A Christmas Tale - Rare Exports

'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

Full review here: http://thewildbore.blogspot.com/2010/12/rare-exports- Christmas-tale.html Finland isn't known for it's film exports, so here truly is a 'Rare Export' but should we return it? It's not exactly in the spirit of Christmas is it? This film is rather a prequel to two short films that the director made in 2003 and 2005 (both I will stick at the end of this article) where Santa isn't the merry old fat man we've come to know and love but is rather a beast of the wild that is tamed and exported around the world. But deciding that some short films weren't enough, Jalmari Helander decides to make a feature film about his 'hunters' before the events of Rare Exports Inc. & Rare Exports: Official Safety Instructions. I have to put this film into context because when viewing the film, not knowing much about it, it seemed very strange afterwards but now it kind of makes sense. However, it might be worth watching without seeing the videos included here, but it's your choice. Either way, the story is about how some corporate diggers are excavating something from a mountain near a remote village in the snowy outdoors. But it is a young boy who works out what is buried beneath and is taking every precaution just in case, whether it's taping cardboard to your bum or carrying around a shotgun, he's not taking any chances. I read somewhere that this harks back to the kiddie films of the Eighties like The Goonies where the kids were always right and the adults were idiots, but this has much more of a horror element to it. In fact, it is very funny in different places for different reasons but always keeps a dark, sinister edge whether it's the weird wooden dolls, the crazy rich excavator or the creepy Santa they find, there's always a tinge of horror at all times. The film is very well directed and, like many have said (mainly because of the snow) reminds people of The Thing, but all the set-up's are there and around the whole thing is the myth of Santa Claus (or Claws in this case). It makes for a very exciting, disturbing experience that is set around a time where people are supposed to get together and for someone who doesn't really enjoy Christmas, like myself, it makes a welcome distraction to all the 'niceness' of the Christmas season. The acting is, for the most part, very impressive and the end sequences with hundreds of naked old men running across the mountains is both funny and breathtaking at the same time. The film finds a great balance between horror, terror, humour and remembering that it shouldn't take itself too seriously, the gag is that it's about Santa after all. I always found something creepy about a fat, old man going into children's houses at night and giving them presents, seeing if they've been 'naughty or nice' and this plays on people's insecurities especially at a time where paedophilia is all over the news these days. It also has a rather serious, dramatic edge with an obviously painful father/son relationship, a man who is frustrated with the world and a 'coming-of-age' element about sacrifice and becoming independent. It could also be seen as a war of male generations, the son against the father, and the father against his own father, which in this case is represented by Father Christmas, it would make sense seeing as there is no females in the whole film but rather a world of manly hunters where soppy things like Christmas have no place. Overall, the film is enjoyable and the last five minutes is rather strange but makes sense once you see the short films. It might have a few plot holes but has been well thought out, perfectly directed and for something that could have so easily been one big joke, remains an impressive piece of work that the director clearly cared about. I recommend that you forget the usual Christmas ho-ho-Hell's and delve into a dark place where being naughty or nice is a life or death decision.

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!

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.

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!