Just as the holiday season kicks off, the Christmas-themed There‘s Something In The Barn hits UK theaters as well as Digital Download from December, 1, 2023 through Vertigo Releasing. A Horror Comedy film, the real question remains… what is it all about?
Well, this story follows a man named Bill (Martin Starr: Superbad 2007, Spider-Man: No Way Home 2021). After his uncle dies in a freak accident (though it’s less of a ‘freak’ accident and more of an unfortunate case of ‘elf and safety’), he decides to relocate his family from the warmth of California to the cold Norwegian countryside. Bill is the only one remotely happy about this move whilst his wife Carol (Amrita Acharia: Game of Thrones series, Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead 2014), daughter Nora (Zoe Winther-Hansen: The 12th Man 2017, The Bitcoin Car 2023) and son Lucas (Townes Bunner) are unhappy about leaving all that is familiar behind.
When the family arrives in Norway, they are soon beset with problems. Not only are the cultural differences stark and many exchanges are lost in translation, there also happens to
be an elf living in their barn. The elf will remain a jolly little fellow as long as everyone sticks to a certain set of rules – no loud noises, no bright lights and he doesn’t like change, especially changes made to his home. As you can imagine, with Christmas around the corner and a planned party in the offing to greet their new neighbors, those rules are soon broken and with that the elf (along with his fellow band of elves) turns violent, deadly and murderous.
Directed by Magnus Martens (Jackpot 2011, SAS: Red Notice 2021) from a script by Aleksander Kirkwood Brown (The Ash Lad: In the Hall of the Mountain King 2017), There’s Something in the Barn could almost be mistaken for a family film in its first hour if it wasn’t for the occasional instances of bad language. The film spends the majority of its running time setting up the family in Norway and meeting the various and eccentric locals. Humour and comedic relief is used a lot to highlight the cultural differences and whilst not all the jokes land well, the majority do, and the family dynamics feel relatable and realistic.
However in the last forty minutes or so, when the carnage starts in earnest, is when There’s Something in the Barn really starts to live up to its premise. Having lulled the audience into a
false sense of security with an almost family friendly feel, the sudden onset of gory kills and violence is shockingly fun. There’s Something in the Barn is akin to something like 1984’s Gremlins meets 1989’s National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and whilst it’s not quite as memorable as either of the aforementioned films, it makes a decent crack at it. For these reasons, Cryptic Rock gives it 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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