Mutes

Valhalla Rising is a stylish bloody barbarian-esque fable about the travels of a mean, one-eyed mute who kills people real well and sees the future. Filmed here in Scotland it's all inky skies and bleak landscapes, bad trips and more than a few violent deaths. The acting is pretty good but some of the sparse dialogue is weak and in my opinion it all splutters towards a mediocre end. I did enjoy it and it's a refreshing change from the usual sword and sorcery Xena-tat but I'd prefer a bit more meat on such lovely bones.

There's a streak of black comedy running through Mute Witness that helps round out what's essentially a ridiculous thriller. A mute girl working as a makeup girl on a crappy Russian horror movie gets locked in the studio overnight and gets involved in a cat and mouse game with a pair of snuff movie dudes. For a one trick pony it surprisingly tense before it descends into farce, plot twists and bloody laughs, it also features a bizarre cameo from Alec Guinness as the kingpin and a woman from Cold Feet as the sister. It's dated and a bit silly but I still kinda liked it - looks like someone else has faith as it's slated for a remake.