10 Amazing Nordic Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die

4. Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale

Think the Finnish incarnation of Father Christmas was always a rosy-cheeked, red suit-wearing jollily plump dude just like our version of Santa Claus? Think again. Jalmari Helander’s feature debut draws on local folklore to present Saint Nick as a horned creature more akin to Satan than Santa. Did we mention he’s accompanied by an army of creepy, naked elf helpers?

Set in deepest, darkest Lapland the film focuses on a young lad who discovers that a nearby drilling expedition has unearthed an age-old evil that’s more interested in dishing out punishment than Christmas presents and features a tongue-in-cheek twist ending that harks back to Shaun of the Dead’s finale.

All in all, Rare Exports is a yuletide horror classic up there with the likes of Gremlins and A Christmas Horror Story. And let’s face it, when the most wonderful time of the year rolls around it’s got to be a better watch than National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation for the 87th time right?