.
3 Stars out of 5
No Rest for the Wicked Trailer
