Shakespeare never wrote anything like this.

To be clear, The Northman is not based on Hamlet; rather, it's based on the far older tale that inspired the Bard's classic story of murder and revenge. But there are no courtly machinations at work here, nor are there any polite rapier contests. The Northman is dark, violent and brutally intense, and there's nothing genteel or regal about it.

Set initially in the year 895, the movie begins when King Aurvandil War-Raven (Ethan Hawke) returns from a raid to his prosperous Norwegian village, where his queen Gudrun (Nicole Kidman) and son Amleth (Oscar Novak) await him. Aurvandil begins to initiate his young son into the rites of manhood, but he is murdered by his bastard brother Fjolnir (Claes Bang), whose men slay all who are loyal to the king. Amleth flees after seeing his father beheaded and the queen carried off as Fjolnir's prize; he vows, repeatedly, to avenge his father, rescue his mother and kill his uncle. Someday.

Time passes, and Amleth (now played by Alexander Skarsgard) is a seasoned viking warrior, a berserker with the powers of wolf and bear, on a raid on a remote Slavic village. (The camera angles and choreography that went into filming that bloody raid are just one example of the visual talents at work here.) There, a mysterious seeress (Bjork) reminds Amleth of his vows, so he impetuously disguises himself as a slave and boards a ship bound for Iceland, where Fjolnir now rules over a small village with Gudrun, his adult son Thorir (Gustav Lindh) and his young son, with Gudrun, Gunnar (Elliott Rose). Amleth befriends another slave, Olga (Anya Taylor-Joy), who aids him in his quest for vengeance, and he even gets some sage advice from the skull of Aurvandil's old jester, Heimir the Fool (Willem Dafoe) ... alas, poor Yorick!

Once established in the settlement, Amleth begins enacting his plans for revenge. It's not a subtle plan -- bodies will be hacked and mutilated -- but it's a long game, one meant to unnerve Fjolnir long before he, himself, is in any danger. As Amleth, Skarsgard is raw and unyielding, all muscle, blood and sharp edges. It's a powerful performance that speaks to the primal rage and price of vengeance.

Amleth's brawn is mirrored in the more subtle strength of Olga, who is far more cunning and just as unforgiving. Taylor-Joy is astonishing in the role, seething with hidden fury and carefully woven plans. That both characters find a bit of love in the midst of so much mud, hate and torn flesh is a bit of a wonder.

Director Robert Eggers is playing in a much bigger field than he did in his previous films, The Witch and The Lighthouse, but his vision fills the screen with unrelenting darkness, fiery hints of light and pagan symbolism. Despite the unflinching ugliness of the violence, the movie is at times unspeakably beautiful to watch. Combined with a soundtrack that drones, growls and pulsates through the action, and viewers will find themselves glued to the screen.

Kudos to Eggers and his team for adhering so strictly to Scandinavian traditions and lore. There are touches of otherworldly mythology, too, that still manage not to push the movie into fantasy. The Northman may be too gory for sensitive viewers, but it's an amazing film that tells its story in a way Shakespeare never dreamed possible.