There's Something In The Barn Review: Norwegian Gremlins Is A Bloody Christmas Romp [Fantastic Fest 2023]
Christmas horror movies are something special. The best ones take a time that — for many — is peaceful and full of joy, then juxtapose the lights, the carols, the gatherings, and the parties with absolute carnage in a way that results in a fun time.
Within Christmas horror there's an even more specific subgenre of Christmas horror creature features, which play with specific Christmas beliefs and traditions and twist them into gory, violent monsters. Movies like Mike Dougherty's "Krampus" and Jalmari Helander's "Rare Exports" do this, and now, the pseudo spiritual trilogy is complete with Magnus Martens's "There's Something in the Barn." This family Christmas horror movie takes clear inspiration from "Gremlins" and '80s genre movies, and wraps it in a hilarious fish-out-of-water story of an American family moving to Norway. It's laced with smart jabs at both cultures, and features Martin Starr ("Silicon Valley," the recent "Spider-Man" movie trilogy) doing a great obliviously silly performance.
Even if the script is a bit predictable and it loses steam once it goes full horror, "There's Something in the Barn" still offers both big laughs and delightfully violent kills that families can enjoy this holiday season. The film follows Bill (Starr), who inherits his uncle's estate in Norway after his sudden and kind of bizarre death and decides to move his entire family to the Scandinavian country. His hope is to turn the property into a bed and breakfast and manage it with his life-coach new wife (Amrita Acharia), and to connect with his roots.
Of course, everything goes wrong almost immediately. On the way to their new home, the family is almost attacked by a moose. The kids have no friends and resent their father and stepmom. The locals are cold and instant (initially, at least), and they can't even see the aurora borealis because, as we all know, those are usually localized entirely within school principals' kitchens.
Home for the holidays
Written by Aleksander Kirkwood Brown, "There's Something in the Barn" is a riot, particularly in the first two-thirds when the family is acclimating to their new northern lifestyle. It is refreshing to see a film about an American family (even if there's only one actual American actor in the whole film) moving abroad that features smart, accurate, and very specific cultural jokes without resorting to stereotypes.
The portrayal of the small Norwegian town is authentic, and hilarious, with Brown taking jabs at the more obvious tropes — Norwegians loving cross-country skiing, Scandinavia having the happiest people on Earth, their obsession with the Oslo Peace Accords — but also more specific ones that take on an extra level of funny if you've ever spent time in or around Norwegians (but still make sense and work for all audiences) like the power of porridge to solve any problem, lutefisk being the devil food, and how Norwegians only become friendly once alcohol is introduced.
As the family tries to adapt to the new culture, Bill's son Lucas (Townes Bunner) discovers an ancient elf living in the barn next to the house. Like "Gremlins," the elf has rules you need to follow. If you do, it will help out around the house, cleaning the snow and keeping up the farm. But when Bill ignores his son's warnings and throws a party in the barn, the elf brings along some friends to get rid of the humans, no matter how much blood needs to be shed.
Have a merry bloody Christmas
The film's portrayal of the elves brings in a nice layer of cultural authenticity, portraying the Nordic tradition that (like many other European Christmas traditions) has a lot of darkness behind its cute exterior. Indeed, barn elves or "nisser" are believed to be short-tempered and will resort to tricks and even violence when offended. So it's not surprising when the film turns into bloody mayhem once the critters are disturbed.
Magnus Martens is no stranger to horror, having worked on two "Walking Dead" spin-offs, and he brings those skills here, crafting visually interesting, gory, and very entertaining horror set pieces. The only problem is that the film goes a bit too long once it goes full "Gremlins," and loses a bit of steam. Still, seeing the family fight their way through Christmas elves, killing and maiming the bearded fellows, makes for a bloody fun time.
"There's Something in the Barn" doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it offers a fun Christmas horror movie with cultural authenticity, and a great companion to "Krampus" and "Rare Exports" as movies that twist the lore of Christmas in delightfully violent and deadly ways.
/Film rating: 7 out of 10.