FilmQuest Review: THE HYPERBOREAN is a Bonkers Film with a Laser-Blasting Ice Mummy
I enjoy watching quirky and weird genre films that attempt to do something different and unique than what the main Hollywood studio system continues to pump out. This is why I enjoy attending film festivals and watching the movies they offer. I recently attended the FilmQuest Film Festival and while there, I watched a super fun flick titled The Hyperborean, which tells a bonkers and enjoyable story!
It's not often that we see films made that are as audacious and genre-blending as The Hyperborean. A mashup of family drama, mystery, humor, and a sprinkle of sci-fi supernatural fantasy. This movie seriously takes audiences on quite a wild ride.
The Hyperborean tells the story of a whiskey magnate who summons his contentious family to sample his legacy product: casks of Scotch aged 170 years, recovered from a ghost ship in the Canadian Arctic. The story takes some ridiculous and unexpected twists and turns and just when you think you've got a handle on where the story is headed, the narrative takes an otherworldly turn with the introduction of a laser-blasting ice mummy!
This fantastical movie plays with some wildly bizarre and ambitious concepts, but most importantly, it has heart, especially when it comes to the family dynamic. The movie is filled with colorful weird characters and you can tell the filmmaking team had fun developing those characters and this story.
One of the things that I liked most about the movie is the lore that it builds and explores with the Hyperborean. I also appreciated how that was all incorporated into the story. There’s a very interesting backstory story there that I’d love to see explored more!
The movie was directed by Jesse Thomas Cook (Monster Brawl, Cult Hero) from a script by written Tony Burgess (Pontypool) and it stars Liv Collins, Ry Barrett, Jess Vano, Jonathan Craig, Justin Bott and Tony Burgess.
The Hyperborean knows exactly what kind of movie it is and the filmmakers weren’t afraid to go the crazy places that they wanted to go with it. The movie goes over-the-top at times and they embrace that stuff as it’s all part of the film’s playful style.
For those willing to embark on this unconventional journey, the film offers a blend as memorable and complex as the 170-year-old Scotch at its center.