Thale (2012)

The Huldra is a seductive forest creature found in Scandinavian folklore.  The huldra is a stunningly beautiful, sometimes naked woman with long hair; though from behind she is hollow like an old tree trunk, and has an animal's tail.  In Norway, she has a cow's tail, and in Sweden she may have that of a cow or a fox.  Further in the north of Sweden, the tail can be entirely omitted in favor of her hollow or bark-covered back.
The huldras were held to be kind to charcoal burners, watching their charcoal kilns while they rested. Knowing that she would wake them if there were any problems, they were able to sleep, and in exchange they left provisions for her in a special place. A tale from Närke illustrates further how kind a huldra could be, especially if treated with respect.

A boy in Tiveden went fishing, but he had no luck.  Then he met a beautiful lady, and she was so stunning that he felt he had to catch his breath.  But, then he realized who she was, because he could see a fox's tail sticking out below the skirt.  As he knew that it was forbidden to comment on the tail to the lady of the forest, if it were not done in the most polite manner, he bowed deeply and said with his softest voice, "Milady, I see that your petticoat shows below your skirt".  The lady thanked him gracefully and hid her tail under her skirt, telling the boy to fish on the other side of the lake.  That day, the boy had great luck with his fishing and he caught a fish every time he threw out the line.  This was the huldra's recognition of his politeness.

Actors: Silje Reinåmo, Erlend Nervold, Jon Sigve Skard, Morten Andresen, Roland Astrand Directors: Aleksander Nordaas Format: Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen Language: Norwegian Subtitles: English Dubbed: English Rated: Unrated Studio: Xlrator DVD Release Date: April 23, 2013 Run Time: 77 minutes

Thale (2012) is a Norwegian supernatural horror film directed and written by Aleksander L. Nordaas.  The film was released in Norway on February 17, 2012, with a following worldwide release, sold to over 50 countries.
Elvis and Leo run a crime scene cleanup business and are hired to clean up after a death, when they discover Thale, a huldra that appears to be incapable of human speech, hidden in a basement.  She has been held captive there for a long time, and something or someone wants her back.
Thale is shown in the film appearing as a tall beautiful woman with a cow tail in keeping with the traditional legends of the Huldra, however she does not have a hollowed out back like a hollow tree.  Her fellow Huldra appear more like very lean hooved female Satyrs with the cow tail showing in the back.  The special effects presenting the creatures are first rate.
In a world where most reviewers are downrating this film for lack of gore or edge of your seat scares I veer away from the pack and say that if you want something that is slow burning and just plain creepy you can not go wrong with this film.  There are a few points where you will wonder what you are looking at but that just adds to the story.  The mythology says the huldra is a stunningly beautiful woman and the casting is perfect with Silje Reinamo.  She is painfully gorgeous and a joy to watch both for that and he ability to act the crap out of this role.

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Related Articles:

• Huldra – Wikipedia
• Thale – Wikipedia
• Thale – Amazon