View source for Lamb (2021 film)


{{Use American English|date=May 2021}}

{{Infobox film
| name           = Lamb
| image          = Dýrið poster.jpg
| caption        = Icelandic poster
| director       = [[Valdimar Jóhannsson]]
| producer       = {{plainlist|
* Marcin Drabiński
* Piodor Gustafsson
* Zuzanna Hencz
* Hrönn Kristinsdóttir
* Jon Mankell
* Sara Nassim
* Jan Naszewski
* Erik Rydell
* Klaudia Śmieja-Rostworowska
}}
| writer         = {{plainlist|
* [[Sjón]]
* Valdimar Jóhannsson
}}
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[Noomi Rapace]]
* [[Hilmir Snær Guðnason]]
* [[Björn Hlynur Haraldsson]]
* [[Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson]]
}}
| music          = Þórarinn Guðnason
| cinematography = [[Eli Arenson]]
| editing        = [[Agnieszka Glińska (film editor)|Agnieszka Glińska]]
| production_companies = {{plainlist|
* Go to Sheep
* Boom Films
* Black Spark Productions
* Madants/NEM Corp
* [[Film i Väst]]
* Chimney Sweden
* Chimney Poland
* Rabbit Hole Productions
}}
| distributor    = {{plainlist|
*[[Sena (company)|Sena]] (Iceland)
*TriArt Film (Sweden)
*Gutek Film (Poland)
}}
| released       = {{film date|2021|7|13|[[2021 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]]|df=yes|2021|09|24|Iceland|2021|12|31|Poland|2022|03|11|Sweden}}
| runtime        = 107 minutes<ref>{{cite web |title=Lamb |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/lamb-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc01mzm4mtm |publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]] |access-date=9 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126173728/https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/lamb-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc01mzm4mtm |archive-date=26 November 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| country        = {{ubl|Iceland|Sweden|Poland}}
| language       = Icelandic
| budget         = 
| gross          = $3.2 million
}}
'''''Lamb''''' ({{langx|is|Dýrið||The Animal}}) is a 2021 [[folk horror]] film directed by [[Valdimar Jóhannsson]], who {{nowrap|co-wrote}} the screenplay with [[Sjón]]. It marks Valdimar's [[List of directorial debuts|{{nowrap|feature-length}} directorial debut]] and stars [[Noomi Rapace]] and [[Hilmir Snær Guðnason]] as a couple who adopt a mysterious {{nowrap|human-sheep}} [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrid]] as their own.

An [[international co-production|international {{nowrap|co-production}}]] between Iceland, Sweden, and Poland,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pisf.pl/aktualnosci/premiera-kinowa-koprodukcji-lamb/|title = PISF - Premiera kinowa koprodukcji "Lamb"}}</ref> the film features Rapace and Hungarian filmmaker [[Béla Tarr]] as executive producers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Crow |first=David |date=28 July 2021 |title=New A24 Horror Movie Lamb Could be the Craziest Film of the Fall |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/new-a24-horror-movie-lamb-craziest-film-of-fall/ |website=Den of Geek}}</ref> After premiering at the [[2021 Cannes Film Festival]], the film was released by [[Sena (company)|Sena]] in Iceland on 24 September 2021,<ref>{{cite web |title=Dýrið - Ísland |url=https://www.norden.org/is/nominee/dyrid-island |publisher=[[Nordic Council of Ministers]] |access-date=9 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101195506/https://www.norden.org/is/nominee/dyrid-island |archive-date=1 November 2022 |language=Icelandic |url-status=live}}</ref> Gutek Film in Poland on 31 December 2021,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pham |first1=Annika |title=Nordic Genre Boost films Lamb and Hatching attract world buyers |url=https://nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/news/stories/nordic-genre-boost-films-lamb-and-hatching-attract-world-buyers |publisher=[[Nordisk Film & TV Fond]] |access-date=9 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925183309/https://nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/news/stories/nordic-genre-boost-films-lamb-and-hatching-attract-world-buyers |archive-date=25 September 2020 |date=25 June 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> and TriArt Film in Sweden on 11 March 2022.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lamb (2022) |url=https://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/en/item/?type=film&itemid=625303#companies |website=[[Swedish Film Database]] |publisher=[[Swedish Film Institute]] |access-date=9 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613020655/https://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/en/item/?type=film&itemid=625303#companies |archive-date=13 June 2020 |date=9 December 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> 

''Lamb'' received positive reviews and grossed $3.2 million at the box office.<ref name="BOM">{{cite Box Office Mojo |id=9812474 |url= https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3725492993/?ref_=bo_da_table_5 |title= Lamb (2021) |access-date=27 February 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref> It was Iceland's entry for [[Academy Award for Best International Feature Film|Best International Feature Film]] at the [[94th Academy Awards]], and made the shortlist but was ultimately not nominated.<ref name="Iceland">{{cite web |url=https://www.ruv.is/frett/2021/10/18/dyrid-framlag-islands-til-oskarsverdlauna |title=Kvikmyndin Dýrið verður framlag Íslands til Óskarsverðlauna 2022. |first=Davíð |last=Kjartan Gestsson |work=RÚV |date=18 October 2021 |access-date=18 October 2021 |archive-date=22 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222003524/https://www.ruv.is/frett/2021/10/18/dyrid-framlag-islands-til-oskarsverdlauna |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Plot==
{{unreferenced section|date=February 2026}}
A herd of horses in Iceland is spooked by an unknown, loudly-breathing entity that makes its way to a barn. Later, farmer María and her husband, Ingvar, are shocked when one of their pregnant sheep births a human–sheep [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrid]] with a mostly human body but a lamb's head and right arm.

María and Ingvar take the hybrid infant in as their own. Naming her Ada after their deceased daughter, the couple care for her as their own child. The ewe that is Ada's biological mother misses her child, loitering outside the couple's home in an attempt to contact Ada. 

Ada goes missing and is later found next to the ewe. Shortly after, María kills the ewe and buries her body. Unbeknownst to her, Ingvar's roving brother Pétur, who arrives at the farmhouse shortly before the killing, witnesses the incident before sleeping in the barn. 

Pétur, who makes sexual advances towards María, is very disturbed by Ada, considering her "an animal, not a child". Ingvar claims that the whole situation has given them happiness. Petur is increasingly angered and disturbed by the couple's attachment to Ada. While everyone else is asleep, Pétur takes her on an early morning walk with the intention of shooting her. However, he has a tearful change of heart and is later seen soundly sleeping with Ada and soon becomes an uncle to her.

One evening, while María, Pétur, and Ingvar are having a drunken party, Ada witnesses the unknown entity from before near the barn. The entity kills the family's dog before taking the family's gun. After the party, a drunk Ingvar goes to bed. Pétur makes sexual advances toward María once again. When she rejects his advances, Pétur reveals that he witnessed her killing Ada's sheep mother and tries to blackmail María into having sex with him by threatening to reveal this to Ada. María pretends to be seduced by Pétur in order to lock him in a storage room. 

The next morning, María unlocks the storage room and drives Pétur to a bus stop. Sending him away, she insists she is committed to a new start with her family. After waking up to find María and Pétur missing, Ingvar takes Ada to fix the broken tractor left halfway to the lake, but the attempt is unsuccessful. On their way back home, the entity, revealed to be a ram/man hybrid and Ada's biological father, emerges and shoots Ingvar in the neck before taking a tearful Ada with him and walking away into the wilderness.

María returns home and finds that Ingvar and Ada are missing. She searches for the two, discovers Ingvar before he dies, and despairs at the loss of her husband and new child. María tearfully searches the wilderness in vain.

==Cast==
* [[Noomi Rapace]] as María
* [[Hilmir Snær Guðnason]] as Ingvar
* [[Björn Hlynur Haraldsson]] as Pétur
* [[Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson]] as man on television
* Lára Björk Hall as the voice of Ada

==Production==
Jóhannsson was born in northern Iceland in 1978, where his grandparents were sheep farmers—an upbringing that directly influenced the film's setting and atmosphere.<ref>{{cite web |last=Vivarelli |first=Nick |title=Valdimar Johannsson's Lamb: 'A new folklore using elements from old ones' |url=https://scroll.in/reel/1018005/a-new-folklore-using-elements-from-old-ones-lamb-director-on-his-beguiling-debut-feature |website=Scroll.in |date=25 February 2022 |access-date=14 December 2025}}</ref> Before directing his first feature, he worked in special effects on productions including ''[[Rogue One]]'', ''[[Game of Thrones]]'', and ''[[Prometheus (2012 film)|Prometheus]]''.<ref name="IndieWire">{{cite web |last=Lattanzio |first=Ryan |title='Lamb': How the Nordic Folk Horror Film Pulled Off Its Outlandish Special Effects Twist |url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/lamb-director-valdimar-johansson-visual-effects-1234670614/ |website=[[IndieWire]] |date=11 October 2021 |access-date=14 December 2025}}</ref> From 2013 to 2015, he studied filmmaking at [[Béla Tarr]]'s Film Factory in Sarajevo, an experience that shaped the film's contemplative pacing.<ref name="IndieWire"/>

Co-writer [[Sjón]], an Icelandic poet and novelist known for his collaborations with [[Björk]] on songs including "[[Isobel (song)|Isobel]]" and "[[Bachelorette (song)|Bachelorette]]," brought his expertise in Icelandic folklore to the project.<ref>{{cite web |last=Alexander |first=Sonya |title=An Economy of Words: An Interview with 'Lamb' Screenwriter Sjón |url=https://scriptmag.com/interviews-features/an-economy-of-words-an-interview-with-lamb-screenwriter-sj%C3%B3n |website=Script Magazine |date=19 October 2021 |access-date=14 December 2025}}</ref> Sjón was previously nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Original Song]] for ''[[Dancer in the Dark]]'' (2000) and later co-wrote ''[[The Northman]]'' (2022) with [[Robert Eggers]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Who is Sjón? Meet the Icelander Behind The Northman and Lamb |url=https://www.moviemaker.com/who-is-sjon-meet-the-icelander-poet-novelist-the-northman-lamb/ |website=MovieMaker |date=31 January 2023 |access-date=14 December 2025}}</ref>

The character of Ada was created through a combination of practical effects and CGI, using approximately ten child actors of various ages, four real lambs, and puppeteers. Child actors wore green-screen caps that were later replaced with a digital lamb's head.<ref name="IndieWire"/> Early versions of the screenplay included dialogue for Ada, but this was removed when test footage revealed that giving her a voice diminished the film's ambiguity.<ref>{{cite web |last=Desta |first=Yohana |title=Lamb's Noomi Rapace Explains New Film: I Feel Like It's its Own Genre |url=https://variety.com/2021/film/podcasts/lamb-noomi-rapace-iceland-a24-valdimar-johannsson-1235089707/ |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=15 October 2021 |access-date=14 December 2025}}</ref>

''Lamb'' marks the first film in which Noomi Rapace speaks Icelandic, a language she learned while living in Iceland as a child.<ref>{{cite web |title=Noomi Rapace on making the new Icelandic movie 'Lamb' |url=https://www.icelandair.com/blog/noomi-rapace-lamb-movie/ |website=Icelandair |access-date=14 December 2025}}</ref> Rapace delivered live lambs on set during filming.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cordero |first=Rohan |title=Why Lamb Taps Into Childhood Roots for Noomi Rapace |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/lamb-taps-childhood-roots-noomi-rapace/ |website=[[Den of Geek]] |date=6 October 2021 |access-date=14 December 2025}}</ref>

==Release==
In June 2020, the film was sold across [[Europe]] in the [[New Europe Film Sales]] agency. The film was picked up by distributors in Czech Republic (Artcam), France (The Jokers), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Slovakia (ASFK), Germany (Koch Films), Poland (Gutek Film), Benelux (The Searchers), Hungary (Vertigo), Austria (Filmladen), Denmark (Camera Film), Lithuania ([[Scanorama (film festival)|Scanorama]]), [[former Yugoslavia]] (Five Stars/Demiurg), Estonia (Must Käsi) and Latvia (Kino Bize) with [[MUBI]] acquiring the distribution rights for Latin America (excluding Mexico), Turkey, India, the UK and Ireland.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mitchell|first=Wendy|title=Buyers feast on Icelandic drama 'Lamb' (Exclusive)|url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/buyers-feast-on-icelandic-drama-lamb-Exclusive/5161340.article|access-date=27 July 2021|website=ScreenDaily|language=en|archive-date=8 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210708054525/https://www.screendaily.com/news/buyers-feast-on-icelandic-drama-lamb-Exclusive/5161340.article|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Variety">{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2020/film/global/cannes-noomi-rapace-lamb-1234646120/ |title=Noomi Rapace Supernatural Drama 'Lamb' Sells Across Europe (Exclusive)|first=Leo|last=Barraclough|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=23 June 2020|access-date=22 March 2021}}</ref><ref name="Bloody">{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3621269/first-shot-noomi-rapace-supernatural-drama-lamb-cannes/|title=Gorgeous First Shot of Noomi Rapace in Supernatural Drama 'Lamb' [Cannes]|first=Brad|last=Miska|website=[[Bloody Disgusting]]|date=24 June 2020|access-date=22 March 2021|archive-date=2 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702200241/https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3621269/first-shot-noomi-rapace-supernatural-drama-lamb-cannes/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NEFS">{{cite web|url=http://neweuropefilmsales.com/movies/lamb/|title=LAMB – New Europe Film Sales|website=[[New Europe Film Sales]]|access-date=22 March 2021|archive-date=23 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123230141/http://neweuropefilmsales.com/movies/lamb/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/noomi-rapace-cannes-bound-drama-lamb-snared-by-mubi-in-multi-territory-deal-Exclusive-1234970368/|title=Noomi Rapace Cannes-Bound Drama 'Lamb' Snared by Mubi in Multi-Territory Deal (Exclusive)|last=Ritman|first=Alex|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=18 June 2021|accessdate=8 July 2021|archive-date=18 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618100713/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/noomi-rapace-cannes-bound-drama-lamb-snared-by-mubi-in-multi-territory-deal-Exclusive-1234970368/|url-status=live}}</ref> In July 2021, [[A24]] acquired North American distribution rights to the film.<ref name="A24">{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2021/film/global/a24-cannes-un-certain-regard-lamb-new-europe-film-sales-1235011672/|title=A24's Pickup of Cannes Un Certain Regard Film 'Lamb' ConfirmeNew Europe Film Sales Debuts Teaser|website=Variety|first=Leo|last=Barraclough|date=5 July 2021|access-date=5 July 2021|archive-date=5 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210705111834/https://variety.com/2021/film/global/a24-cannes-un-certain-regard-lamb-new-europe-film-sales-1235011672/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The film had its world premiere on 13 July 2021 as part of the official selection at the [[2021 Cannes Film Festival]] in the ''[[Un Certain Regard]]'' section.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/infos-communiques/communique/articles/the-films-of-the-official-selection-2021|title = The films of the Official Selection 2021|date = 3 June 2021|access-date = 4 June 2021|archive-date = 3 June 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210603101725/https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/infos-communiques/communique/articles/the-films-of-the-official-selection-2021|url-status = live}}</ref>  It was released in the United States on 8 October 2021. The film also had a special screening of [[BFI London Film Festival]] on 15 October 2021.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.bfi.org.uk/london-film-festival/news/full-programme-65th-bfi-london-film-festival |title = BFI is Special Screening on Lamb (2021) in USA |newspaper = Bfi |archive-date = 24 September 2021 |access-date = 10 August 2025 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210924004429/https://www.bfi.org.uk/london-film-festival/news/full-programme-65th-bfi-london-film-festival |url-status = live }}</ref>

== Reception ==
=== Box office ===
In the United States and Canada, ''Lamb'' was released alongside ''[[No Time to Die]]'' and earned $1 million from 583 theaters, finishing seventh and marking the best-ever opening weekend for an Icelandic film in the U.S.<ref>{{Cite web |last= D'Alessandro |first= Anthony |date= 10 October 2021 |title= 'No Time to Die', Daniel Craig's Final Bond Film, Opens to $56M Domestic Opening – Box Office |url= https://deadline.com/2021/10/no-time-to-die-weekend-box-office-1234852700/ |access-date= 10 October 2021 |website= Deadline Hollywood |archive-date= 19 October 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211019113709/https://deadline.com/2021/10/no-time-to-die-weekend-box-office-1234852700/ |url-status= live }}</ref>

=== Critical response ===
{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|86|7.1|189|Darkly imaginative and brought to life by a pair of striking central performances, ''Lamb'' shears expectations with its singularly wooly chills.|ref=yes|access-date=31 October 2021}} {{MC film|68|33|ref=yes|access-date=16 October 2021}}

David Fear of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' described the film as "the odd, unsettling, soon-to-be-your-cult-movie-of-choice straight outta Iceland", and wrote: "It's the sweetest, most touching waking nightmare you've ever experienced."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Fear |first=David |date=9 October 2021 |title='Lamb' Is the Sweetest, Most Touching Horror-Movie Nightmare You've Ever Seen |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/lamb-movie-review-noomi-rapace-1234065/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 October 2021 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |archive-date=16 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016132915/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/lamb-movie-review-noomi-rapace-1234065/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Jeannette Catsoulis of ''[[The New York Times]]'' called the film an "atmospheric debut feature", and added that it "plays like a folk tale and thrums like a horror movie." She wrote: "Slow-moving and inarguably nutty, ''Lamb'' nevertheless wields its [[atavistic]] power with the straightest of faces".<ref>{{cite news |last=Catsoulis |first=Jeannette |date=7 October 2021 |title='Lamb' Review: Oh No, Not My Baby! |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/07/movies/lamb-review.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011104638/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/07/movies/lamb-review.html |archive-date=11 October 2021 |url-status=live |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Michael O'Sullivan of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' also described the film as a "haunting, atmospheric feature debut", and wrote: "Johannsson has a way of imbuing everything — animate and inanimate, even an empty doorway — with a kind of living, breathing spirit." He gave the film a score of 3/4 stars.<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Sullivan |first=Michael |title=Review {{!}} The movie 'Lamb' is weird, even by A24 standards, but also haunting and beautiful |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/lamb-movie-review/2021/10/06/26962110-23ab-11ec-b3d6-8cdebe60d3e2_story.html |access-date=15 October 2021 |url-access=limited |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=23 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023152300/https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/lamb-movie-review/2021/10/06/26962110-23ab-11ec-b3d6-8cdebe60d3e2_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Katie Walsh of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote, "Ominous mountains look down upon the pastoral arena where this fantastical yet meditative rural drama plays out; it's a modern folk tale about the strange realities of life and death that such a closeness to nature affords."<ref>{{cite news |last=Walsh |first=Katie |date=7 October 2021 |title=Review: Horror haunts the edges of darkly meditative Icelandic folk tale 'Lamb' |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-10-07/review-lamb-noomi-rapace |access-date=15 October 2021 |url-access=subscription |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |archive-date=15 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015092758/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-10-07/review-lamb-noomi-rapace |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Joe Morgenstern]] of ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' described the film as "a shaggy lamb story expertly told."<ref>{{cite news |last=Morgenstern |first=Joe |title='Lamb' Review: Shear Brilliance |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/lamb-noomi-rapace-valdimar-johannsson-lisbeth-sander-girl-with-the-dragon-tatoo-11633639271 |url-access=subscription |access-date=16 October 2021 |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=7 October 2021 |archive-date=16 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016025321/https://www.wsj.com/articles/lamb-noomi-rapace-valdimar-johannsson-lisbeth-sander-girl-with-the-dragon-tatoo-11633639271 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Kevin Maher (writer)|Kevin Maher]] of ''[[The Times]]'' gave the film 4/5 stars, writing, "The director, Valdimar Johannsson, treats the admittedly ridiculous material with a convincing, deadpan seriousness and is supported at every step by his star performer on impeccable form."<ref>{{cite news |last=Maher |first=Kevin|date=10 December 2021 |title=Lamb review — original and bizarre fright flick mixes slow-building tension with visual gags |newspaper=[[The Times]] |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/lamb-review-original-and-bizarre-fright-flick-mixes-slow-building-tension-with-visual-gags-b6vj8wc6b |access-date=14 December 2021 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref>

[[Richard Brody]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' was more critical of the film, saying that it "preens and strains to be admired even as it reduces its characters to pieces on a game board and its actors to puppets."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Brody |first=Richard |date=8 October 2021 |title="Lamb," Reviewed: A Horror Film Where Cleverness Is the Problem |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/lamb-reviewed-a-horror-film-where-cleverness-is-the-problem |url-access=limited |access-date=15 October 2021 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |archive-date=8 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008233733/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/lamb-reviewed-a-horror-film-where-cleverness-is-the-problem |url-status=live }}</ref> Barry Hertz of ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' criticized the film's ending as being "like a parody of an [[A24#Styles and themes|A24 horror movie]]", and wrote, "I won't make the obvious joke and say it's [[Sheep#Vocalisations|baaad]]. But its sheep thrills are mutton to write home about, either."<ref>{{cite news |last=Hertz |first=Barry |date=5 October 2021 |title=Review: Wild horror film Lamb will do mutton for your parental anxieties |newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]] |url-access=limited |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/reviews/article-wild-horror-film-lamb-will-do-mutton-for-your-parental-anxieties/ |access-date=15 October 2021}}</ref> Alison Willmore of ''[[New York (magazine)#Vulture|Vulture]]'' wrote, "By the time the final act rolls around, ''Lamb'' approaches the idea that there's a price that must be paid with a shrugging diffidence rather than impending doom. It's such an underwhelming conclusion to a film with such a compelling start."<ref>{{cite web |last=Willmore |first=Alison |date=8 October 2021 |title=Lamb Is a Dark Fairy Tale With a Great Concept and Not Much to Say |website=[[New York (magazine)#Vulture|Vulture]] |url-access=limited |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/dark-fairytale-lamb-has-a-great-concept-but-not-much-to-say.html |access-date=16 October 2021}}</ref>

The film ranks on Rotten Tomatoes' Best Horror Movies of 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Best Horror Movies of 2021, Ranked |url=https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/best-horror-movies-of-2021-ranked/ |access-date=2025-05-11 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |language=en-US |archive-date=2 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240702200126/https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/best-horror-movies-of-2021-ranked/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Accolades===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Recipient
! Result
! Ref
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[2021 Cannes Film Festival]]
| [[Un Certain Regard]] Prize of Originality
| ''Lamb''
| {{won}}
| rowspan="2" | <ref name="Cannes">{{cite web |title=Awards 2021 |url=https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/press/press-releases/all-the-74th-festival-de-cannes-awards/ |website=Festival de Cannes |access-date=14 December 2025}}</ref>
|-
| Palm Dog Award – Grand Jury Prize
| Panda (sheepdog)
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Nordic Council Film Prize]]
| Best Film
| Valdimar Jóhannsson, Sjón, Hrönn Kristinsdóttir, Sara Nassim
| {{won}}
| <ref name="NordicCouncil">{{cite web |title=Nordic Council Film Prize 2021 |url=https://deadline.com/2022/11/valdimar-johannssons-wins-nordic-council-film-prize-1235160530/ |website=Deadline |access-date=14 December 2025}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="4" | [[Edda Award]]s 2022
| Film of the Year
| ''Lamb''
| {{won}}
| rowspan="4" | <ref name="Edda">{{cite web |title=Edda Awards 2022 |url=https://www.icelandreview.com/news/valdimar-johannsons-lamb-sweeps-edda-awards/ |website=Iceland Review |access-date=14 December 2025}}</ref>
|-
| Director of the Year
| Valdimar Jóhannsson
| {{won}}
|-
| Screenplay of the Year
| Valdimar Jóhannsson, Sjón
| {{won}}
|-
| Supporting Actor of the Year
| [[Björn Hlynur Haraldsson]]
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Sitges Film Festival]]
| Best Film
| ''Lamb''
| {{won}}
| rowspan="2" | <ref>{{cite web |title=Sitges 2021 Winners |url=https://sitgesfilmfestival.com/es/actualitat/palmares/2021 |website=Sitges Film Festival |access-date=14 December 2025}}</ref>
|-
| Best Actress
| [[Noomi Rapace]]
| {{won}}
|}

The film swept the 2022 Edda Awards, winning 12 of its 13 nominations.<ref name="Edda"/> The Nordic Council jury described the film as "unique and darkly menacing."<ref name="NordicCouncil"/>

==See also==
* [[List of submissions to the 94th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film]]
* [[List of Icelandic submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|9812474}}
* [https://www.icelandicfilmcentre.is/kvikmyndir/dyrid ''Lamb''] at the [[Icelandic Film Centre]]
{{Icelandic submissions for the Academy Award}}

[[Category:2021 films]]
[[Category:2021 Icelandic films]]
[[Category:2021 Swedish films]]
[[Category:2021 Polish films]]
[[Category:2021 American films]]
[[Category:2020s Icelandic-language films]]
[[Category:2020s monster movies]]
[[Category:2021 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:2021 drama films]]
[[Category:2021 fantasy films]]
[[Category:2021 independent films]]
[[Category:A24 (company) films]]
[[Category:Films about adoption]]
[[Category:Films about families]]
[[Category:Films about sheep]]
[[Category:Films set in Iceland]]
[[Category:Films set on farms]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Sjón]]
[[Category:Folk horror films]]
[[Category:Icelandic drama films]]
[[Category:Icelandic fantasy films]]
[[Category:Icelandic independent films]]
[[Category:Polish drama films]]
[[Category:Polish fantasy films]]
[[Category:Polish independent films]]
[[Category:Swedish drama films]]
[[Category:Swedish fantasy films]]
[[Category:Swedish independent films]]
[[Category:2020s supernatural horror films]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Lamb (2021 film)|access_date=2026-03-04}}