Sixteen years after the release of Nicolas Winding Refn’s cult classic Valhalla Rising, the long-awaited sequel, Valhalla Rising 2, has arrived — and it is as brutal, meditative, and visually arresting as fans of the original could hope for.
Starring Mads Mikkelsen once again as the enigmatic warrior One-Eye, Valhalla Rising 2 is neither a conventional sequel nor a straightforward narrative. Instead, it is a mythic descent into the psychological and spiritual abyss, continuing Refn’s exploration of violence, identity, and salvation — all soaked in mud, blood, and haunting silence.
The story picks up years after the events of the first film, which ended with One-Eye’s apparent sacrifice in the New World. In Valhalla Rising 2, he awakens not in death, but in a liminal realm — a bleak, frost-covered land between worlds. His body scarred and soul fractured, One-Eye embarks on a harrowing pilgrimage north through what seems to be an afterlife inspired by Norse cosmology, encountering spectral warriors, lost gods, and dying kings.
The journey is episodic, surreal, and largely wordless. It is less about plot than atmosphere — a visual and philosophical experience designed to challenge rather than comfort. Refn calls the film “a Viking dreamscape,” and the description fits.
Despite having no spoken lines, Mikkelsen’s performance is commanding. One-Eye is older, more haunted, but no less deadly. His presence dominates every frame, and the Danish actor once again channels pure emotion through movement, stillness, and those piercing eyes.
Where the first film was about survival and conquest, the sequel dives into questions of redemption, memory, and eternal conflict. Mikkelsen’s portrayal of One-Eye now carries not just power, but profound sorrow — a man cursed to wander not only the earth, but the echoes of his past violence.
Shot entirely in Iceland and Norway, the film’s visuals are its own kind of epic poetry. Vast, empty tundras. Ash-colored skies. Forests that feel alive with ghosts. Refn, along with cinematographer Natasha Braier, crafts a film that feels like it was carved from ancient myth — slow, painterly, and terrifyingly still.
The score, composed by Jóhann Jóhannsson’s protégé Einar Valdís, blends low drones, throat singing, and ambient terror to create a sonic landscape that crawls under your skin.
Critics at the Cannes Film Festival were split — some called it “hypnotic genius,” others “unwatchable art-house madness.” But none could deny its ambition.
For fans of the first film, Valhalla Rising 2 is not just a sequel — it’s a spiritual continuation. For newcomers, it’s an invitation into a world where meaning is buried under layers of silence and snow.
As One-Eye walks off into the northern fog once more, it’s clear: the journey is far from over.
