Overview
A chilling twist on holiday cheer where Santa isn't the jolly figure we expect.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Brutal
- deadpan
- eerie
- blackly comic
- christmas eve
- holiday horror night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as an original, atmospheric, and unexpectedly delightful blend of deadpan comedy, revisionist folklore, and effective Christmas horror.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The unearthed Santa is a dangerous folkloric being surrounded by wild elves and brutal seasonal lore.
The film treats killer Santas, missing children, and the captured creature with dry understatement alongside genuine suspense.
The story unfolds near Finland's Arctic Circle, where snowbound terrain and extreme cold shape the hunters' predicament.
The boy and his father seek to sell Santa back to the corporation that sponsored the archaeological dig.
Films like Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, and why
The Greasy Strangler
shares deadpan comedy, Christmas horror, revisionist folklore, and escalating supernatural menace
The Thing
shares wintry isolation, creature horror, practical suspense, and a grimly comic tone
Krampus
shares dark fairy-tale mythology, child-centered danger, and unsettling seasonal fantasy
Trollhunter
shares black comedy, folkloric horror, and an ordinary community confronting monstrous forces
Movie Details
- Director
- Jalmari Helander
- Release Date
- 2010-12-03
- Runtime
- 83 min
- Rating
- 6.2 / 10 (691)
Cast
- Onni Tommila
- Jorma Tommila
- Tommi Korpela
- Rauno Juvonen
- Per Christian Ellefsen
- Ilmari Järvenpää
- Peeter Jakobi
- Jonathan Hutchings
- Risto Salmi
- Jens Sivertsen
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, Night Flight Plus, Fandor Amazon Channel, Screambox Amazon Channel, Midnight Pulp, Midnight Pulp Amazon Channel, Cineverse Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale about?
- A Finnish boy and his father turn a buried Christmas nightmare into a deadpan battle for survival beneath the Arctic snow.
- What is Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale as brutal.
- What did critics think of Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale?
- Critics broadly praised the film as an original, atmospheric, and unexpectedly delightful blend of deadpan comedy, revisionist folklore, and effective Christmas horror.
- Which films are like Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale?
- Films with a similar feel include The Greasy Strangler, The Thing, Krampus, and Trollhunter.
- How long is Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale?
- Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale runs 83 minutes.
- Where can I watch Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale?
- In United States, Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale streams on Philo, Night Flight Plus, Fandor Amazon Channel, Screambox Amazon Channel, Midnight Pulp, Midnight Pulp Amazon Channel, Cineverse Amazon Channel.
