There's Something in the Barn (2023)
There's Something in the Barn represents a somewhat more traditional version of the nisser, Scandinavian folkloric creatures largely responsible for the modern "Christmas elf" in Nicholas's workshop. That said, Americans will find them closer in appearance to gnomes (both of the garden and "David the" varieties) than the usual depictions of Santa's helpers from Rankin-Bass specials. The original creatures, like most folklore, were depicted in diverse and sometimes contradictory ways over the course of centuries of stories. All that means there's ample fodder for adaptations portraying them as whimsical fantasy creatures, nightmarish monsters, or - as is the case here - an amalgamation of the two.
The lore being played with in this movie - which I should note is a Norwegian production, despite being primarily in English with American characters as the leads - mainly concerns a version of the creature which lives in barns and is placated on Christmas Eve with a bowl of buttered porridge. If the offering is given according to custom, the nisse will help around the farm over the course of the year. Fail to deliver, and it's liable to do horrible things in retaliation. If you're interested in all this, Benito Cereno's Youtube series on Christmas myth is a great resource.
The movie's main characters are a family of Americans who have inherited a house in Norway after a distant relative died under mysterious circumstances (i.e.: was murdered by the nisse while trying to burn down the barn). As is customary in this kind of movie, the family is comedically dysfunctional. The father, Bill (played by Martin Starr, better known as the actor playing one of Peter Parker's teachers in the MCU), is unwilling or unable to act assertively around his kids (or anyone else for that matter); step-mother and motivational speaker Carol struggles to fit in; daughter Nora is furious at having her life upended; and the son, Lucas... uh... mainly he's just trying to get people to believe him that there's a magical creature in the barn. It's actually a little odd that Lucas doesn't really have any obvious quirks.
Lucas finds the nisse pretty early on and initially befriends it by giving it cookies (apparently it doesn't just like porridge). In exchange, the creature performs a handful of odd jobs on the property, shoveling snow and chopping firewood (the father falsely assumes other causes). However things take a turn when the family begins decorating with bright lights and playing loud music. The nisse retaliates by destroying their decorations and nearly dropping a barrel on Bill's head, which understandably upsets Lucas. When the family throws a massive party in the barn to meet their neighbors, things escalate. In an attempt to placate the creature, Lucas prepares the traditional porridge, but his father eats it after the traditional Norwegian dinner he makes - gelatinized fish - is deemed inedible. Lucas tries leaving the nisse some of the fish in place of the porridge, but... well... how would you feel in that situation?
The creature goes on the offensive, killing a visiting neighbor. Soon, he summons a group of other murderous nisser led by one dressed in black accompanied by a death metal guitar riff. The movie then devolves into the usual fight for survival against the elfin invaders. A police woman gets killed soon after, introducing a gun to the mix (which the death metal nisse winds up taking), and the family splits into two groups. The father and son race down the mountain to get help from a local elf expert (who, it should be noted, doesn't actually believe in the creatures at first), while the step-mother and daughter barricade themselves in Nora's room and improvise holiday-themed explosives.
Eventually the original nisse has regrets and switches sides to protect the family from his more bloodthirsty kin. The elf expert is shot but survives to work out a peace agreement, though not before a number of rampaging nisser are blown up along with the barn. The original nisse goes to live with the expert, and the family has of course bonded over the experience.
As far as these things go, the movie is passable but not exceptional. I appreciate the relatively accurate depiction of the creatures, but aside from that there's just not much here to raise this above (or even up to) the level of the movies I listed at the start. Despite a substantial amount of blood and decidedly R-rated language, this isn't anywhere near as scary as, say, Gremlins. To be fair, it's not really trying to be: this is more aiming for comedy than horror. Unfortunately, it comes up even shorter there.
The jokes aren't awful, but they're often obvious and lack much of an impact. The editing and directing aren't helping - I kept feeling like the pacing was giving away punchlines a few seconds before their delivery. The movie is occasionally amusing, but it lacks the energy and inspiration to be anywhere near as fun as it needs to be.
The same goes for the family dynamics. There are elements here that have potential. The stepmother's concerns about not being accepted have a good payoff, at least in theory, but it doesn't land the way it should (like a lot of the movie's twists, it's telegraphed too clearly in advance). The relationships are all fairly sweet, hinging on the idea that these are all neurotic, awkward people who truly love each other and mean well. That's a solid approach, but the movie doesn't know how to lend any of the revelations or gestures emotional weight or gravitas. It's a good outline for an okay movie.
Though, for what it's worth, most of it looks pretty good. Aside from a cheesy sleigh chase at the end, the effects are practical and resemble '80s Amblin productions. But that's a double-edged sword, because everything in this movie reminds us of those films.
In particular, it reminds us of Gremlins (I told you we'd get back to it). I really do think Gremlins was inspired in part by some of the same mythology, and I suspect doing a version of that premise with the original creatures was most likely the impetus for There's Something in the Barn. This plays with the similarities at times, even codifying the rules around the nisse in a list evocative of those for the mogwai (hell, no bright lights is literally on the list here). The antics of the nisser are likewise similar to those of the gremlins.
The problem is that this pales compared to the '80s film on every level. It's not as funny, not as endearing, and not as scary. Meanwhile, the family relationships were all handled better in Krampus - when it's not following Gremlins' template, it's mimicking Krampus's blend of Gremlins and Christmas Vacation. So, depending on how you're looking at this, you're either left with a copy or a copy of a copy. That wouldn't be an issue if it performed on the same level as the movies it's mimicking, but - as I already said - that's just not the case. The lore and creature design is more authentic, but I don't think that's quite enough for a subgenre this crowded.
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