THE RUNESTONE
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1992 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: Rent this one for a Friday night and
make some popcorn. There is a monster loose in New York and
its roots are in Norse mythology. If the plot is less than
totally original, the writing and acting are good and the
cast is impressive. Rating: high +1 (-4 to +4). (Minor
spoilers below)
By this point there is little original that can be done with the stale plot that some myth about a fabled monster has a basis of truth and the beastie is loose in a modern city. And, of course, nobody believes that the myth can be true. It was even a weekly television series, KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER. THE RUNESTONE does just about the best that can be done. First, it uses a genuine myth and, at the same time, not a myth that has been over-used. In Norse mythology the world end sin a battle between Aesir and the powers of Hel, led by Loki. One of Loki's children was the monster wolf Fenrir. It was really Fenrir and his wolf-cub children who bring about Ragnarok, the great icy apocalypse of the world--icy because one of the wolf-children stole the sun. It is Fenrir who killed and devoured Odin. Previously Tyr once allowed the gods to capture Fenrir, but at the cost of his right hand--bitten off by the great wold. Just what all this has to do with modern-day New York is rather neatly set up in the plot of THE RUNESTONE.
Willard Carroll directed and wrote the screenplay based on a novella by Mark E. Rogers. The writing is actually very crisp and witty without lowering itself to self-satire or camp. These are several throwaway jokes, some actually quite funny., but the main plotline is still taken seriously. Because the script is so well-executed, the producers were able to attract a surprisingly good cast. Top-billed, though not quite the main character, is Peter Riegert of OSCAR and CROSSING DELANCEY, playing Gregory Fanducci, a likable sarcastic Italian policeman with a taste for Pez candy. William Hickey, who played the aging godfather in PRIZZI'S HONOR, has a decent-sized role as an eccentric expert in Norse mythology who tries to straddle the old gods' world and the modern world. Alexander Godunov plays a clockmaker with mystical ties to the old world. And at the center of all the activity is Joan Severance, playing young artist Marla Stewart.
I do not know if this film has had a theatrical release. After seeing a positive review I rented it on tape. Like last year's WARLOCK, this is not a great film, but it is certainly a fun film. Great for a Friday night watch after a hard week. I give it a high +1 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
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