{{short description|2008 film by Aaron Aites}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox film | name = Until the Light Takes Us | image = UTLTU poster.jpg | alt = film title, awards and critical commentary imposed over a stark black-and-white image of a man in black metal-wear – black clothing, spikes and corpse paint – holding an inverted cross | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = Aaron Aites<br/>Audrey Ewell | producer = Aaron Aites<br/>Tyler Brodie<br/>Audrey Ewell<br/>Gill Holland<br/>Frederick Howard | starring = Gylve "Fenriz" Nagell<br/>Varg "Count Grishnackh" Vikernes<br/>Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg<br/>Kjetil-Vidar "Frost" Haraldstad<br/>Harmony Korine<br/>Bjarne Melgaard<br/>Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg<br/>Bård "Faust" Eithun | cinematography = Audrey Ewell<br/>Odd Reinhardt Nicolaysen | editing = Andrew Ford | studio = Artists Public Domain<br/>Field Pictures<br/>The Group Entertainment | distributor = Variance Films | released = {{Film date|2008|10|31|AFI Film Festival|2009|12|04|United States}} | runtime = 93 minutes | country = United States | language = English }} '''''Until the Light Takes Us''''' is a 2008 American documentary film about early Norwegian black metal, directed by Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell. The film premiered at the AFI Film Festival in 2008, a year before it was released in theaters.
== Featured interviewees == * Gylve "Fenriz" Nagell (Darkthrone) * Varg "Count Grishnackh" Vikernes (Burzum, Mayhem) * Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg (Mayhem) * Olve "Abbath" Eikemo (Immortal) * Harald "Demonaz" Nævdal (Immortal) * Bjarne Melgaard (visual artist) * Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg (Ulver, Arcturus) * Kjetil "Frost" Haraldstad (Satyricon, 1349, Keep of Kalessin) * Bård "Faust" Eithun (Emperor) – Eithun chose to appear as a silhouette, with his voice distorted ;Archives footage * Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth (died in 1993) (Mayhem) * Per "Dead" Ohlin (died in 1991) (Mayhem) * Snorre "Blackthorn" Ruch (Thorns, Mayhem)
== Release == Variance Films acquired the theatrical rights to the film in the U.S. and released it in New York City on December 4, 2009.<ref name=rt /> The film grossed $7,246 on a single screen in its first week, the second highest per-screen gross of any debuting film at the time (behind ''Up in the Air'').{{Citation needed|date=November 2010}}
=== Reception === ''Until the Light Takes Us'' received a 54 out of 100 score on Metacritic<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/until-the-light-takes-us |title=''Until the Light Takes Us'' Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More – Metacritic |work=Metacritic |publisher=CBS Interactive |access-date=September 25, 2012}}</ref> and a 46% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.<ref name=rt>{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/until_the_light_takes_us/ |title=''Until the Light Takes Us'' |work=Rotten Tomatoes |publisher=Flixster |access-date=May 22, 2021}}</ref>
Andrew O'Hehir of Salon.com called the film "crafty and compelling".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.salon.com/topic/until_the_light_takes_us/ |title=''Until the Light Takes Us'' – Salon.com |last=O'Hehir |first=Andrew |date=December 7, 2009 |work=Salon.com |access-date=September 25, 2012}}</ref> Nick Pinkerton of ''The Village Voice'' wrote, "The filmmakers seem cowed into obeisance by their subjects. Varg's last onscreen appearance is accompanied by a montage fitting a schoolyard crush, and the film's title is the translation of Burzum's fourth album, ''Hvis lyset tar oss''. [...] [the film] arrives a decade too late to add much."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2009/12/01/until-the-light-takes-us-a-norwegian-black-metal-documentary/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216205037/https://www.villagevoice.com/2009/12/01/until-the-light-takes-us-a-norwegian-black-metal-documentary/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 16, 2018 |title=''Until the Light Takes Us'': A Norwegian Black Metal Documentary – Page 1 – Movies – New York – ''Village Voice'' |last=Pinkerton |first=Nick |date=December 1, 2009 |work=villagevoice.com |access-date=September 25, 2012}}</ref>
==See also== * ''Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground'' brings into focus the church burning and murders that occurred around 1993. * ''Lords of Chaos'', a dramatization of some events in the Norwegian black metal scene. * ''Metal: A Headbanger's Journey'', a documentary film discussing the traits and originators of some of metal's many subgenres, including Norwegian black metal.
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb title|1014809}} *{{rottentomatoes|until_the_light_takes_us}} *{{Metacritic film}} *{{mojo title|untilthelighttakesus}}
Category:2008 documentary films Category:2008 films Category:American independent films Category:Black metal Category:Documentary films about heavy metal music and musicians Category:Variance Films films Category:2008 independent films Category:2008 English-language films Category:2008 American films Category:American documentary films Category:English-language documentary films Category:English-language independent films