Père Noël Origines

For me this is one of those films that I just instantly took to heart, it has the sort of implicit comedy that you expect from the Cohen brothers, and a theme which really plays with your ideas of horror. It does help if you have a bit of background in Finnish mythology, there's no explanation, even in the subtitles, of the yule goat, and the word Joulupukki's close links to old stories about a sort of mischievous Christmas devil. It does introduce some of the old stories, but doesn't explain how they are actually commonly known history pertaining to Father Christmas in Finland, and weren't made up for the film or anything like that. Other than that, the film is visually beautiful, musically dramatic to at least the extent that Danny Elfman had ever achieved for Tim Burton, and has a sort of dignity that something with an undercurrent of comedy rarely has, relying on its ability to be funny without trying, something that Quinten Tarantino and the Cohen Brothers often leave us slack jawed over. I definitely recommend it.

Excavators in Finland discover something buried in a mountain. A local boy (Onni Tommila) believes it to be Santa Claus. No, not the lovable gift-giving Santa of myth, but an ancient demonic creature that punishes naughty people. Soon children start disappearing and the boy must lead his father and others in rescuing them and stopping Santa's creepy helpers.

I've seen quite a few "evil Santa" movies over the years. Some are campy fun and others are mean-spirited garbage. This is one of the better movies of this type I've seen. It's entertaining, but not campy, and it has a smart story and solid production values. This isn't some low-rent made-for-DVD slasher flick. The direction, cinematography, music, acting -- everything is of a good quality. Onni Tommila is a talented child actor with a bright future ahead of him I'm sure. So if I liked this why didn't I rate it higher? Well, the story never pays off and the ending is totally underwhelming. Without giving away a specific spoiler, I'll just say that the movie teases something that it never follows through with. One other complaint I have is that the subtitles are sometimes hard to read because, in many scenes, the ground is covered in snow. So you have white letters over a white background, which is tough on the eyes. Despite these issues, I think this is an interesting and enjoyable film. It isn't as good as it could have been but it's certainly worth a look.

I saw this the other day at the London Film Festival and went in with no expectations, not having seen the short films it was based on. It was a fantastic surprise and i would put it right up there, if not in number one position, as the best film festival films i have ever seen. The pace and storyline were top notch and although some of the characters were a bit weak in substance and originality it took nothing away from my enjoyment of the film. This is one i would highly recommend to any film fan except those under 13. Indeed it is one i would be proud to recommend as it has a dark and dry sense of humour and an original twist on the Christmas tale. I will buy the DVD and happily see it again; I rarely say those words these days.

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 know Christmas is supposed to be a time of happiness and cheer in which jolly old Santa Claus bestows gifts upon the children. Well, not in Finland. Their Santa Claus legend is a lot darker and scarier per "Rare Exports." Their Santa Claus eats naughty children and he's about to make a reappearance.

A mining company was in Russia at the Korvatunturi drill site looking for a precious commodity. What they found was Santa Claus encased in ice and buried under tons of rock. After digging him up the reindeer lay disemboweled and children came up missing. Only a young boy named Pietari (Onni Tommila) knew what was happening. If the adults were to ever know what was going on, they would have to listen to Pietari.

Free on Tubi.