There's Something in the Barn
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMagnus Martens
Written byAleksander Kirkwood Brown
Produced by
  • Kjetil Omberg
  • Jørgen Storm Rosenberg
Starring
CinematographyMika Orasmaa
Edited byKalle Doniselli Gulbrandsen
Music byLasse Enersen
Production
companies
  • 74 Entertainment
  • XYZ Films
  • Charades
  • Don Films
Distributed byScandinavian Film Distribution
Release dates
  • 23 September 2023 (2023-09-23) (Fantastic Fest)
  • 10 November 2023 (2023-11-10) (Norway)
Running time
100 minutes[1]
CountryNorway
LanguageEnglish
Box office$662,030[2]

There's Something in the Barn is a 2023 Norwegian comedy horror film starring Martin Starr, Amrita Acharia, and Kiran Shah. Directed by Magnus Martens and written by Aleksander Kirkwood Brown, the film tells the story of an American family that, after moving to Norway, encounters murderous elves.

The film premiered on 23 September 2023 at Fantastic Fest, and was released in Norway on 10 November 2023, to positive reviews.

Premise

A family of Nordheim fulfills their dream of moving back after inheriting a remote cabin in Gudbrandsdalen, Norway; only Nora, the teenage daughter, is angry about leaving her friends behind. Carol, the stepmother, is trying to put on a happy face for the family, while Bill, the father of Nora and Lucas, is just excited for the adventure and mostly oblivious to the obstacles. In their new home, Lucas stumbles on the strange creatures living in the barn, revealed to be elves. A local man tells Lucas about a local legend where elves must follow three very important "Barn Elf Rules", which Lucas also tries to enlighten his family with. However, they ignore him and proceed to break all three rules, leading to gruesome consequences.

Cast

Production

The film was produced by 74 Entertainment, co-produced by Don Films, and co-financed by XYZ Films.[3] Charades picked up the film to handle sales in October 2022.[4] Martin Starr and Amrita Acharia, who also starred together in 74 Entertainment's Dead Snow 2, were cast in lead roles.[4] Magnus Martens directed from a script by Aleksander Kirkwood Brown.[5]

Principal photography took place from October 24 to late November 2022 on location in Norway, with half the film shot on stages in Lithuania.[4][6] Due to limited snowfall during that time, Starr said that snow had to be brought in by truckload to accomplish the vision that was needed for the film.[6]

Release

There's Something in the Barn premiered on 23 September 2023 at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas,[7] and was released in Norway by Scandinavian Film Distribution on 10 November 2023.[5] The film was released in the United Kingdom by Vertigo Films on 1 December 2023,[8] followed by a release in the United States by Stage 6 Films on 5 December 2023.[9]

Reception

Box office

There's Something in the Barn opened in 128 Norway cinemas to number three with $118,304.[10] It grossed a total of $613,674.[11] The film made $47,478 in other markets, for a worldwide total of $661,152.[2]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 78% of 23 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.1/10.[12]

Alan Jones of the Radio Times scored the film a three out of five, describing the film as "Gremlins meets National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation". He thought that Martens struggled to "strike quite the right balance between the two genres", and ended his review with, "but the film's conclusion is full-bore gore, and there's a certain amount of fun to be had as the festive frights turn a dark shade of claret".[13] Cath Clark writing for The Guardian gave the film a score of two out of five and wrote, "It's a silly horror that's not as good, or as bad, as you'd hoped: neither funny enough nor ever properly scary. That said, there are some cheerfully gory bits and a smattering of decent culture clash gags".[14]

Rafael Motamayor of /Film wrote, "There's Something in the Barn doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it offers a fun Christmas horror movie with cultural authenticity, and a great companion to Krampus and Rare Exports".[15] Digital Spy's Ian Sandwell gave a positive review, "If you've ever watched Gremlins and thought, 'This would be really good with murderous elves', There's Something in the Barn is the bloody, festive treat for you". He ended his review with, "It doesn't all work perfectly, as there's an overdone running gag about US gun culture, as well as an ill-timed joke about the Oslo Accords between Israel and Palestine. But for the most part, everybody involved knows the movie they're making and pitch it accordingly".[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "There's Something in the Barn (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 17 October 2023. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 "There's Something in the Barn". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  3. ↑ "Nordisk Film & TV Fond grants NOK 16 million to eight new projects". Nordisk Film. 18 January 2023. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 Leffler, Rebecca. "Charades boards Norwegian holiday horror romp There's Something In The Barn (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 30 October 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  5. 1 2 Keslassy, Elsa (15 September 2023). "Charades Sells Comedy Horror There's Something in the Barn From Dead Snow Producers to Major Markets, Including U.K.; Unveils Teaser (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  6. 1 2 Foertsch, Rachel (7 December 2023). "There's Something In The Barn Interview: Martin Starr On The Horror-Comedy's Gruesome Holiday Twist". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  7. ↑ "There's Something in the Barn". Fantastic Fest. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  8. ↑ Hullender, Tatiana (1 November 2023). "There's Something In The Barn Teases Holiday Horror & Barn Elf Rules [Exclusive Clip]". Screen Rant. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  9. ↑ Miska, Brad (16 November 2023). "There's Something in the Barn – Holiday Horror Unleashes Nasty Killer Elves on Digital December 5th [Trailer]". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on 16 November 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  10. ↑ "Norwegian 2023 Weekend 45". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  11. ↑ "There's Something in the Barn (Norway)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  12. ↑ "There's Something in the Barn". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  13. ↑ Jones, Alan (5 October 2023). "There's Something in the Barn (2023)". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  14. ↑ Clarke, Cath (28 November 2023). "There's Something in the Barn review – garden gnome goes on the rampage". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  15. ↑ Motamayor, Rafael (24 September 2023). "There's Something In The Barn Review: Norwegian Gremlins Is A Bloody Christmas Romp [Fantastic Fest 2023]". /Film. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  16. ↑ "There's Something in the Barn is a bloody festive treat". Digital Spy. 1 December 2023. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
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