I was really looking forward to this alternative Christmas film when I saw the trailer a few times at the cinema, so I was really disappointed when it didn't come to the big screen as I had expected, but I'm thankful it became available to rent at home. Basically, the Nordheim family move from the USA to Gudbrandsdalen, Norway after husband and father Bill (Martin Starr) has inherited a remote cabin in the mountains. Carol (Amrita Acharia) is Bill's wife and stepmother to his children, teenage daughter Nora (Zoe Winther-Hansen) and young son Lucas (Townes Bunner). Nora is angry about the move because she has been forced to leave all her friends back in America. But Lucas is excited to be in the new larger home and exploring their snowy surroundings. Bill and Carol have plans to turn the large barn into an Airbnb. That night, Lucas stumbles on something strange living in the barn. The next day, the family visits town and Lucas meets local eccentric Tor Åge (Calle Hellevang Larsen) who has a museum, Nisseland, dedicated to barn elf ornaments. The boy asks if barn elves are real, and the man tells him that there are three rules to follow not to anger a barn elf: they do not like loud noises, they do not like fluorescent lights, and there must never be any changes made to the barn. That night, Lucas goes into the barn, approaches the Elf (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe's Kiran Shah) and offers him a cookie to eat. The following day, the barn elf has cleared a path through the snow in gratitude, and when it enters Lucas's bedroom, he gives it another cookie. Bill tries cutting wood for the house, and after Lucas leaves more cookies and milk for the elf, Bill finds all the wood chopped and stored. That night, Bill shows the family various lights, ornaments and decorations, including an inflatable singing Santa. But Lucas warns them that they will anger the elf, and he puts a post-it note on the refrigerator with "Barn Elf Rules". The following day, Bill finds all the lights and decorations have been vandalised and calls local police officer Liv (Henriette Steenstrup) to investigate. Bill and Carol enter the barn to talk about their circumstances, and the elf almost kills them by dropping a barrel, which upsets Lucas. Bill holds a dinner party, inviting many people they hardly know from the village. It starts awkwardly with little conversation, but they become more lively following many drinks, with local Raymond (Dead Snow's Jeppe Beck Laursen) offering to dress as Santa Claus to surprise the family on Christmas Eve. Lucas shuts down the party because of the loud music while Nora is punished for drinking alcohol. Tor Åge tries to convince Lucas that barn elves are not real, but the boy wants to know how to make the elf happy. Tor Åge suggests he should leave the creature a bowl of rice porridge, with some cinnamon and butter, and everything will be well. That night, the elf breaks in and trashes some of the house, so they call the police again, but Liv makes jokes and does not seem to want to do any police work again. Carol asks Bill how his uncle died, he explains that the police report stated that he fell out of a window and accidentally caught himself on fire after trying to burn down the barn. The following day, Christmas Eve, Lucas makes the porridge and puts it in the fridge, while at dinner, Bill serves the Norwegian dish lutefisk, which turns out to be disgusting. Lucas is devastated when he finds Bill in the fridge after mistakenly eating the porridge, it was the only way to make peace with the elf. With no porridge or sweet treats to offer the elf, Lucas is forced to leave a bowl with the lutefisk. The elf is disgusted and enraged by this and howls loudly. When Raymond arrives at the house dressed as Father Christmas, the elf lures him to the back of the shed, using a sledgehammer to dislodge an icicle which impales and kills Raymond. Looking for Raymond, Bill finds himself dead hanging in Christmas lights with the icicle through his head. The family gets into the car to flee, but the elf attacks the car with the sledgehammer before being sprayed with the windscreen wash and startled by the headlights. Bill and Carol get out to look at the seemingly unconscious creature; it wakes and loudly screams, summoning several other barn elves. The family runs into the house, but the many angry elves break in, attacking the family with garden tools and Christmas ornaments. They manage to subdue them with bright lights, the creatures prove to be strong, but they are startled when Liv arrives on her snowmobile with its bright light. Liv is taken into the house but does not believe the family saying they are being attacked by elves. An elf steals Liv's snowmobile and races around the yard before Liv walks in front of it and is run down and mauled by it. While the family goes to the bedroom and blocks themselves in, the leader of the elves, the Ancient Elf (Paul Monaghan), and the various others find alcohol and party. Bill blames himself for everything that has happened since moving to Norway, mentioning the death of the children's mother, but they talk about some of the worst Christmases they have experienced in the past. Bill and Lucas jump from the window into a small hill of snow which softens their fall and grab a sled to try and find help. Carol and Nora make Molotov cocktail bombs using moonshine in bauble ornaments which they throw from the window to scare away some elves. Bill and Lucas are chased by two elves on a second sled who throw saw blades at them, but they are eventually dispatched after being hit by a truck. Carol and Nora have a heart-to-heart talk before two elves come through the fireplace. Nora manages to sneak outside and runs to the woods, but she is dragged away by the creatures. After killing the two elves, Carol sneaks downstairs, finding many elves sleeping after all their drinking, and she picks up a mobile phone. Bill and Lucas go to Tor Åge's house and ask him to help drive them back to the house. Upon returning, they sneak into the barn and open the trap door leading to the lair of the elves. Going through the tunnels, they are taken to an area in the woods where with a circle of large rocks and Carol and Nora tied up. The Ancient Elf holds the family at gunpoint with Liv's gun which was found in the snowmobile. Tor Åge tries to reason with the elf but he is shot in the chest. The leader summons the other elves who close in on the family, but the original elf has a change of heart and cuts the bonds of Carol and Nora to release them. The family returns to the barn and is surrounded by the elves, but the good elf stops them and helps his friends to climb and get away. Nora uses a paper aeroplane set on fire to light a trail of alcohol on the floor, which ignites and sets the barn ablaze, and the family jumps out before the flammable materials explode. The family comforts each other with the nightmare over, while Tor Åge is alive after persuading two other elves to turn good. The main good elf is given a new home at the barn elf museum where he can live peacefully. While the family and Tor Åge huddle together to watch the Northern Lights, Lucas makes a gesture to the elf to say goodbye. Also starring Eldar Vågan as Erik, Marianne Jonger as Bente, and Claire Dore as Jess. I was talking about this film with my Mum, and she recognised the story I described being based on popular Norwegian folklore. I can see the obvious comparisons to Gremlins, as the family from America break the three rules about barn elves with gruesome consequences, during Christmas as well, it is genuinely tense in moments, some of the nasty elves are freaky, the death sequences are darkly funny and gory, and the Norway location adds to it, it is an enjoyable seasonal comedy horror. Good!
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