The guy who turned a Norwegian mountain into a 100-million-view Netflix monster is pointing his camera at horror next. Roar Uthaug, director of Troll, Troll 2, and Tomb Raider, is developing a new English-language supernatural feature called Amara — and this time he's trading the fjords for the jungle. Sales launch at the Cannes market in May 2026, and the pitch is exactly the kind of thing that makes horror fans lean in: a carefree backpacking trip that curdles into a nightmare.
What 'Amara' Is About
Set in Thailand, Amara follows a group of international backpackers who get tangled up in a curse tied to an unsolved death. The setup leans hard on Southeast Asian folklore, mixing old supernatural mythology with the slow burn of mounting paranoia. It's the familiar-turned-deadly formula done right — take the most relaxed, sun-soaked trip imaginable and let something ancient start pulling the strings underneath it.
The Troll Brain Trust Behind It
Amara comes from an original idea by Uthaug and screenwriter Espen Aukan, the same Norwegian duo who built the Troll franchise for Netflix. Uthaug describes the film as "a fast, intense horror experience that takes something familiar and comforting — a carefree trip with friends — and turns it into a nightmare," aiming for "a relentless, propulsive and globally accessible horror film that keeps audiences on edge from beginning to end." Coming off creature features that played to massive global numbers, these two clearly know how to scale a scare.
Who's Making It Happen
The film is produced by Erika North and Nick North of Singapore-based Yeti Entertainment, along with Claire Willats and Katie Davidson of UK outfit Two Magpies Entertainment. Jonathan Spink, former CEO of HBO Asia, is executive producing. Korea's K-Movie Entertainment is steering sales — and notably, Amara marks the company's first English-language title. K-Movie is the same shop that handled the blockbuster Korean franchise The Roundup with Don Lee, so there's real muscle behind getting this in front of buyers.
Why It's Worth Watching
The travel-horror corner of the genre — strangers, unfamiliar territory, rules you don't understand until it's too late — has a long track record of getting under people's skin. Pairing that with genuine regional folklore and a director who already proved he can deliver big-scale dread is a strong combination. Amara is in development right now, so there's no cast or trailer yet, but it just jumped onto the watchlist of anybody who likes their supernatural horror with teeth and a sense of place. We'll be tracking it.