The Runestone

The Runestone is one of those early 90's efforts that relied on lighting effects to disguise the dreadful creature. It's a really messy feature that gets by barely on its decent cast.

Telling the story of a man who makes a deal with a Runestone and becomes the Norse creature known as Fenrir which lore has it is a fierce wolf yet in this appears more yeti-like.

William Hickey and Peter Riegert put on their usual excellent performances and the latter some much needed comic relief. Remember that long blonde haired head henchman from the original Die-hard film? Well he hams it up here as well and is almost as bad as the creature itself.

Generally features of this type from this period I found entertaining but this is an absolute mess from start to the extremely poor finale.

The Good:

William Hickey

Peter Riegert

The Bad:

Poor plot

Fenrir looks pretty damn terrible

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Modern art is not subjective it's stupid and pretentious

Giant monsters can easily sneak into the backseat of your car while you're in it without you noticing

When will you Americans learn about the rest of the world ? What exactly is the "Norse" mythology ? You probably mean Norwegian mythology ? But that's not correct either ! What you really should talk about in this matter is Scandinavian mythology, and if you don't know what countries that Scandinavia consist of that's really a shame. But since I, am a nice guy I will tell you. Scandinavia consists of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Finland. And they all where (except Finland) what you in the rest of the world call "vikings" ! The fact that the "vikings" really didn't exist at all, at least not in the way that you probably think they did is another story all together

//Karl (from Sweden)

Just another monster on the loose feature, no surprises abound and routine as ever but remains entertaining for while it lasted. Never have I heard of it, until just recently. You could possibly see why. Far from memorable, but it's well made and its stark-like b-grade material (adapted off a novel) is quite polished. Fans of "The Relic" or even "Rawhead Rex" might get something out of it. Where I give it props is the origin of the mythological beast, Norse (Viking) folklore and the creation was something like a werewolf crossed ape design. Formidable in appearance, while it goes about tearing flesh, taking bites and for most part staying in the shadows. Even with this ancient prophecy background, some things felt a little unclear (like that of Alexander Godunov's mysterious stranger clockmaker character) if too black and white. The plot follows that of an archaeologist who uncovers an ancient Norse artifact; a power stone and returns to New York with it. However this stone possesses an evil which projects itself into the archaeologist, transforming him into a vicious beast that goes about terrorising the people of New York. Now it's up to an archaeologist and his artist wife to begin to investigate the threat and figure a way to stop it. It's as simple as that, but director / writer Willard Carroll's methodical handling is stylishly glassy and well-paced in its clichéd structure. Creating some moments of suspense, with grisly jolts and dark atmospheric encounters consisting of brooding lighting amongst its urban framework. The performances are strongly delivered with the likes of Peter Riegert (providing touches of humour) and Joan Severance standing out. You also have character actor William Hickey and the always hard-boiled Lawrence Tierney in small, but important parts.

"I'm sure there's a logical explanation to all of this"

I must comment on this film. It's one of my favorites. It superbly blends Norse mythology and imaginative writing to deliver a gripping, suspenseful tale. The script is witty and fast-paced. The Runestone is actually somewhat of an intelligent film. Sure, this is a lower budget project; but the director spent his money well. He put considerable effort into developing the characters. The monster is truly frightening. The production values are excellent. Some of the scenes possess a surreal quality that I really enjoy. The cast is certainly up to the task. Joan Severence gives an compelling, vivacious performance. In fact, everyone in the film is entertaining. The melding of the New York avant garde art world with Norse archaeology in various scenes is one of the elements that let this film enthrall the viewer. Its a fun ride to just sit back and enjoy the ambience and imagination of it all.

I consider "The Runestone" one of the top films in the monster genre. I think that once you see it you will too.

"The Runestone" is a conglomeration of ideas, some good, but mostly bad. The mythological reasoning for a Norse discovering of America, long before Christopher Columbus, is shear genius. It seems that the Norwegians had a monster, closely resembling "Pumpkinhead", that they wished to dispose of. Tricking the beast and entombing him in a gigantic rock, they then set sail for the farthest disposal land they could find, thus stumbling upon America, and dumping their unwanted rock in what is now Pennsylvania. This concludes the good ideas. Once their rock is unearthed in a coal mine, and brought to New York City, we get a standard monster on the loose affair. It is a real shame that an intriguing cast, including William Hickey, Lawrence Tierney, Peter Riegert, and Joan Severance, is so badly wasted here. Another uneasy element is the weak attempt to throw levity into the mix, although there is one "Paul Bartel type" dark comedy moment in an art gallery, that is definitely worth seeing. - MERK