Viljar Bøe Returns with Disturbing New Film ‘Above the Knee’

Norwegian filmmaker Viljar Bøe, best known for his breakout feature Good Boy, returns with a new high-concept psychological thriller, Above the Knee, which will arrive on UK digital platforms on 8 September. It also receives its UK premiere at FrightFest on 25 August.

The film centres on Amir, played by Freddy Singh, a man whose seemingly idyllic life with his partner Kim (Julie Abrahamsen) hides a disturbing inner struggle. From an early age, Amir has been consumed by the belief that his left leg does not belong to him. Haunted by recurring visions of decay and plagued with the conviction that amputation is the only solution, he becomes driven to sever himself from the limb at any cost.

Bøe, who has built a reputation for unsettling genre pieces that interrogate the darker sides of human psychology, both wrote and directed the film. Shot under the banner of Varde Film, Above the Knee brings together a team of emerging Scandinavian talent. Singh, whose acting career began in Iram Haq’s What Will People Say, delivers his first leading feature role here, while Abrahamsen, winner of Best Supporting Actress at the DreamMachine Film Festival in 2023, portrays Kim, his increasingly concerned partner. Louise Waage Anda takes on the role of Rikke, and Viggo Solomon plays Jonas.

Behind the camera, the production was overseen by Karl Oskar Åsli and Marie Waade Grønning, both frequent collaborators of Bøe. Åsli, whose own disability has influenced his perspective on stories of physical and psychological struggle, has produced all of Bøe’s features to date. Grønning, who also handled set design, costumes and props, continues her multi-faceted approach to film production, having previously worked on Good Boy.

Bøe has described his career focus as crafting genre films with a high-concept hook. With Above the Knee, he once again uses a contained premise to explore themes of alienation, obsession and the boundaries of selfhood. For Singh, the role offered the opportunity to bring his technical understanding of filmmaking into his performance, having previously studied film and television production before shifting to acting full time.

The release adds to the growing international presence of Norwegian genre cinema. With Bøe already working on further projects at Varde Film, Above the Knee arrives as both a standalone psychological horror and another step in the director’s development as one of the region’s most distinctive new voices.

Above the Knee will be available from 8 September on digital platforms including Apple TV, Amazon, Google, Rakuten and Sky Store. Above the Knee also receives its UK premiere at FrightFest on 25 August 2025.

Above the Knee trailer