Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale

Arriving in a flurry of hype and high expectations, this quirky Finnish horror-comedy has everything going for it. An archaeological dig unleashes the creature who inspired the Santa Claus myth: a murderous immortal bastard who doesn't care if children are naughty or nice, he'll eat them all!

With plenty of Christmas tradition to mine, there's a lot of potential here for macabre holiday fun. Unfortunately, the film delivers none of it. After a promising start, it seems to lose interest in the concept and treads water with faintly dull sitcom-level filler while you wait patiently for something truly subversive to happen.

When they do come, the few inventive moments absolutely shine, but it's criminal that something that could have been so fun clearly threw it all away for the sake of a cheap gag at the end. It's not quite a lump of coal in the stocking, but you're not really getting what you asked for this Christmas. [Scotty McKellar]