The Ash Lad: In the Hall of the Mountain King

The Ash Lad: In the Hall of the Mountain King follows Espen, a farmer's son whose family faces ruin. When the princess is taken to the realm of a giant troll called the Mountain King, Espen sets out with his brothers to bring her back and claim the reward that would save their farm. Their journey carries them into a world of trolls, witches and other creatures.

Mikkel Brænne Sandemose directed the film, which was released in 2017. It is his third feature, following Cold Prey III (2010) and Ragnarok (2013), and precedes two later films, The Ash Lad: In Search of the Golden Castle (2019) and The Polar Bear Prince (2024). Espen Enger and Aleksander Kirkwood Brown wrote the screenplay, and Synnøve Hørsdal and Åshild Ramborg produced. Vebjørn Enger plays Espen, with Mads Sjøgård Pettersen and Elias Holmen Sørensen as his brothers Per and Pål. Eili Harboe appears as Princess Kristin, Allan Hyde as Prince Fredrik and Thorbjørn Harr as the brothers' father. The credited cast numbers 21, and the production involved companies in Norway, Ireland and the Czech Republic.

The film took about 5 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.2 out of 10 from roughly 4,800 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.8 out of 10 from around 414 votes, so the smaller TMDB group rates it somewhat higher than the larger IMDb group.