Grýla – Not for Children - Christian Hege, Storyteller in Verse

Christian Hege’s poetic adaptation of the Icelandic Folklore tale of Grýla and the Christmas Men was a creepy delight best served late at night.

The black and white video style was simple but effective. Christian’s expressive face was the focus of the video and shadowing was added to create a creepy effect. The storyteller changed his voice for some of the characters which added to the story. Christian’s description of the characters was a great tease and viewers can fill in the blanks with imagination. This was a well written and engaging story in poetic verse. Adding anything more to the video would have been a distraction.

The story elicits interest in Icelandic folklore and may result in the desire for additional research. It’s an enjoyable show and one will likely want to watch it again on a late evening around the holidays, sitting by the fire with a glass of wine or whiskey.