User reviews

To be honest..... Not a bad movie at all !! I don't get the bad reviews, because I could actually relate to all of the characters. And yes, because I'm a musician, I've seen them all, and they do exist ! And yes, I've seen families like this and they do exist ! One guy a bit out of it ( not gonna tell you which one..), but it is believable. And, well.... It's a comedy-drama... There is not much action, but it is well paced, with the comedy just let to speak for itself. And the drama did just as much. Not the best movie of all times, but certainly not the worst ! I liked it !

And what's this thing here on IMDb ? With their 10 lines minimum ??? Morons !!

First of all quite a cast although there were several members of the cast who I thought would have more imperative roles. A fan of Modern Family I find that Sarah Hyland's performance was very good and believable. I thought this film was a beautiful of a family working through their problems in a time of tragedy with the father trying to get the family back together with all the members pushing themselves away. The issues I have with this film are that there were several aspects that weren't explained. I also felt that there was a certain aspect of Johana's life that didn't get enough closure. However overall it was a beautiful film where the lost members of this family realize what is truly important.

I started watching this and eleven minutes in, couldn't take much more of it. Then I decided I should give it another chance, since I really hadn't. It started to get a little better, then just got weird. The ending was so bizarre, no spoiler here...I just felt awkward for the actors having to pull off the scene. It was almost as they knew "this is crap", but did their best. Sarah Hyland was pretty good in it, the acting was fine but the writing was all over the place. It was almost like they were making it up as they went along. It was hard to relate to, and I have a pretty strange family myself. Not to be unkind, but spend your time doing something else.

I love the characters, rather caricatured to stay in comedy, but with enough subtlety to take human shape. It reminded me how close people can be violent with each other when not fulfilling each other's expectations. I guess it reminded me of something somehow. One scene is particularly intense and realistic. I'm not a family guy, so the message of this category of movies usually leaves me cold. It's probably the only family movie that touched me somehow. I've never seen a movie from Jarret Tarnol, so I'll try to watch some others. I'm surprised the rating is so, low, as I'm usually the one underrating. It may be due to the weak scenario.

See You In Valhalla is an odd little indie film, and its eccentricity makes it a perfectly enjoyable watch for indie lovers.

Indie darlings tends to be rife with quirky characters and a bizarre-o enough story. While See You In Valhalla is missing the spark to make it a true darling, it is a nice little accomplishment for Brent and Jarret Tarnol.

Johana Burwood, played by Sarah Hyland (a producer of the film), must return home after not seeing her estranged family for four years when her brother dies in a crazy and strange manner. When home, she confronts her past and siblings and work past the discomfort to finally come to terms with what she left behind.

See You in Valhalla sounds cliché and contrived, but it is in the details of the characters that it reveals itself as quite original. The plot follows a typical arch in development but the plot moments that progress it are unique. See You in Valhalla is a performance driven film, and the actors are the shining points. Steve Howey, maybe I'm just a sucker for the television show Shameless, but Howey's role as the gay hippie lover Makewi is my favorite.

See You in Valhalla is probably not a film for everyone as the combative dysfunction of the family will be potentially off-putting for some more conservative viewers. As far as indie comedies go, though it may be imperfect, you can do far worse.

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a good film, very well depicting the family dynamics, when things suddenly aren't as simple as you thought any more, and you can't tamp it all down using the rules of courtesy. I liked the viking reference, as I also, like a previous reviewer, have Scandinavian roots. I believe that was done well. I found it frustrating, though, to try afterwards to find the book which we were shown repeatedly, 'remember the viking', supposedly by an author named Stevenson Abernathy, and not be able to find such a thing. If the book is fictitious, I would say that is very poor, since there are countless good reference books the movie creator could have chosen to place there.

I believe a very difficult role to 'get right' was that of the nurse/life coach for Daddy. It would have been easy to fall into a trap of coming across as either a bit of a bimbo or a too-serious zealot, but the actress avoided both of those pitfalls and came across as a woman who has seen hard times, but preserved an inherent sense of dignity

To be honest, I liked clichéd movies, I like the stories where even if you know how the story is going to play out you still care for the characters and their interaction. Unfortunately See You In Vallhalla did not have that. Let's start off with the characters, the movie revolves around Johanna and her dysfunctional family, who each has a problem that they don't necessarily want to show to the public. Her brothers and herself were good characters, definitely clichéd but they went through lot of emotional spectrum. However the movie does a poor job in making us care for the characters, they have large conflicts and arguments which does nothing but give us expositions and making us hate the characters. In the arguments we are thrown into a dizzy and chaotic sequences where there is nothing for the audience to look beyond the words spoken by the members of the family. Right off the bat we are expected to root for Johanna, and the script does that by making everybody else a bigger douche than she is. With that the script creates not the most relatable character we can expect to find in a drama such as this. While the main characters were hard to care for, they were in the process of becoming human and real, however the supporting casts of acquaintances are all just a one dimensional caricatures. When I read the review for the movie there were some praises for Makewi, and his comedic timing, but his character is just a stereotypical combination of a crazy foreigner and gay, and outside of that there's nothing behind it. If he is truly the most interesting character in the movie then the movie truly speaks out for itself. Other supporting characters too were all flat, one dimensional characters and only played one emotion throughout the movie. The biggest crime this film has, however is beat. Every time someone talked it showed them talking with a close up, another person talking would bring us to another close up. If played well it might've fit in well with the frantic family argument scenes, but because of constant cutting the every dagger of words that each family member throws is hidden as the reaction shot is missing. We only see the hurtful words, we do not see the impact it creates. More frustrating fact is that even when there isn't much argument every dialogue is interlaced with several cuts, if the director just simply placed the camera and let the actors just talk in front of it without any cutting then we could see the realism, instead of the director telling us "LOOK! SOMETHING IMPORTANT" we could track it with our eyes and make the decision for ourselves. With it's technique I couldn't believe the acting, I am sure that they made some fine acting choices but as an audience member we can't see it. The emotional aspects also gets lost because of the constant cutting but as well as its choice of music placement. If they strive for realism they should've had some quiet scenes, where the characters reflect upon their actions. When the character have a moment of sorrow there is always a music playing in the background. If you like movies like this, where they call for tear jerking moments or sappy story lines I understand but the film lacks the technical perspective to show the emotional realism. If you like stories like this, I implore you to find more where the technical aspect fits with the story line, where the director let the actors play and make the audience truly care for what's going on the scene.

If you liked this movie and you want more try Silver Linings Playbook where the dysfunctional family with crazy supporting casts all get cast in a humane light, or The Spectacular Now where the director do very minimal to make the characters be more real.

If you hated this movie and saw it because I guess you went to a theatre to see it and you wanted to leave in the middle of the movie but you were like I payed so I should see it. You were kind of stupid, but you should try those two movies or just watch some action films.

Rating: If you are bored, watch it. It's better than nothing.

As soon as I finished the movie, I went in here to see what people was saying about it. The reason for this, was that I really liked this movie and I don't know why. As I read on metacritic, I would agree it has all been seen and done before, but for some reason, this just felt right and believable. Especially one scene which seems to re-live childhood brotherly shenanigans (totally saw my brother and me back then - and some time we still do it ;) )

The viking angle was something I found enjoyable, perhaps because I'm a dane - I don't know. But what he said, could have been said by friend of mine who practice Asa-faith (The believe of the vikings).

To sum it up; Good movie. Been done before but somehow, this one is different.

eccentric could be the first word about this film. but it is not more eccentric than life. because this is its purpose - to examine a dysfunctional family and the way to build again the links between its members. and the work is far to have a disappointed result. but a special form of seduction, interesting characters, poetic end, realistic fights , inspired definitions of success and love and solitude, many challenges and the flavor of indie film who remains, in strange manner, comfortable refuge. short, portrait of a family. and a touching end.

A film about twenty something siblings reunited after the death of their brother.

Generally it's a decent script and a decent story but some characters are are more relevant than others due to the inconsistencies of the screenplay. For example, the father is badly written as is the nurse that is living with him and badly cast, the sons are both well done as is Sarah Hyland, but her boyfriend is strangely undercooked.

We have seen this sort of thing before in things like 'Dan in Real Life'and Four Christmas.

All this being said, it is fairly watchable, light and fluffy and doesn't outstay its welcome.

I surprisingly loved this movie, there was something so real about it, not so much in the story but the places, the people... I was not expecting to like it so much and the performances are really good. Sarah Hyland was particularly impressive, and for the first time I saw her as a woman, and not a child from Modern Family, but in my opinion is Steve Howey character that makes this movie Awesome, he is hilarious...It's a really funny movie at times but it is also sad and full of melancholia, but what I appreciate the most is that it has a real life scenario, that not many movies have nowadays and it left me with the same feeling that i get when i finish reading a really good book, almost like an emptiness, because it's over and you loved it. Overall I think this movie is special.

** disclaimer, the plot of the movie explained.

It is a good movie. Very simple, not complex. Which is what makes it a good movie. Basic Family strife, with a generalized American family dynamic. Simple resolve. It shows how silly arguments can destroy families and how easy it is to let it all go, With the help of outsiders looking in.

As some other reviewers complained about the lack complex characters or further explanations, I don't feel they were necessary in this movie. Enough information was given for you to follow the what the movie is about. A broken family that is being healed. Simple.

OK, so i'm not a movie reviewer, but someone's gotta set the record straight here. This is a solid movie, bordering on very good.

I watched two times and enjoyed it both times. A lot of reviewers and raters apparently came in with a very narrow, shallow and pre- conditioned view of what this movie is supposed to be. No. Valhalla doesn't fit easily into any particular genre bucket. It's not a pure comedy, it's not "Darker Modern Family", it's not drama, etc.

It is, however, a great piece of writing with fantastic, tight, highly committed crew of actors.

And that's, what i think, makes this such a pleasurable experience. It is pure joy to watch every single actor here. There is tremendous depth and substance to every character. They play sincerely, with no holding back or emotional hedging. They embrace the characters and the story and go all out.

I know I said earlier that it wasn't comedy, but I did find it absolutely hilarious at times. Sometimes it was funny but the kind of funny when everything is so wrong that any additional wrong just becomes funny because of being so comedically and narratively predictable.

Here is my advice, let go of any preconceived notions of story and especially actors and just enjoy it. This movie is a labour of love with a lot of effort put in by everyone - give it a chance.