Until the Light Takes Us

Until the Light Takes Us
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Aaron Aites Audrey Ewell
Produced by	Aaron Aites Tyler Brodie Audrey Ewell Gill Holland Frederick Howard
Starring	Gylve "Fenriz" Nagell Varg "Count Grishnackh" Vikernes Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg Kjetil-Vidar "Frost" Haraldstad Harmony Korine Bjarne Melgaard Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg Bård "Faust" Eithun
Cinematography	Audrey Ewell Odd Reinhardt Nicolaysen
Edited by	Andrew Ford
Production companies	Artists Public Domain Field Pictures The Group Entertainment
Distributed by	Variance Films
Release dates	October 31, 2008 (2008-10-31)(AFI Film Festival) December 4, 2009 (2009-12-04)(United States)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Until the Light Takes Us is a 2008 American documentary film about early Norwegian black metal, directed by Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell. The film premiered at the AFI Film Festival in 2008, a year before it was released in theaters.

Featured interviewees

• Gylve "Fenriz" Nagell (Darkthrone)
• Varg "Count Grishnackh" Vikernes (Burzum, Mayhem)
• Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg (Mayhem)
• Olve "Abbath" Eikemo (Immortal)
• Harald "Demonaz" Nævdal (Immortal)
• Bjarne Melgaard (visual artist)
• Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg (Ulver, Arcturus)
• Kjetil "Frost" Haraldstad (Satyricon, 1349, Keep of Kalessin)
• Bård "Faust" Eithun (Emperor) – Eithun chose to appear as a silhouette, with his voice distorted

Archives footage

• Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth (died in 1993) (Mayhem)
• Per "Dead" Ohlin (died in 1991) (Mayhem)
• Snorre "Blackthorn" Ruch (Thorns, Mayhem)

Release

Variance Films acquired the theatrical rights to the film in the U.S. and released it in New York City on December 4, 2009. ^[1] The film grossed $7,246 on a single screen in its first week, the second highest per-screen gross of any debuting film at the time (behind Up in the Air ).^{[ citation needed ]}

Reception

Until the Light Takes Us received a 54 out of 100 score on Metacritic ^[2] and a 46% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. ^[1]

Andrew O'Hehir of Salon.com called the film "crafty and compelling". ^[3] Nick Pinkerton of The Village Voice wrote, "The filmmakers seem cowed into obeisance by their subjects. Varg's last onscreen appearance is accompanied by a montage fitting a schoolyard crush, and the film's title is the translation of Burzum's fourth album, Hvis lyset tar oss . [...] [the film] arrives a decade too late to add much." ^[4]

See also

• Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground brings into focus the church burning and murders that occurred around 1993.
• Lords of Chaos , a dramatization of some events in the Norwegian black metal scene.
• Metal: A Headbanger's Journey , a documentary film discussing the traits and originators of some of metal's many subgenres, including Norwegian black metal.

References

1. "Until the Light Takes Us". Rotten Tomatoes . Flixster . Retrieved May 22, 2021.
2. "Until the Light Takes Us Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More – Metacritic". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved September 25, 2012.
3. O'Hehir, Andrew (December 7, 2009). "Until the Light Takes Us – Salon.com". Salon.com . Retrieved September 25, 2012.
4. Pinkerton, Nick (December 1, 2009). "Until the Light Takes Us: A Norwegian Black Metal Documentary – Page 1 – Movies – New York – Village Voice". villagevoice.com . Retrieved September 25, 2012.

External links

• Until the Light Takes Us at IMDb
• Until the Light Takes Us at Rotten Tomatoes
• Until the Light Takes Us at Metacritic
• Until the Light Takes Us at Box Office Mojo