MovieChat Forums > Thale (2012) Discussion > For those wondering what this movie is a...

For those wondering what this movie is about...


It's now available on Netflix with much more easier to follow subtitles in case you guys want to go watch it and learn for yourself.

If not, here's my take of the movie in case people still don't get it. This is a quick synopsis of the whole movie so that way you can follow along:

Before I begin, here's a little bit about the lore. This movie is based off of a Norwegian/Scandinavian Folklore about these seductive wood nymph females that run around in the woods. They're called Hulder in Scandinavian and Huldra in Norwegian. In the actual folktales, they look like pretty women with cow tails and sometimes hooves for feet. In this movie, they are made to look more like animals. For an example image of Hulders, here you go: http://pre07.deviantart.net/8f54/th/pre/f/2014/202/0/2/hulder_collab_by_am_markussen-d7rp0ah.jpg

*In the 80s, a Lieutenant found a baby creature in the woods and bought her to scientists to do experiments on her. (Something he wishes he hadn't done.)

*When the little baby was about 7 or 9 (something like that) years old, the Lieutenant had a change of heart (because the experiments were rough and the scientists were cruel) and he kidnapped the little girl and fled with her into the wilderness.

*As the scientists/army men went after them, the Hulder (humanoid wood nymphs that look seductive in Norwegian folklore, but animalistic in this movie) sensed the little girl and she sensed them and they tried to take her, but the Lieutenant stopped them.

*The two of them fled into an underground area in a cabin in the woods. There, he kept the little girl locked up while he continued his experiments on her as well as used his knowledge to keep her alive and healthy. He molded her into a human in order to try to hide her from the Hulder and the world, which included cutting off her tail.

*Two men (Elvis and Leo) who are friends that clean up crime scenes now come into the picture when Thale (the baby creature now all grown up) is left alone because the Lieutenant has died from some unknown cause. His body is scattered by wild animals and these guys must clean it up.

*While having to tear out the floor of the outhouse of the cabin (where parts of the man were found) Elvis discovers a basement behind some logs. Leo tries to tell him to leave it alone, but Elvis decides to check it out. They find a bunch of expired food, weird bottles, a medical encyclopedia, and a lab with a weird bathtub full of liquid- the dead man was living here.

*As Leo goes to call their friends (or people in charge?) about the new discovery at the crime scene, Elvis decides to poke around the lab. He listens to some tapes where the Lieutenant describes his experiments and then a roar and scream fill the air and Elvis freaks out right as a girl jumps out of the bathtub and removes a tube from her throat.

*Leo and Elvis try to find some clothing for the girl and she starts choking Elvis in self defense. Leo finds the Lieutenant's coat and gives it to her, releasing Elvis from her choke hold.

*The girl (Thale) starts to eat some expired food. Leo goes to grab water and bread from their car while Elvis continues listening to the tapes and learns the girl's name.

*We are introduced to the fact that Leo needs medicine for some sort of cough and, as he talks on the phone, we get to see a Hulder for the first time in the background.

*Elvis follows Thale into her room and tries to get to know her, humming a tune along with her and asking her some questions. Through a sort of telepathic touch, Thale shows him her history- the cruel experiments and then her times with the Lieutenant in the basement as she grew up, etc. Elvis learns about the Hulders trying to contact Thale as well as her metabolic fingerprint (the way the army traces Thale) becoming a threat and thus the Lieutenant cut Thale's tail off. He finds her tail in a fridge in the lab.

*While Elvis and Thale are alone, Leo continues making a phone call in the woods to figure out where their friends (or people in charge?) are. He is surrounded by Hulder, but doesn't know it and soon heads back inside.

*Leo takes a look at the tail when he comes back in and, as Elvis goes to take a pee, we learn that Leo is sick. Thale touches him and becomes curious by his condition.

*As they wait for their friends (or people in charge) to show up, Leo and Elvis basically agree that they know what Thale is.

*Thale freaks out and chains up the door. As Leo and Elvis try to hold the door closed, a gas is poured into the room through the key hole and they pass out. Elvis manages to grab a hold of Thale's foot and ends up making a telepathic connection with her, again. He learns about her history again, this time seeing when her/the Lieutenant escaped, then when she questioned her body in comparison to a human's body, and when she learned of her healing powers.

*We then see Leo and Elvis tied up and captured by men in white suits. An older man gives Elvis something to drink and questions them about where Thale is. He tells them about the heat signal given off by their metabolism and mentions that Thale's has been going off, but they can't find her in the lab at all. (they're detecting her tail while she hides in the bathtub.)

*The man explains to Elvis that Thale is not innocent and is in fact dangerous. As he does so, we see Thale take out all of the men in white by herself.

*Right as the man is about to shoot Leo, we see an explosion from where the cabin was. The man tries to make a phone call, but it never answers and thus he gets his answer that his men are dead.

*The Hulder come in and attack the man, killing him and basically saving Leo and Elvis. Thale shows up and sets them free. (Hulders are neutral. If you respect them, they'll respect you. If you're bad or mean to them, they'll be mean to you.)

*We see Leo and Elvis having been rescued and telling their story to the police. We learn that Leo's lung cancer is mysteriously gone and he's shocked yet happy about it. (if you've been paying attention, you'll know that Thale healed him.) Elvis' ( daughter or Niece, I believe it was niece, but everyone on here keeps saying it's his daughter) shows up and Leo gives him a cash advance and then walks away.

*Thale wakes up in the woods and smiles at the camera before going to join the Hulder in the woods and thus is finally free to be herself.

Hope this helped!

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Elvis' ( daughter or Niece, I believe it was niece, but everyone on here keeps saying it's his daughter) shows up and Leo gives him a cash advance and then walks away.

I got it was his daughter, and his wife standing in the background waiting, meaning the family was healed. Thale sensed, and cured Leo's lung cancer, it's no reason she shouldn't sense and heal Elvis' problems.

For the heart life is simple. It beats as long as it can.

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That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for clearing that up. :)

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Thanks for this comprehensive synopsis. It really cleared up a lot of questions I had, as I found some of the narrative progression hard to follow.

I see things that never were and say WHAT THE..!.

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I'm glad that my synopsis helped. I'm glad it answered some of your questions for you. I really enjoyed this movie and felt that if people could completely understand it, that they'd love it even more.

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