I recently took part in a Podcast, during which the topic of conversation turned to Festive horror films and I recommended this movie, Rare Exports.
It’s a wonderful Christmas horror film and it struck me that it might even be considered a hidden gem, so I want to spread the word about this film by talking with you about it today.
Summary
The story opens with American and British research teams taking samples from the top of Korvatunturi in Lapland, watched by two local boys. This place is believed to be the home of the folkloric creature Joulupukki, who is said to have inspired the modern version of Santa.
Interwoven stories that take place on Christmas Eve, as told by one festive radio host. A family brings home more than a Christmas tree. A student documentary becomes a living nightmare. A Christmas spirit terrorizes. Santa slays evil.
Rare Exports
In the depths of the Korvatunturi mountains, 486 metres deep, lies the closest ever guarded secret of Christmas. The time has come to dig it up! This Christmas everyone will believe in Santa Claus.
Fatman
Fatman is a 2020 American dark comedy action film written and directed by Eshom Nelms and Ian Nelms and starring Mel Gibson, Walton Goggins and Marianne Jean-Baptiste. David Gordon Green and Danny McBride serve as executive producers of the film. The plot follows an unorthodox Santa Claus who must fight off an assassin sent by a vengeful naughty kid.
I think the SCP Foundation is a great way to experience horror. It’s got little bits of everything, from Lovecraftian ancient gods to haunted objects and unexplained occurrences.
One of my favourite YouTube channels specialises in explaining SCP’s, looking at the potential thought and inspiration behind them (My favourite exploration they did, the one that got me hooked was The Deer, I highly recommend giving it a go).
In the spirit of the season today I want to share with you one of their festive explorations.
In the spirit of the season, I wanted to write to you about one of the classic pieces of literature tied closely to Christmas. But this is a horror appreciation site, which limits my options but also presents me with a great one.
Today, I am going to talk about A Christmas Carol.
Holiday cheer and ghosts, what more could you want?
Written by Charles Dickens and published in 1843, A Christmas Carol is the story of Scrooge, a miserly chap whose sole focus is money. He cares not for anyone around him be they friend, family, or any part of his community. Then one Christmas Eve Scrooge is visited by three ghosts, the ultimate self-help team, who turn his perspective on its head. By the end of the book he realises that worth is not in money but in people.
While today we think of Christmas Carol as being all about Christmas, when it came out it was not seen that way. This is because at the time Christmas was a very religion focused holiday, unsurprisingly. A Christmas Carol took the focus away from religion and made it the far more the humanitarian holiday we know and love today. Odd for a story about ghosties.
Admittedly this is one of those instances where I saw the film before reading the book, what with there being a lot of film versions (FYI The Muppets Christmas Carol is one of the best ones and everyone should watch it, while not a perfect adaptation it’s got Michael Kane singing with puppets so…yeah).
Letters from a Horror Writer 