Mountain King is a new horror comedy from writer and director Gabrielle Christensen that takes the awkward experience of meeting your boyfriend's parents and turns it into something considerably worse.
The film mixes relationship comedy with Nordic folklore and monster horror, with the whole thing eventually becoming a rather unpleasant family reunion involving ancient traditions, trolls and people who apparently have very different ideas about what makes a good family dinner.
Meeting the Family Goes Badly
Hannah Deale plays Hannah, who travels to Scandinavia without telling her boyfriend Gregor because she wants to surprise him and finally meet his parents, and it probably doesn't take much imagination to work out that the surprise doesn't go particularly well.
Gregor's family have their own traditions and beliefs, and Hannah gradually discovers that there is something seriously strange about the people she has just turned up to meet, as things become much more dangerous as she learns about their history and the things they have been keeping from her.
The basic pitch has been described as "meet the parents, but the parents are trying to eat you", which is probably all you really need to know about the direction this is heading.
There Are Trolls Involved
The film uses Nordic folklore, particularly Swedish trolls, as part of its horror story, and Christensen has talked about the film being partly about family and assimilation - Hannah is trying to become part of Gregor's family, but that means dealing with a completely different set of traditions and expectations.
That idea gets taken to a rather extreme place here, as Hannah finds herself having to work out exactly what this family believes, what they expect from her and what happens if she doesn't fit in.
And, unfortunately for her, some of those traditions involve monsters.
Gabrielle Christensen Makes Her Feature Debut
Mountain King is Christensen's first feature as a director. She also co-wrote the screenplay with Graham Dunn and Simon Louis Ong - Christensen has said that some of the ideas in the movie came from her own experiences of being introduced to a new family and dealing with unfamiliar traditions and different ways of doing things. She wanted to take those fairly normal relationship experiences and turn them into something much stranger.
The film was also made on a 14-day shooting schedule on a very tight budget and in difficult conditions, including extremely cold weather.
The main cast includes Hannah Deale as Hannah, Carter Sirianni as Gregor, Iryna Malygina as Ingrid and Keoki Trask as Vilhelm, with Juan Paulo Munevar and Sarah Eunsung Kim also appearing.
Graham Barbour handled cinematography and Dylan Lanham edited the film.
Mountain King Festival Release
Mountain King began its festival run in 2026, including a screening at the Los Angeles Horror Film Festival in May - it is also scheduled for an East Coast premiere at the 2026 Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, where the movie is listed with a runtime of 94 minutes.
There is currently no confirmed wide theatrical or streaming release date, as the film is still being submitted to festivals, so the release situation could change as more screenings and distribution deals are announced.
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