Kraken (2026) Review: Story, Verdict & Where to Watch

The Deep's Disturbing Call

The 2026 release, Kraken, written and directed by Pål Øie, plunges cinemagoers into the chilling waters of Norwegian fjords and combines both ecological fears and ancientdreads. The plot is fairly straight forward, yet gripping. A marine biologist (Sara Khorami) is working on her research at a fish farm, when a series of strange happening begin to occur. As a foreshadow to things to come, the audience witnesses the brutal murders of two teens. Immediately after, the police begin an investigation to find out what " Something" is causing the death and has begun to terrorize the village. Kraken is yet another variation of the Leviathan story. A marine biologist's research begins to unearth the dangerous nature of our impact on the environment. It also demonstrates a new, creative way to include modern Environmental storytelling with the classic Leviathan plot. The leviathan plot has been done numerous times throughout history and has become a bit predictable, but Kraken does an excellent job of world building and uniquely demonstrates the Norwegian fjords as a serene, yet menacing and potentially dangerous place.

Crafting the Creature and Its World

One of Kraken’s most notable strengths is the execution of the creature and the world it inhabits. Audiences appreciate the ability of Norwegian filmmakers to make good monsters, and Kraken continues the trend. The film is reported to use a combination of props mixed with bigger pieces of CGI and, overall, has a ton of cool creatures and props. Having a combination of practical effects mixed with CGI gives weight to the monsters, and makes it easy to believe they can exist. Pål Øie seems to have a steady and good ability to build the genre’s expectation of sci-fi tinged horror, and actually deliver. Some reviews seemed to appreciate the even pacing, but some seemed to believe it would have worked better had it not meandered so much. Though some people appreciated the shallow characterization, others found it to be lightweight superficial, although it was stated that Sara Khorami as the marine biologist was appreciated for bringing a calm ‘earth mother-type presence’ to the biologist. Having a good and strong performance like this, as well as good character casting and good motivations brings a good human presence to an otherwise monstrous film. The marine biology vibes and the excellent visual effects of the movie’s main creature bring a lot of sheer visual enjoyment.

Pacing, Predecessors, and the Eco-Message

Though I appreciate the craft and commitment to atmosphere and style, Kraken has major problems with its plot. Most reviews mention pacing and how viewers don't really get to the monster until nearly an hour. The monster’s reveal works for building suspense in other movies, but with modern audiences and monster movies in particular, attention spans have been trained to be shorter than ever. Also, narratively it's been said this movie is “too much like yesterday’s blockbusters.” That it relies on the past movies of the same genre way too much. The “B” stories, character arcs, and plots in general, all suffer from the fact that this movie has seen the same movies you and I have. While depiction of Jaws and even Godzilla has its merits, a lot of the formulaic tropes modern monster movies have also hurts the potential identity of this movie in particular. Along these same lines, the eco-friendly messaging is good and well, but some viewers say the message becomes more important than the monster itself and dampens the whole experience. These viewers say this movie is “preachy.” Some say it works for this movie, and that people get what this movie is going for in the long run. By how other people have reacted to this movie, it depends on the kind of audience this movie is for. How much you enjoy the plot will determine how much you appreciate the themes of the movie.

Who Should Answer the Kraken's Call?

If you appreciate films with environmental theming and a classic creature feature, try Kraken. While this movie might not be for those who are easily bored, it does build dread very well and has spectacular monsters, set in a campy but beautiful backdrop of Norway. Any fan of that horrifying "exploring the unknown" thriller who is interested in facing the consequences of Man's actions will enjoy Kraken. However, those wanting a monster movie that is more monster action before everything else, will probably be more bored in the first hour like most people are. There aren't a lot of surprises in the narrative, and the character happenings are nothing new for a first-glance viewer. Kraken does a fairly good job in promising to have a big monster, and it even delivers temporary satisfaction for those looking for that genre, but if you are looking for a thoughtful movie with original character growth, you should look somewhere else. If you are a CocoFlix subscriber, this is definitely a good classic monster action and horror flick that you are looking for, along with a beautiful Norwegian background.