10 Movies Like The Northman You Should Watch

The Northman is already being called one of the best movies of the year, and has been praised for breathtaking, even disturbing action sequences, unique performances, and a well-told tale of vengeance. Director and co-writer Robert Eggers has become one of the most popular young directors working today. Between The VVitch and The Lighthouse, The Northman comes to us with a fair amount of anticipation.

The story of a Viking prince who seeks revenge against those who have murdered and currently threaten his family is straightforward enough. However, given those involved in this truly unique historical fantasy epic, it’s safe to say the movie is going to be unlike anything we’ve seen with this type of story in the past.

Even so, whether you are interested in classic Viking films, or perhaps a good story of bloodthirsty retribution between two powerful forces, there are tons of good movies like The Northman to check out.

Nothing will be exactly the same as The Northman, but you can get close enough with these ten movies like The Northman in one or several ways.

 

Movies Like The Northman

10. 300 (2006)

Director: Zack Snyder

While 300 doesn’t involve Vikings in any form or fashion, 300 does have plenty to offer those looking for movies like The Northman.

Like The Northman, 300 is an extreme underdog story with stylized performances, costumes, and action scenes. 300 received mixed reviews from critics, but few could deny the film’s visual intensity in its story of 300 Spartan warriors (led by Gerard Butler) taking a bloody stand against the Persian army during the Battle of Thermopylae.

While loosely based on real events, the film is in fact an adaptation of a graphic novel by Frank Miller (Sin City). If you know the style of that artist, and you’re familiar with Zack Snyder, then you can already imagine how this movie looks and moves. On those fronts, 300 was and remains an impressive piece of entertainment.

Just don’t expect much else here. The acting and writing takes itself a little too seriously, and that occasionally takes the movie to distractingly ridiculous heights. A lot of people wind up getting too wrapped up in the costumes, cinematography, and cinematic savagery to really care.

 

9. The 13th Warrior (1999)

Director: John McTiernan and Michael Crichton

Trapped in a massive budget it couldn’t hope to make back, and plagued by reshoots and other difficulties, The 13th Warrior opened to dismal reviews and poor box office. The story of an exiled Muslim ambassador (Antonio Banderas) teaming up with Vikings to take on an evil force was praised for its set pieces and general action, but criticized for its plot, pacing, and performances.

Not surprisingly, the film has found an appreciative cult audience through the years. The truth of the matter is that if you don’t really care about the plot, which is at least serviceable for this movie, you’re probably going to have a really good time.

The Northmen in general are commonly associated with violence and warfare. At least, as many movies are concerned. Both 2022’s The Northman and this film depict the Vikings as warriors capable of surviving the most punishing of conflicts. Both films emphasize stylish action, although it’s difficult to deny that as entertaining as it is, The 13th Warrior is a messy film and depiction of these people.

 

8. Ben-Hur (1959)

Director: William Wyler

Winning 11 Academy Awards (the first of three films to do that) and rave reviews from critics and audiences alike, Ben-Hur is still held up as an example of the Hollywood epic at its very best. A running time of nearly 3 ½ hours, more than 15000 extras, and some of the best chase scenes ever put on film are just a few of the highlights of this legendary movie. As an overwhelming combination of storytelling and spectacle, Ben-Hur really does deserve its enduring reputation to impress.

The chariot scene in Ben-Hur alone makes it worth a recommendation. However, that famous scene is only one incredible moment to behold. It’s not necessary to go into this with prior knowledge or even interest in these characters and story.

Both Ben-Hur and The Northman feature the story of a man (in Ben-Hur’s case, a career-defining performance by Charlton Heston) who is forced from his home and endeavors to restore that home by any means necessary. For several reasons, these films tell that story in profoundly different ways, yet both aspire to leave audiences in complete awe of the vengeance they have just seen.

 

7. Beowulf (2007)

Director: Robert Zemeckis

If nothing else, Beowulf is admirable for its ambition. Director Robert Zemeckis, along with screenwriters Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary, aspired to tell a grand, bold-yet-respectful cinematic adaptation of the Old English poem. The film featured a stacked cast of accomplished actors, including Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, and Angelina Jolie. On top of all of this, the movie would also feature one of the most elaborate motion capture efforts ever conceived for the medium of film itself.

It’s unfortunate that all of these strong elements didn’t quite make for the epic rendition everyone involved was hoping for. Beowulf is interesting, but the visuals were by and large off-putting in 2007. They haven’t aged well in the proceeding years either.

Beyond the Nordic and Viking influences on the text of Beowulf itself, the film has a down-and-dirty approach to mixing human beings and the fantastical that’s reminiscent of The Northman. Both stories also have a lot to say about revenge. It’s just that beyond some good performances, and some solid action scenes, Beowulf doesn’t have a lot to offer.

 

6. Gladiator (2000)

Director: Ridley Scott

Of all the movies being compared to The Northman, Gladiator is the one that has perhaps been mentioned the most. Although it could be said Northman is a little, well, uglier in its storytelling, while Gladiator has all the earmarks of a modernized-but-still-old-school Hollywood epic, the comparisons aren’t unreasonable.

Both depict a man (a beast of an Oscar-winning performance by Russell Crowe) who is robbed of everything, brought to ruin, and separated from those he loves. It will take the blood of others for justice to be had.

Both films focus on a driven, almost unnatural human being and the unshakable task of destruction at hand. Gladiator boasts Crowe’s furious depiction of Maximus, who’s put through brutal circumstances that nonetheless fail to break his spirit.

Gladiator is a build to something we hope will be utterly stunning. However, along the way, there’s an exceptional movie in every sense to enjoy. Gladiator found a rare measure of success between critics and audiences, and it’s still talked about and watched 20+ years later.

 

5. The Lighthouse (2019)

Director: Robert Eggers

Although The Lighthouse and The Northman are two very different films, they’re nonetheless by the same director, as well as some shared cast and crew. If you’re looking for movies like The Northman, it might be worth your time to finally check out the work that has brought filmmaker Robert Eggers to an opportunity as expansive as his newest release.

Drawing on themes such as obsession, which appears to be quite prevalent in The Northman, as well, The Lighthouse is basically a story of madness. Two men (Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe) are already a loose assortment of hollowed eyes, battered skin, and profound regret, when they come together to work as lighthouse keepers for an obscure station on a remote island. Their relationship becomes a bizarre, disturbing, and yet bleakly humorous focal point to everything going on around them.

Which might be nothing. The Lighthouse is if nothing else open to interpretation.

This surreal depiction of two men seemingly trapped in a form of purgatory may not be for everyone. However, if you’ve just finished The Northman, and the style of that film made an impression on you, it might be time to check out The Lighthouse.

 

4. Outlander (2008)

Director: Howard McCain

One of the more flawed entries on this list, Outlander is still enjoyable in large pockets. The premise alone might be enough, fusing Viking mythology with the science fiction standard of aliens visiting earth.

Outlander is fun for the most part. An alien visitor named Kainan (Jim Caviezel) is forced to track a destructive beast known as a Moorwen across Norway during the Iron Age. The uniqueness of this premise may not be explored to your satisfaction, but it does have Ron Perlman, John Hurt, and some solid popcorn flick brawls between Kainan and the Moorwen. That’s almost enough to carry a movie, but it’s an admittedly shallow affair.

Outlander may not be perfect, but its use of Viking culture and history with the science fiction pieces, while a little much, is inventive and well done. This is a gory slugfest, and it certainly has its fans.

 

3. Valhalla Rising (2009)

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn

Valhalla Rising is perhaps the best modern movie about Vikings on this list. It’s among the best reviewed, although some viewers take fault with its pacing and particularly unsettling brutality. If you’re at all familiar with the films of Nicolas Winding Refn, who has also helmed films like Drive and The Neon Demon, then you already know what you’re in for.

Both Valhalla Rising and The Northman deal in Viking uprisings that leave stacks of bodies in the aftermath, with Valhalla Rising featuring a particularly arresting Mads Mikkelsen as One-Eye. The journey we go through with One-Eye is where Valhalla Rising becomes something wholly unique. The film becomes a series of crushing trials and tribulations for not only One-Eye, but for the fascinating array of crazed Christians he has met on the road to striking down his oppressors.

Valhalla Rising will probably hit your notes for a violent movie featuring Vikings. The nightmarish slow-burn that surrounds the movie’s goriest moments will either be compulsory in its fascination, or it will make you long for things to pick up the pace.

 

2. The Vikings (1958)

Director: Richard Fleischer

The Vikings is another Hollywood epic (this time, with Kirk Douglas) in the tradition of big budget/big cast spectaculars of the post-War period. Movies like The Vikings, concerning a battle-to-the-end-of-all-things between Douglas’ Viking Prince Einar and a slave/secret half-brother Eric (a very good Tony Curtis), really aren’t made anymore.

Your feelings about that will vary, but just about anyone should be able to get into this sprawling swashbuckler with a historical fiction foundation.

The Vikings is big in every sense of the word, and that isn’t hard to appreciate over sixty years later. Despite its age, performances by Douglas, Curtis, and Janet Leigh are well-suited to the occasion, with a massive score and beautiful camerawork to create a movie that isn’t particularly deep, but offsets this by being likable, over-the-top in its production design and set pieces, and more fun in its tone and action than not.

Whether overblown or just extremely colorful, you can’t help but get caught up in The Vikings. However, if you’re looking for historical accuracy, you may be disappointed.

 

1. The Witch (2015)

Director: Robert Eggers

Before the success of The Lighthouse, Robert Eggers also did pretty well when writing and directing this story of a Puritan family coming up against an all-encompassing force of supernatural evil.

The Witch (stylised as The VVitch) begins with a child disappearing. Things quickly spiral out of control, with paranoia, guilt, and fear swallowing up most of the family. Such elements serve to do as much damage as whatever the hell is going on in those woods.

The Witch is a must-watch for those looking for more movies like The Northman. Again, while a fairly different film from Eggers’ latest, The Witch showcases a stylish approach to some of the same themes that seem to run through both films. Both also feature Anya Taylor-Joy, who has become one of the most popular young actresses working today. Her off-kilter intensity and eyes of striking intelligence are used to brilliant effect in this film’s gradual build to an ending that will at least leave you feeling uncomfortable. It’s good to see her working with Eggers again for The Northman.

Although slow-paced and quiet, which isn’t everyone’s cup of horror movie tea, The Witch should still be given the opportunity to surprise you. It’s also a worthwhile study of a director doing bigger and weirder things with each step forward.

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