Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale - ***

Director: Jalmari Helander. Starring: Tommi Korpela, Per Christian Ellefsen, Jorma Tommila, Jonathan Hutchings, Risto Salmi, Peeter Jakobi, Onni Tommila, Ilmari Järvenpää, Rauno Juvonen. Horror/Comedy/Fantasy, Fin, 77 minutes, Cert 15.

Released in the UK by Icon Home Entertainment on 7th November 2011. Price £12.99.

Is that Santa Claus really such a nice guy? We're always hearing about what a jolly fellow he is, but he's also the bloke who keeps tabs on how naughty and nice everyone's been. That's an awful lot of information for one person to have, especially if they have a magic ability to get round the whole world in one night. So it's always interesting to see a darker, scarier twist on the whole Santa Claus concept, which is what you get in this wonderfully weird Finnish film. After scientists dig too deep into the mountains, farm animals start turning up dead. Then children begin going missing. And then we meet Santa's little helpers, only to discover they're neither little nor helpful...

Somehow sinister and whimsical at the same time, this is an inventive and twisted take on old-school Finnish fairytales, in which Santa was a horror figure who administered scary punishments to naughty children. There's rather more to worry about here than getting lumps of coal in your stocking. It's not so much scary as dark, but with a few sunshine-sweet moments too. Based on a pair of award-winning shorts made by writer/director Helander, it's well worth seeing. You might want to think twice about letting your kids watch it, though. 

Have a look at the Rare Exports Fan Hub Site. It's Fun. - Here.

Anne Wollenberg. Review first published by Screenjabber.com