Gay vampire fans, clear some space on the calendar because another queer Gothic romance is coming for us — and this one is bringing a rugged Danish whaler with it.
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Altered Innocence has acquired all North American rights to Kasper Kalle’s No Rest For The Wicked, a queer Gothic romance starring Game of Thrones’ Pilou Asbæk and Egor Venned. The film is set for a theatrical release in the U.S. in 2027, following its festival run.
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And judging by the setup, this is not exactly a vampire story about quietly sipping tea together.
A forbidden romance in the Faroe Islands
Set in the windswept Faroe Islands in 1862, No Rest For The Wicked follows Baldur (Egor Venned), a young fisherman whose isolated life changes when Helge (Pilou Asbæk), a rugged Danish whaler, arrives in his community.
Yes, rugged Danish whaler. The movie clearly knows what kind of visual vocabulary it is working with. As attraction grows between the two men, their forbidden romance collides with tragedy and supernatural forces in their deeply religious community.
The official description promises that “Baldur and Helge’s passion gives rise to a haunting tale of love that refuses to die.”
And honestly, if you’re going to give us a forbidden gay romance between a fisherman and a rugged whaler, adding vampires and doomed passion feels like the natural next step.
The gay romance comes with teeth
The film is inspired by Karl Heinrich Ulrichs’ 1885 short story Manor, an early work of queer Gothic literature published more than a decade before Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
So No Rest For The Wicked isn’t simply borrowing the aesthetic of old-school Gothic horror. Its inspiration comes from an early piece of queer Gothic literature, while the movie itself puts a same-sex romance right at the center of the vampire story.
The film world-premiered in Competition at the 2026 Fantasia International Film Festival, where Kalle won the Cheval Noir Award for Best Director and Asbæk took home the Cheval Noir Award for Best Actor. Apparently, the rugged whaler has range.
Pilou Asbæk is bringing the rugged whaler energy
Asbæk is probably best known to many viewers for Game of Thrones, but No Rest For The Wicked gives him a very different kind of role — and one that comes with considerably more forbidden-romance potential.
As Helge, he plays the rugged Danish whaler whose arrival changes Baldur’s isolated life. The two men develop a forbidden attraction, and from there, things get considerably less wholesome thanks to tragedy and supernatural forces.
Basically, this is the kind of movie where you can admire the man, appreciate the chemistry and then remember that everyone is probably doomed. The cast also includes Sofia Nolsøe Mikkelsen, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson and Kjartan Hansen.
A gay vampire romance where nobody gets to play it safe
What makes No Rest For The Wicked especially tempting is that the queer romance isn’t simply sitting on the sidelines while the vampire horror happens around it.
Baldur and Helge’s attraction is central to the story, with their passion becoming tangled up in tragedy, religion and supernatural forces.
So yes, we’re apparently getting two men falling for each other in an isolated 1862 community where being openly attracted to another man is already dangerous — and then vampires decide to make everything even more complicated.
As if gay dating wasn’t stressful enough. Altered Innocence founder Frank Jaffe clearly knows exactly what kind of queer horror he has acquired.
“I’ve always had a huge love for queer horror, so it’s especially exciting to get to release one that operates at this level,” said Altered Innocence founder Frank Jaffe. “No Rest For The Wicked is a stunning, sexy and deeply romantic gothic tale that I can’t wait for fans to sink their teeth into!”
Considering this is a movie about forbidden attraction, supernatural forces and a rugged whaler arriving in an isolated community, “sink their teeth into” feels particularly appropriate for a vampire romance.
No Rest For The Wicked will continue its festival run before its planned 2027 theatrical release in the U.S.
Source: Deadline