Local film makers KRU Studios' big budget foray into Hollywood has earned it international attention, but not the kind it had hoped to get.

Instead, a Norse mythology expert has accused the content of ‘Vikingdom’ of insulting Norse myth and not siding the followers of the Old Way belief system.

NONE Worse still, Karl EH Seigfried, who teaches the subject at Loyola University in Chicago, likened ‘Vikingdom’ to the controversial anti-Muslim film 'Innocence of Muslims'.

"That awful video turned the message of (the Prophet) Muhammad upside down and gravely insulted Muslims the world over.

"Likewise, your film turns the ancient role of Thor exactly upside down,” he said in an open letter to the studio, posted on Facebook.

“I hope that you have not set out to insult the memory of the many, many followers of the Old Way who were tortured and murdered for their refusal to abandon their ancient faith.”

For followers of the Old Way all over the world, he said, the Norse gods are venerated and that Thor in particular was “single-mindedly dedicated to protection of the worlds of gods and men”.

This is unlike KRU Studio's apparent portrayal of the Viking gods as conquering mankind.

“I understand that this is simply ‘a fantasy, action adventure’ aimed at a mass market. However, pop culture can make a serious statement, as well. What statement are you making with this movie?” he asked.

‘Dark anti-Viking propaganda’

According to a summary of the plot by KRU Studios in the film database website IMDb, the film is about 'forgotten king' Eirick who is the only man who can stop Thor, the God of Thunder.

NONE In the film, Eirick must do this before the blood eclipse, so he can stop the Viking gods from conquering mankind ever again.

Seigfried said that instead of showing Thor's hammer - an ancient symbol of faith - as a weapon used to protect humanity, ‘Vikingdom’ has turned it on its head to make it a symbol of oppression.

He added that according to Norse myth only the “inglorious and unheroic dead” fight against Viking gods.

“Taking into account all the above points, it seems like your film is wholeheartedly accepting the darkest propaganda of the Christian missionaries and their allies who violently persecuted followers of the Old Way.”

‘Vikingdom’, which features Hollywood actor Dominic Purcell, is directed by Yusry Abdul Halim, a member of the one-time teenage heart-throb boyband KRU.

Written by James Coyne, it hit Malaysian silver screens on Sept 12 and is due to open in the US on Oct 4.

According to IMDb, it cost approximately US$15.6 million (RM50.47 million) and is likely the most expensive film by a Malaysian production house.