Fantasia Fest 2026: No Rest for the Wicked Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

Director Kasper Kalle travels to the Faroe Islands with his new film No Rest for the Wicked, adapting a little-known short story by Karl Heinrich Ulrichs called Manor published in 1884. Patiently crafted in unraveling this supernatural love story set against unrelenting weather in the Faroe Islands landscape, Kalle’s interpretation of a vampire romance film quietly unfolds its compelling narrative over this remarkably atmospheric tale.

Unrelenting is an understatement of how fast the weather can change on the Faroe Islands, as described by Kalle himself at the film’s premiere at Fantasia. Located at sea between Iceland and Norway as a territory of Denmark, the film’s harsh climate location paired with the 19th-century setting emerges as an exceptional choice for this isolated, claustrophobic story. Kalle takes immense advantage of the region’s astonishing terrain to establish the film’s gloomy atmosphere. We see Baldur (Venned), a young fisherman who routinely navigates his homeland’s beautiful but treacherous landscape. One day, when he meets a traveling drifter, Helge (Asbæk), the two become drawn to each other in many ways.

Venned and Asbæk’s endearing chemistry provides immediate captivation to the ambiguous romantic and supernatural connection that becomes oppressed by this small Christian village. Helge’s alluring presence to Baldur is equally comforting in our viewing of this romance, as it is mysterious that comes with unknown drifters hitting this isolated island, a portrayal which Asbæk refreshingly depicts with ease compared to his usual intimidating roles – a role which awarded him Best Performance by Fantasia’s Cheval Noir jury. Venned is similarly cryptic as Baldur, convincingly balancing the character’s struggle between staying on the islands to provide for his mother or venturing off at sea with Helge.

When tragedy strikes the village, Kalle’s atmospheric drama steadily turns into this folklore horror that succeeds at unnerving audiences with the uncertainty of how such a vampire tale that this will blossom into – which begs the question of whether such twists would be much better kept secret until watching the film. He brilliantly blurs the line in the subtlety behind whether the leading men’s romantic or supernatural connection is the root of the village’s oppression. Kalle’s use of natural lighting within this stunning landscape, unsettling folk music, and unique take on vampire mythology encompasses a well-crafted, grounded horror film – which the Cheval Noir jury also granted Kalle with the Best Director prize.

Kalle’s atmospheric tale, No Rest for the Wicked, utilizes the incredible chemistry between Egor Venned and Pilou Asbæk to bring this romantic and supernatural connection to life, while creating a grounded vampire tale set in the beautiful Faroe Islands.

still courtesy of Charades

If you liked this, please read our other reviews here and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook.

Costa Christoulas

letterboxd.com/cchris_/