Pedra Maldita

When I started watching this I thought it was going to be really boring and didn't pay much attention to what was going on. However, it seems that The Runestone is one of those films that improves as it goes on, because things seemed to pick up in the second half. The mystery surrounding the monster slowly sucks you in. The best scene is in the art museum, where a girl is doing some ironing (in a display box thingy) and people are watching her. Suddenly the monster bursts in and attacks her, and blood sprays across the windows. One of the people watching then says: "What's the artist trying to say?" to which another replies "Housework kills". The monster then bursts through the glass and attacks them too. This scene is priceless and definitely worth seeing the film for! There are a few other cool scenes after this which keep you watching. The acting is quite decent and better than most horror flicks.

Overall, The Runestone is worth a watch for horror fans who can tolerate a bit of cheese.

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.

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)

"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

The miners discover strange runestone in the mine.The runestone is transported to New York.Not long after that an archaeologist Martin Almquist,while studying a discovery,cuts his finger and becomes a blood-thirsty monster.This creature-on-the-loose flick isn't very good,but isn't completely bad either.The film tries to be scary and exciting at the same time,some lines are also pretty funny.No gore at all-for me the lack of blood is disappointing.The acting is acceptable,the monster is creepy looking and kills so many cops that it has to be seen to be believed.Good for the rainy day,just don't expect anything special.My rating:5/10.