There’s Something in the Barn (2023) review – culture shock meets killer elves

Welcome to Knockout Horror. It’s time for more Festive Frights and today we are taking a look at Norwegian horror comedy There’s Something in the Barn. If you are looking for more Christmas-themed horror, check out our Awful Advent category for loads more.

More Scandinavian Festive Horror

This movie follows an American family as they move to Norway after inheriting a remote cabin in the mountains. Looking to renovate the property’s barn and turn it into a bed and breakfast, the family are stopped in their tracks when it seems as though something has already taken up residence in there… Something that isn’t at all happy about the changes they are planning.

“There’s Something in the Barn is an altogether lighter story. It is far more traditional and far less raw in its approach to comedy-horror than its Finnish cousin.”

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Scandinavian Christmas horror is the brilliant Rare Exports. Whereas Rare Exports is a darkly twisted, anti-Christmas tale full of violence, nudity, and, generally, horrifying depictions of Santa and his elves, There’s Something in the Barn is an altogether lighter story. It is far more traditional and far less raw in its approach to comedy-horror than its Finnish cousin.

This movie is more like a Norwegian version of Gremlins, with a larger focus on action and comedy than actual scares and horror. Boasting an international cast including Americans, Brits, and Norwegians, as well as a multi-national production team, There’s Something in the Barn plays out, almost entirely, in English and so should be more palatable to horror fans who don’t fancy spending their time reading subtitles rather than enjoying some scares.

Festive comedy fun

For the first half, we are spending our time with our, ever so slightly cheesy, family of Americans who are finding themselves at the receiving end of a rather surprising culture shock. They are attempting to adapt to their new surroundings while not upsetting their future neighbours.

Much of the comedy comes from the family’s fish-out-of-water situation and it isn’t until they begin to expand on their plans to convert their barn that the horror really starts.

Something lives in the barn and it isn’t too happy about their presence. The only member of the family who is aware of its existence is the son Lucas (Townes Bunner) and, obviously, nobody believes him. For the most part, the first half is fairly middling stuff: predictable humour, stereotyped characters, fairly annoying interactions, and not all that much happening.

But what about the horror?

When the horror actually starts it is, to be honest, more of the same – predictable and fairly underwhelming. This feels like a film that is a little bit at odds with itself, never quite feeling entirely comfortable in what it wants to be. A few scenes of some sinister, traditional horror-genre stuff eventually give way to chaos, turning the movie into something more akin to Gremlins or Krampus but with less for the kids than either of those movies has to offer.

“Horror doesn’t need family-movie-style sentimentality and cosiness in the same way movies actually intended for family viewing do. I don’t really know why it is such a common theme.”

In fact, some of the violence is so graphic that there is no real way this could be deemed to be appropriate for kids at all. It’s a bit strange because There’s Something in the Barn is packed with holiday movie sentimentality. Scenes of family bonding and relationship growth feel ill at ease in a film focused on maniacal creatures butchering everything in sight.

This is a common problem in horror as of late; Sting does the exact same thing. Horror doesn’t need family-movie-style sentimentality and cosiness in the same way movies actually intended for family viewing do. I don’t really know why it is such a common theme.

It ends up being a big negative because the horror takes a back seat to feel-good silliness. I love a feel-good film but, when it comes at the cost of scares, it is a huge negative. The final 20 minutes, or so, of There’s Something in the Barn feel like they go on and on. It becomes very repetitive, and the predictability, plus the plot armour of the cast, make it a bit of a tough ride.

It’s still a watchable movie

With all of that being said, this is still a watchable movie. I found myself chuckling, here and there, and enjoyed some of the town’s residents that the family encounter. Some of the kills will garner a laugh or two, and the cinematography deserves a fair bit of praise. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of that is down to the stunning Norwegian scenery but, still, this is a nice-looking movie.

There’s Something in the Barn has its place as an occasional Christmas horror watch. I think they were really trying to tap into something that would have made this an annual Christmas viewing tradition, but it just doesn’t do enough.

“Some of the kills will garner a laugh or two, and the cinematography deserves a fair bit of praise… this is a nice-looking movie.”

It gets boring quickly, and the characters are going to divide viewers, particularly Martin Starr as dad, Bill. There’s Something in the Barn never feels like it peaks, and it feels like there are way more misses than hits. Still, you could do a lot worse this Christmas. Just check out some of our previous reviews for evidence of that.

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