Originally, I was going to review Testuo: The Iron Man this week, but I have to be honest, I was very disappointed with that film, and I just really didn’t want to talk about it. So, I was trying to think of what else I could watch instead when an old memory came back to me of a very interesting animated film: Grendel Grendel Grendel. I had come across it many years ago and there was something about it that stuck in the back of my mind ever since, even pushing me to read both the ancient text and re-interpretive novel that it was based on. I’m glad to be checking out this film again now that I’m older, and I hope that my review can persuade you to see it too. To start off with, here’s a rundown of the plot.
The story acts as a sort of prequel/alternative telling of the epic poem Beowulf. It switches between the perspective of Grendel, our protagonist, and of King Hrothgar and his men. The early scenes establish how Grendel is seen as a terrifying beast, or “Great Boogey” as they call him, who is known for terrorizing and killing those who live/gather in the King’s mead hall. However, the opening song, sung from the perspective of Grendel’s mother, seems to suggest that Grendel might actually be a rather lonely creature who is stuck being an unlovable monster to everyone other than his own mother. Coming home from one of these excursions, Grendel recounts his early days: how he slowly made his way out of the cave they live in for the first time, and how he got stuck in a tree, which was the first time he came upon the King and his men. Hrothgar and his warriors didn’t know what to make of Grendel, at first thinking he might be a tree spirit that deserves tribute, but then switching immediately to fear-induced violence as soon as Grendel groaned a bit. This could have ended poorly for Grendel had his mother not come to save him. As time goes by, King Hrothgar continues to build his kingdom, employing a lone warrior named Unferth for better protection against the “Great Boogey,” hiring what they call a “Shaper” who’s essentially like a singing poet who recounts great moments and achievements in Hrothgar’s life, and gaining a Queen through a deal Unferth made with a roaming clan. Grendel, meanwhile, has been watching the humans throughout all this, feeling rather conflicted about how he feels towards them. He seems to find their self-aggrandizing rather ridiculous, but when he goes to the mead hall and hears one of the Shaper’s songs, he actually finds that he likes it. He starts to wonder if maybe both he and the humans aren’t really so different and decides to go to the hall again and listen to another song. However, this song causes his hope for understanding to come crashing down, as it all but confirms to him that he is a “damned one,” one that should not and will not be accepted by human society. To drive home the point, the guard spots him and sounds the alarm, causing the warriors to attack. After killing some of the warriors accidentally, in self-defense, and in anger, he runs off into the night, as Unferth and the King survey the damage. The next day, Grendel, in frustration, manages to knock a crack into the Earth, which he then falls into. He lands in a dark cave and meets a dragon, who claims to know everything that is, was, and will be (which seems to make him rather annoyed at everything too). He elucidates Grendel’s role in life: to be a monster to the humans and thereby keep them together socially, as well as spark their imaginations. Grendel goes along with this for a while, regularly stopping by the mead hall to scare and kill its residents, but slowly the isolation of his status in life gets to him, leading him to a crazed and anguished state. Unferth tries to kill Grendel on one of these visits but is clearly unable to live up to any of the grand proclamations he makes, and Grendel just effortlessly carries him back to the hall. In general, Unferth has been struggling between his loyalty to Hrothgar and his own personal wants. He clearly loves the Queen and wishes that he could be with her instead but can’t/won’t pursue this, which he claims to be because of his loyalty, but really just seems to be a lack of gumption or resolve. The King, on the other hand, has found Unferth’s failures disappointing, and seems to suspect that he might have some “less than loyal” desires brewing within him, so he’s starting to consider calling for some outside help (a “Geatish” sort of help, if you will). If you’ve read Beowulf, then you already know the general details of how this story ends, but I’ll stop the summary here so you can see how this film portrays it. Now, let’s get into my thoughts.
This film has been stuck in a part of my mind ever since I first saw it many years ago. I literally happened upon it by chance, finding a video of one of the songs on YouTube and being curious as to what it was from. When I found out it was in some way related to Beowulf, which I only remembered at the time as one of Robert Zemeckis’s mo-cap films, I was intrigued. That film tried for a photorealistic and brutal fantasy look, while this film looked more like a colorful and simply designed 60’s animation. As I looked more into it and learned about the existential book it was based on, I knew I had to see it. This wasn’t an easy task back then, since this was still the semi-early YouTube era where it was even harder to access obscure media, but thankfully I managed to find a way to see it. I remember leaving the film feeling like I didn’t really love it, but still finding some level of fascination in it. Watching it again, I think I appreciate it a bit more now, though I think I understand why I felt the way that I did. In terms of what I find good or interesting about this film, I obviously appreciate the unique art and animation style they go for. It definitely feels reminiscent of animation from the 60’s and 70’s, like Yellow Submarine and The Point, but it’s still very much its own look, as if Hagar the Horrible or Wizard of Id were rendered in a colorful, semi-expressionist mural style. Now, this description might give off the idea that this is a more upbeat and fun sort of film, and at times it is, with plenty of humorous British/Australian dialogue and one or two physical hijinks. However, this film has another aspect that I greatly appreciate and gives it some depth beyond this sort of surface: existential turmoil. Grendel goes through a lot of this in the film, from resenting the humans for ostracizing him yet being drawn to their potential for inspired creation, to latching on to and playing up his supposed role as mankind’s monster yet hating the fact that he has to be this despised tormentor and slowly losing his mind from the isolation and loneliness. I especially like this one bit where, upon hearing the Shaper’s song that labelled him as a damned being, he, at first, calls out “friend?” to the guards. However, as he reaches out, he ends up whacking one of the guards, causing them all to attack. Slowly, his statement changes: “friend?…..friend…..grend…..Grend…..GRENDEL!!!!” His cry for compassion and understanding is denied and he slowly realizes that the humans will never see him as a friend. He will always be Grendel a.k.a. a monster. Pairing this with the confirmation from the dragon that he’s literally supposed to be a monster in the grand plan of life, it’s the sort of thing that just leaves you with an uncomfortable and empty feeling inside. It makes you think about people or groups of people that were ostracized or segregated from society and were painted as being negative or a threat by said society. It’s not surprising when sometimes people in this situation will resign themselves to the labels that they’re given, since they probably feel resentful that this is all they can ever be, even if deep down they wish this wasn’t the lot they’re stuck in. That’s not to say that they never tried to break out of this dehumanization, as some definitely did, but there were just as many that either couldn’t or were pushed back down when they tried. It kind of makes me wonder if the dragon was really as all-knowing as he claimed to be, but that’s a whole other discussion that I don’t have enough time to get into at the moment. So, while this film really managed to capture this heavy sort of feeling in its own way and I appreciate it for that, I do have to note something that drags the film down a bit, and that’s the general film flow. A lot of the more interesting bits are surrounded by stretches that, while not bad and might still have important elements to them, never quite reach a level of consistent engagement. I hesitate to call them “boring,” just “not as interesting as they could be.” I think this might be why I didn’t love it when I first saw it, as the existential element didn’t hit as hard back then as it did now, so I mostly felt like I was in a state of “decently engaged but not enthralled” throughout most of it. Now, you might find the whole film engaging yourself, but I just wanted to note this in case my description of the interesting existential element would overhype the film for you. Before I wrap up, I also want to mention the songs, because yes, this film does have musical numbers. I have to be honest, practically all of the songs here have this really awkward vibe to them, where it feels like the music and singing don’t line up or something. It feels very off kilter a lot of the time, and I don’t think it was always meant to be. In cases like the Shaper’s songs, it works better, because those are more like recitations rather than modern songs, and I think it also kind of works in Grendel’s last song where he sings about his lunacy and grief from his isolation, since it fits his emotional state. I also kind of like the opening song from Grendel’s mother, which is also kind of off, but also really captures her conflicting emotions of both love for Grendel and of sadness that no one else will love him like she does. The dragon and Grendel’s duet, on the other hand, really doesn’t work. The lyrics are solid enough, but the music just doesn’t fit or line up with their singing. I honestly don’t know what the cause of this was or why they did it if it was an intentional choice. Professional musicians/singers/songwriters beware, because this soundtrack might annoy the heck out of you. I think I’ve hit on everything I wanted to say, so I’ll wrap up here.
It was fun to re-experience this film after so long, and I’m glad that I have a better appreciation for it now. It’s not a perfect film, but it is very interesting and hits on some interesting ideas and feelings that do manage to resonate. I’m very thankful that the film is up on YouTube now, that’ll make it much easier to access for anyone who’s interested. Hopefully, my review helped you decide if this sounds interesting to you or not. I would also suggest checking out the book it’s based on (Grendel by John Gardner) afterwards if you’d like to, as I remember that the film wasn’t a purely straight adaptation of it, so it could be interesting to compare and contrast. (I didn’t talk much about the book in here since it’s been years since I’ve read it and I sort of chose this film as a replacement entry semi-last minute, so I wouldn’t have been able to read it again before now). Either way, if you decide to take a look, I hope it leaves you with some interesting thoughts and maybe a bit of sympathy for the so-called “monsters” in our lives (well, okay, not monsters like horrible dictators, more like the unfairly ostracized people I was talking about before).