"The Runestone" is a conglomeration of ideas, some good, but mostly bad. The mythological reasoning for a Norse discovering of America, long before Christopher Columbus, is shear genius. It seems that the Norwegians had a monster, closely resembling "Pumpkinhead", that they wished to dispose of. Tricking the beast and entombing him in a gigantic rock, they then set sail for the farthest disposal land they could find, thus stumbling upon America, and dumping their unwanted rock in what is now Pennsylvania. This concludes the good ideas. Once their rock is unearthed in a coal mine, and brought to New York City, we get a standard monster on the loose affair. It is a real shame that an intriguing cast, including William Hickey, Lawrence Tierney, Peter Riegert, and Joan Severance, is so badly wasted here. Another uneasy element is the weak attempt to throw levity into the mix, although there is one "Paul Bartel type" dark comedy moment in an art gallery, that is definitely worth seeing. - MERK

One part end-of-the-world thriller, two parts werewolf-like nocturnal beast on the rampage horror picture, and all parts quick-moving, animated, get right down to business butt-stomping fun, this hugely enjoyable romp makes for a most pleasant surprise. An ancient rhunestone that's the prison for a centuries old clawed, fanged, highly lethal lupine humanoid monster gets unearthed in a Pennsylvannia coal mine. When the gigantic rock is sent to New York City so it can be displayed in an art gallery, naturally our hairy, hulking, none too friendly or sociable whatchamathingie wakes up from its lengthy slumber and boy is he one grumpy SOB! Pretty soon it's racking up a hefty corpse tally as a gruesome preliminary to a possible apocalypse said beast is a harbinger of. Of course, your usual colorfully mixed bag of courageous protagonists -- skeptical artist Joan Severance, her hunky boyfriend Tim Ryan, plucky teen Chris Young, and eccentric clockmaker Alexander Godunov -- have to stop this vicious critter or it's curtains for us all, baby! Besides the inspired and imaginative handy dandy multi-genre combo narrative which scores bonus novelty points for making Armageddon part of a Nordic prophecy rather than the standard hackneyed Christian religious hooey, this surprisingly well-produced and energetically executed little number further benefits from William Carroll's brisk, capable direction, a steady, unflagging forward-ho pace, David Newman's rousing score, some nice witty touches, a cool monster, handsome photography, several lively kill scenes, and a properly spooky atmosphere that positively reeks with ominous portent. The performances are uniformly stellar as well, with Peter Riegert giving a wonderfully rough-edged portrayal of a coarse, irascible, candy-noshing homicide detective and delightfully crusty cameos by Lawrence Tierney as a gruff police chief, William Hickey as a flaky elderly mythology expert, and Arthur Malet as an amiably yappy fuddy dud museum curator. Dynamic, thrilling and refreshingly bereft of any needless pretense or condescending campy humor, this vastly entertaining and charmingly old-fashioned fright film overall rates as one completely worthwhile and satisfying bloodthirsty behemoth on the loose in the Big Apple horror blast.

A modest monster movie made with a very limited budget on a not so bad idea (that unfortunately gets confused in the course of the movie): the Vikings came to America about 900 years before Columbus to leave a runestone that imprison Fenris, a wolf-god of the ancient time that is revived and let loose in an American modern town, creating havoc and massacre. Well, before the end the menace will be overcome, of course, but I don't tell you how. The only good reason to watch this movie was the presence of the gorgeous Joan Severance, but, alas, this is one of the movies in which she keeps her clothes on (really a bad idea). FX are really bad, but if you like a bad modern B-movie you may still enjoy it

I must comment on this film. It's one of my favorites. It superbly blends Norse mythology and imaginative writing to deliver a gripping, suspenseful tale. The script is witty and fast-paced. The Runestone is actually somewhat of an intelligent film. Sure, this is a lower budget project; but the director spent his money well. He put considerable effort into developing the characters. The monster is truly frightening. The production values are excellent. Some of the scenes possess a surreal quality that I really enjoy. The cast is certainly up to the task. Joan Severence gives an compelling, vivacious performance. In fact, everyone in the film is entertaining. The melding of the New York avant garde art world with Norse archaeology in various scenes is one of the elements that let this film enthrall the viewer. Its a fun ride to just sit back and enjoy the ambience and imagination of it all.I consider "The Runestone" one of the top films in the monster genre. I think that once you see it you will too.