Tilbury Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Tilbury Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 27, 2022

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as a part of All the Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror.

All the Haunts Be Ours advertises itself as "the most comprehensive collection of its kind", which may initially beg the question as to "kind of what?". But the release also comes with a front cover sobriquet proclaiming it "a compendium of folk horror", which may then beg the next obvious question as to what exactly "folk horror" is. In that regard, this set begins with a fascinating and diverse documentary which has its own subtitle referencing folk horror, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror, which provides a veritable glut of clips from international films which director (and this entire set's guiding light) Kier-La Janisse has assembled to help define the genre, but perhaps the best answer is to simply echo a certain Supreme Court Justice named Potter Stewart who was trying to decide a case involving supposed pornography, and who famously opined, "I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description, and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it. . ."

There are most certainly some decidedly odd films collected in All the Haunts Be Ours, but for sheer gonzo lunacy one probably need look no further than Tilbury, a production from the country that probably not so coincidentally gave us Bjork (that's a joke, kind of, anyway). The story here evidently has roots in Icelandic folklore, though this was adapted from a short story by Þórarinn Eldjárn. An opening information dump gives the viewer some completely odd background on creatures known as tilberi (and the grammarian in me is frankly not sure if this is a dual singluar/plural), horrible looking elfin beasts who help women in times of financial need by suckling milk from cows and then regurgitating it as butter for the needy women. Again, this is the country that gave us Bjork.

That little bit of Icelandic myth and legend might be enough, but completely peculiarly, Tilbury also weaves in a World War II story that has a subplot involving the Allied occupation of the island nation (when I was a kid flying through Reykjavik on my way to Europe, the "airport" there was still an old airplane hangar left over from the war). The focus is on a young man named Audun (Kristjan Franklin Magnúss) who comes to the "big city" (i.e., Reykjavik) to pursue his athletic dreams, but also to reunite with childhood crush Gudrun (Helga Bernhard). He finds Gudrun already occupied with a much older British general named Tilbury (Karl Agust Ulfsson), whose surname may obviously, if also mind bogglingly, give away a denouement that is in store.

It's actually kind of incredible that this piece ever aired on Icelandic television, for aside from things like, you know, monsters regurgitating butter, there's also full frontal nudity and some frankly kinky subtext (just the opening vignette documenting how a tiberli is created and how it is fed would have never made American television back in the 1980s). It's all almost delightfully outré and I for one kind of like to think of a young Bjork seeing this on tv and thinking to herself, "Hold my Brennivin".

Tilbury Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Tilbury is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. Severin's insert booklet states that this was "restored in 2K from the original negative at the Film Museum of Iceland", and some opening text further discloses a 16mm negative. The source element here probably wasn't curated especially well, and aside from the typical signs of age related wear and tear like nicks, scratches and small blemishes, there are clear variations in brightness and color temperature that can be seen kind of phasing in and out of the presentation. All of this said, this actually looks surprising good a lot of the time, with above average saturation and some appealing (and occasionally not so appealing, in terms of gross looking) detail levels. Grain is a bit on the gritty side, but resolves naturally.

Tilbury Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Tilbury features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track in English and Icelandic. The English narration describing the tilberi is really nicely full bodied sounding, and the Icelandic dialogue that follows is also clearly presented. The score varies from almost big band cues to low washes of synth and encounters no major obstacles. Optional English subtitles are available.

Tilbury Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director Vidar Vikingsson and Screenwriter Þórarinn Eldjárn, Moderated by Film Scholar Gudrun D. Whitehead


• With Enough Tilbury Butter, Anything is Good (HD; ) is an interview with Karl Ágúst Úlfsson. In English.


• A Boy from the Country (HD; 2:56) is an interview with Kristján Franklin Magnúss. In English.


• White Spot in the Back of the Head (HD; 34:22) is another folklore inspired short film. Subtitled in English.


• The Moon Faces, Death Rides (HD; 4:51) features Vidar Vikingsson discussing White Spot in the Back of the Head.

Tilbury Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tilbury probably takes the prize as the weirdest overall film in All the Haunts Be Ours, and its very peculiarity may make it off putting for some. Others who thrive on the bizarre will find this hugely enjoyable, and, yes, Bjork, I'm looking at you. Technical merits are generally solid (audio probably a bit more than video), and the supplements really well done. Recommended.