RECENT WATCHES: Something's in the Barn (2023)

Here in America, most of our Christmas traditions have their basis in popular culture. Our vision of the holiday has been shamed more by Clement Clarke Moore, Charles Dickens, and Coca-Cola than spiritual beliefs with deep, cultural roots. While I'm sure this is equally true across the sea, it has been refreshing to discover that Christmas is a little weirder in various enclaves and regions of Europe. Krampus tends to steal the show but a deep dive reveals other odd-ball or macabre creatures associated with the most wholesome of holidays. This has dovetailed with an international revival of interest in folk-horror. While I patiently wait for horror movies about the Mari Lywd or Badalisc, here's a Norwegian take on the idea. “There's Something in the Barn” is a yuletide horror/comedy built around the Nissie (known in Sweden as tomte), little gnome or elf-like creatures with long beards and funny hats. 

Following the mysterious death of a distant uncle, Bill and his family inherit a farm in the snowy Norwegian community of Gudbrandsdalen. Bill does his best to integrate into the new culture but runs into numerous roadblocks. His kids, teenage Nora and tween Lucas, hate the cold and being away from his friends. Though his newly acquired wife Carol practices a positivity-centric form of New Age thought, she too soon cracks under pressure. Lucas, however, makes an unexpected discovery: Living in the dilapidated barn on the property is a Nissie. The boy tries to befriend the elf-like sprite but his family's American Christmas traditions – namely, filling the area with as much light and noise as possible – pisses the entity off. It's not long before the ill-tempered elf calls down his friends to torment the family and take the property back over.

“There's Something in the Barn” is a Norwegian production, so Norwegian that its director's first name is Magnus. Despite that, the main characters are American and the film is mostly in English. You can tell this was a movie made with the goal of finding international audience. That naturally makes “There's Something in the Barn” a movie about culture clash. Bill attempts to embrace his Norwegian heritage, even choking down some lutefisk in one scene. Yet him and his family ultimately find the differences difficult to endure. Something repeatedly commented on is the lack of gun violence in Norway and how Americans are largely perceived there: crime-prone, hyper-violent vulgerians. With that in mind, this becomes a movie about Norwegians goofing on American culture. That the fish-out-of-water antics eventually results in the local little people causing chaos, means the stakes are higher than the usual comedy of this sort.

How amusing you find “There's Something in the Barn's” humor to be probably depends on a few things. Martin Starr – who previously appeared in “Dead Snow 2,” a somewhat similar film –  is actually rather on the dry side here. He plays the neurotic straight man to everything that happens around him. Most of the comedy here is derived from the elves being wacky little assholes. Do you find the sight of lawn gnome looking little monsters drinking, burping, farting, and trying to kill people inherently hilarious? I guess I must because “There's Something in the Barn” made me laugh pretty regularly. I imagine “Gremlins” was a big reference point here and this film captures a similar sort of live-action cartoon appeal. The film definitely veers too hard towards the wacky at times, such as a sled chase sequence. Yet, in its best moments, the film makes its monsters enjoyably ridiculous little bastards. 

Despite how knowingly goofball most of “There's Something in the Barn” is, I did find myself actually caring about the characters before the end. There's this theme running throughout the film that maybe people can put aside their differences and work out an unsteady peace, largely through references to the Oslo Accords. This sets up a typically sarcastic joke in the end but I do think the film's themes are sincere. You also see this in the journey its characters go on. By the end, Bill's kids adapt to their new home and learn to love Norway. I'm especially touched by the way Lucas – played by Townes Bunner, who is ten but acts much younger – tries to befriend the elf before the shit hits the fan. As flippant as the movie is, it's good to know that there's some sincerity when it comes to its ideas.

The other reviews on “There's Something in the Barn” have been mixed, as far as I've seen. I don't think the movie lives up to its awesome premise or title. (Though “Don't Go in the Barn!” would've been an even better title.) If you're looking for a Christmas-themed horror/comedy about evil elves from Scandinavia, this doesn't come close to topping “Rare Exports,” its most obvious counterpart. And if you're looking for a folk-horror tinged homage to “Gremlins” in 2023, you'll do better checking out “Unwelcome.” Yet “There's Something in the Barn” isn't bad either. If the tomte are going to become a regular part of American Christmas iconography – and it seems to be getting a major push lately – then I fully support there being a horror movie version of it as well. [7/10]