THE KILLER MOOSE

“The Killer Moose crosses genre boundaries between documentary and fiction in a way that many see as problematic. It features violence in a comic way that many reacted against.”

Anders Giæver – Z Filmtidsskrift

The Killer Moose

A film by Marthe Thorshaug

Original title: Dødselgen

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Year: 2005

Length: 12 minutes

Format: DV

Cast:
Christer Stenby
Malin Jordfald

Voice:
Jan Grønli

Crew:
Director/Script/Cinematographer/Editor:
Marthe Thorshaug

Sound:
Christian G. Falch

Music:
Jørgen Nordlie

CG effects:
Christian G. Falch
Archive photo:
Arnold Fuglebrenden
Norwegian Broadcasting Cooperation
Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute

Producer:
Nerhagen Productions by Marthe Thorshaug

Financial support:
Norwegian Visual Artists Association

Screenings:

THE KILLER MOOSE premiered at the art exhibition THE WILD at Kunstbanken – Hedmark Kunstsenter in Norway 29.01- 27.02.05.

  • Sequences Art Festival, Reykjavik, Iceland, 2007
  • John skies or Sally swims, Galleri UKS, Oslo, 2006
  • Norwegian Shortcuts Festival, Grimstad, Norway, 2005
  • The Wild, group exhibition, Kunstbanken – Hedmark Kunstsenter, Norway, 2005

Synopsis:

Miles and miles of game fences are built along roads in order to prevent hitting a moose. In this system of fences, the moose must traverse the road through marked game crossings. A man and a woman exploit the crossings with their own cynical game. They are moose spotters, and the video recordings are their trophy.

Background:

THE KILLER MOOSE is a collage of directed scenes, documentary and archive material. The amateur recordings of the moose along the road, are authentic made by moose spotters in my neighbourhood. Some of those recordings are again manipulated in the film.

In the film, the moose becomes a victim for man`s need to feel safe and be in control of nature. Being a threat towards motorists, the moose transforms into a mythological character representing death. As a tabloid media phenomenon, ”the killer moose” is the one who represents danger, not the humans driving their fast cars. The film questions how we use nature and animals as ”scape goats” when dealing with unforeseen accidents and death.

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Behind the scenes - The Killer Moose