Rare Exports

I really enjoyed this movie, harkening back to 80s classics like Tremors or gremlins where a small-town community must deal with a large threat that terrorizes their way of life. While Christmas horror films have been done before, such as silent night deadly night or Black Christmas, this movie puts its own spin on the genre and helps capture a tone and comedy that is unique to this Finnish production.

'What if Father Christmas was evil?' That's the general premise of the film that drives the narrative and I appreciate that the film took itself seriously, it didn't divulge into making the entire premise a joke like an asylum film would, and it's better for it!

The acting was spot on especially from the child actor (Onni Tommila) and the dad (Jorma Tommila). Story and atmosphere are fantastic in the first two acts. The mystery that builds up is slow and gripping as you begin to thaw into its icy interior. The cinematography excels at showing the unique location of the Icey, harsh and ragged landscape of the Korvatunturi mountains in rural Finland, adding a great deal to the film's atmosphere.

However, It drags in the middle with a long time dedicated Inside a slaughterhouse, this part really kills it's pacing and stops the plot in its tracks. Then there's the third act... it's bad. If you look at other reviews online, the same complaints keep cropping up; Terrible CGI, plot convenience, and the comedy & atmosphere that made the first two acts so great disappear from the film.

I was still very positive on the film and would recommend especially if you're sick of the same old Christmas movies and want something new and unique this holiday season.

'Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)' is weird. Not weird in the quirky sense, just weird. It has a bizarre plot but it takes itself almost entirely seriously, it's increasingly outlandish but it it's never playful, it's dark and gritty but it's never tense or scary... it's difficult to describe, really. It isn't quite a comedy, despite being absurd; it isn't quite a horror, despite being grim. It sits in an odd sort of limbo between genres. Who is its intended audience? I'm not sure that even it knows. I can't see it being a cult classic because it isn't 'bad' enough, but I can't see being a critical darling because it isn't 'good' enough. It has a decent atmosphere and it's fairly compelling, but it doesn't seem to move past its initial stages and a huge chunk of its plot is portrayed as a montage just before its end credits. Like I said, it's weird. It's a fairly decent effort, though, and I don't think anyone can claim that it's generic. 6/10

Just seen this at a Preview Screening in London.

This was an excellent little Christmas horror film but good enough for older kids above 13 to watch. Its not gory as this is one of those less is more type of films but it is quite creepy. Bizarelly, there is quite a bit of male nudity but its in such a way that you should think nothing of it. It wasn't a big deal to the on screen characters and I suspect somehow that the film makers are not expecting it to be a big deal with us either. But there were a few people in my audience who chuckled loudly and as for me, I did so, quietly, and fleetingly wanting to just watch the film unravel its mysteries.

The child antagonist was absolutely superb playing the typical "why won't the grown ups listen to me" role. How he eventually grabs their attention will have you cheering like hell. The story is well paced and creepy. With a couple of good twists and a sprinkle of humour thrown in the mix.

The soundtrack was pretty bombastic (reminiscent of Michael Giacchino "Roar" track from Cloverfield) which was great but perhaps a little too over used when a bit more subtlety was needed in certain moments of the film.

This film reminds me of my favourite old dark fable movies with child protagonists such as Night of the Hunter, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and Lost Boys. In fact I would sum this up as a Stephen King type horror story for the family.

The very ending of the film felt rather overly silly though, which is my only criticism but its not enough to knock any marks off my rating.

This might well turn into a Christmas sleeper hit, if not, perhaps later on, will be a little cult classic

I just recently caught a screening of Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale and I was definitely not disappointed. My expectations were relatively high after having seen the two short films previously released in this series, and while this version did stray somewhat from the concepts shown in the short films, it did stay true to the overall feel of the previous incarnations.

Although this film was not particularly deep or thought provoking it was very fun to watch and highly enjoyable. Somewhat creepy in places, this was mainly played up for humorous effect and overall the film displayed a dark sense of humor quite different from any Christmas movie that I have ever seen.

I would highly recommend this film to fans of the original short films or anyone looking for something a little bit different around the holiday season!

This might be a Christmas story, but note this will give kids nightmares. This Christmas tale is not about a happy child-loving Santa bearing gifts. Oh, no, quite the opposite!

At a drill sit in the mountains, sawdust is found at a depth of 1300 feet. As it turns out, sawdust was used years ago to keep things refrigerated. Story goes, years ago, the Sami people drove Santa onto a frozen lake, and when he fell in and froze, they hauled him out and buried him under rocks, thus creating a mountain. This Santa was a truly evil being.

When local reindeer hunters find hundreds of reindeer killed and left to rot, they blame the researchers and decide to pay them a visit to demand compensation. However, arriving at the site, they find it abandoned - and they discover a huge excavation site.

Young Pietari Kontio believes the pit to be where Santa is buried. Convinced Santa is evil, he fears Santa will come for all the children in town. When his Dad, Rauno (Jorma Tommila) finds a man in a wolf trap and believes him to be dead, Rauno and his friend, Piiparinen, take the man to his slaughterhouse where they decide how to get rid of the body. But they are horrified when the man suddenly comes to and doesn't act human. And this is only just the start of their hellish nightmare.

This film truly is creepy. The old man they found in the pit is a pure evil looking creature. In fact, I found him to be the film's highlight, as I never really knew what to expect from him. The make-up effects and visuals are fantastic, and the performances believable. The foreboding atmosphere significantly intensifies the moment the old man arrives, and had me on the edge of my seat.

Cleverly, this horror film relies entirely on suspense, and not blood and gore. At times the suspense gets under your skin, and I enjoy horror films that are able to accomplish this so effectively. If you're in the mood for a different kind of Christmas story around the Festive Season, then this is the perfect choice. I absolutely loved it and no doubt will be watching it every year around Christmas time. This was well worth the watch!