(Credits: Focus Features / Universal Pictures)

Netflix has a track record of shocking you every time it releases a list, and the regulars know about its weekly list of top ten global movies and series. While it’s generally a mix of all genres, we have our eye on some Vikings.

Remember the 2022 action thriller The Northman? Well, a lot do because the film is back in the charts on Netflix, and you can say it’s both expected and unexpected. Expected in a way that Netflix’s audience seems to be particularly action inclined this week, and the unexpected part is that it is competing with a kids’ movie to secure a slot.

The film is currently ranking at number eight, and it’s the first time it has made it to the Top 10 list on Netflix. As you know, this three-year-old film packed a ton of hype for being the “Viking revenge epic”. What was shocking was that it then sort of disappeared after theatres. Nobody knew where it went, and then suddenly Netflix added it to its catalogue.

What is The Northman really about?

Coming to the plot, the setup of the film is straight out of the legend-sphere. Once young Prince Amleth watched his father be murdered, he reflexively swore revenge. Years later, building on that promise and himself, he’s transmuted into a hulking warrior who looks less man and more wolf, ready to rip someone apart. Alexander Skarsgård’s Amleth sees the whole film basically trying to keep that promise of vengeance so ardently that you can feel every ounce of obsession in his performance.

But it’s not just Skarsgård carrying the flag of revenge. The Queen’s Gambit star Anya Taylor-Joy shows up as Olga in the movie, and the way she plays off him will give you chills. Her character adds this strange tenderness to a story that was otherwise mud, blood, and fire.

Don’t worry; the brilliant cast doesn’t end there. Jumping on board the crew is Nicole Kidman, who, in just one scene, flips the script on the whole. It is definitely one of those moments in the film that makes you pause and go, wait… did that really just happen?

True to form, Robert Eggers is the kind of director to focus on the details, as well as the larger background, ensuring the movie is neither clean nor comfortable. Everything looks so authentic that it takes you to the point where you can almost smell the sweat and smoke. There are scenes with Viking rituals that are so bizarre you can’t look away, and then there are fights that are brutally, almost unwatchably real.

You might wonder why it is climbing the ladder now. The plausible answer is that it’s mostly the people who maybe skipped it in theatres and are giving it a chance, only to come to a realisation that it’s not just an action movie. Instead, this one makes you sit with the idea of revenge, think about how it eats at you, and what’s left when you finally get it.

So if you’ve been scrolling past it thinking it’s just another swords-and-shields thing, stop. Put it on, just, maybe don’t plan on sleeping too easily after.