20 Best Christmas Horror Movies You NEED To Watch
19. Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
More than a decade before Jalmari Helander found success with his Sisu films, he made his directorial debut with Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, a wonderfully deranged yet impressively heart-warming R-rated Christmas horror-comedy.
In Lapland, the local residents uncover what appears to be the very real Santa Claus, who just so happens to be not-so-jolly and a lot more interested in torturing bad children.
Rare Exports is certainly far more than a Killer Santa movie, but it does offer up a playful dark fantasy remix of Christmas traditions within a tight 82-minute runtime. The performances, especially from real-life father-son duo Jorma and Onni Tommila, are great, and despite the film's evidently low budget - costing just €1.8 million - Helander does a fantastic job of making the film feel immersive and lived-in.
Though much was made of Rare Exports when it first released in 2010, it's somewhat flown under the radar in recent years and absolutely deserves to find a bigger audience. And here's a fun fact: Cate Blanchett has called it one of her favourite films.