GRÝLU SKER Brings Icelandic Folklore and Handcrafted Horror to Lisbon

Kevin McTurk’s handcrafted Icelandic ghost story, written by Tab Murphy, joins the international short-film programme at the 20th edition of MOTELX.

A ghost story rooted in Icelandic folklore has made its way to Lisbon.

GRÝLU SKER: An Icelandic Ghost Story is a 2026 short film directed by Kevin McTurk and written by Tab Murphy, with Murphy, McTurk and screenwriter Sjón sharing story credit. The film is screening at MOTELX — Lisbon International Horror Film Festival in September 2026.

Grýlu Sker reaches deep into Icelandic folklore, drawing on the legend of Grýla and bringing that world to the screen through puppetry, practical effects and a filmmaking approach that feels almost defiantly tactile in an increasingly digital landscape. And perhaps that is what makes this one particularly interesting. There is craftsmanship here. Mythology. Place. The strange beauty of an old story being given a new life — and then carried from Icelandic folklore to an international screen in Lisbon.

An Icelandic Story Built by Hand

At the center of GRÝLU SKER is an explorer shipwrecked off the coast of Iceland who finds himself struggling to survive on a desolate island inhabited by Grýla, one of the most formidable figures in Icelandic folklore.

Festival listings identify Peter Stormare as the Mariner and Piotr Michael as the Explorer.

The mythology is only part of what makes the project unusual. McTurk’s film was conceived around physical filmmaking techniques: puppetry, miniatures, practical effects and animation. Festival materials describe the finished film as combining live-action Bunraku puppetry with stop-motion and rotoscope animation, while earlier production material detailed the use of large-scale puppets and extensive practical effects.

It is an increasingly distinctive approach in a filmmaking landscape where digital tools can accomplish almost anything. Here, the physical construction of the characters and environments is not simply a production technique. It becomes part of the storytelling itself.

McTurk comes to that work with a substantial background in creature and practical effects. His credits include work on Batman Returns, Jurassic Park and Interview with the Vampire, and his previous filmmaking includes the puppet-driven short The Haunted Swordsman.

The Legend Behind the Film

Grýla is deeply embedded in Icelandic folklore. She belongs to the family of troll figures associated with Iceland’s Christmas traditions and is known as the mother of the country’s 13 Yule Lads. Unlike the increasingly playful modern interpretation of the Yule Lads, Grýla has traditionally occupied much darker territory in Icelandic storytelling.

GRÝLU SKER takes that existing mythology and places it within an original story of isolation and survival.

That meeting point — between inherited folklore and contemporary filmmaking — may be one of the most interesting aspects of the project. The film is not simply borrowing Iceland as scenery. Its central figure comes directly from a storytelling tradition that has survived across generations.

From an Independent Project to the Festival Circuit

GRÝLU SKER also has distinctly independent roots. McTurk launched the project through Kickstarter in 2023 with a fundraising goal of $120,000. The campaign ultimately raised $146,878 from 817 backers, surpassing its original target.

Three years later, the completed film is moving through the international genre-film circuit. Immediately before Lisbon, GRÝLU SKER appeared at FrightFest in London on August 30, where it screened as part of the festival’s international short-film showcase. It now arrives at MOTELX during a milestone year for the Lisbon festival.

Twenty Years of Horror in Lisbon

MOTELX is celebrating its 20th edition in 2026, with this year’s programme running September 3–13 in Lisbon. Founded in 2007, the festival has developed into an established stop on the international genre-film calendar while continuing to promote Portuguese horror filmmaking.

MOTELX is also an affiliated member of the Méliès International Festivals Federation, an international network of festivals devoted to fantastic cinema.

That affiliation is worth noting, but so is the distinction: GRÝLU SKER is programmed within MOTELX’s International Short Films selection rather than its Méliès d’argent competition. MOTELX’s current programme lists the film at 24 minutes as part of its “Shorts at Lunch: International” programme at Cinema São Jorge.

Why We’re Watching

There are several ways to cover a film festival. For FLAVORA, the more interesting stories often sit beyond the red carpet — in the people who make the work, the places and traditions that inform it, and the craftsmanship that survives behind the finished frame. GRÝLU SKER sits comfortably at that intersection.

Icelandic folklore. Physical puppetry. Practical effects. Independent filmmaking. And now, an international festival audience in Lisbon.

Sometimes the path of a film is almost as interesting as the story on the screen. We’ll be watching this one.

Read more here.

GRÝLU SKER: An Icelandic Ghost Story
Directed by Kevin McTurk
Screenplay by Tab Murphy
Story by Tab Murphy, Kevin McTurk and Sjón
MOTELX — Lisbon International Horror Film Festival
Lisbon, Portugal | September 3–13, 2026

FLAVORA | Film • Culture • Place