'THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE BARN'

A decent new addition to the ever-growing trove of independent comedy-horror Yuletide films, director Magnus Martens’ There’s Something in the Barn stars Martin Starr (Silicon Valley) as Bill, the patriarch of an American family who moves to Norway after inheriting his Uncle’s estate. As Bill sets out to turn the property into a bed and breakfast, his young son Lucas (Townes Bunner) discovers that – drumroll – there’s something in the barn… A local museum owner soon informs Lucas that his new friend is a barn elf, an ancient being who is prone to kindness and friendliness and who will even help maintain the property – that is, if you’re nice to him. If the elf is confronted by change, bright lights, or loud noise, there will be deadly and gruesome repercussions. Of course, no one listens to kids in these movies, so when Bill throws a barn party for the neighbors he sets off the elf’s rage, setting off a home-invasion third act filled with mayhem and carnage.

But therein lies the film’s biggest problem. Taking more than a few cues from similar family-focused Holiday-themed genre-benders like Krampus and, most notably, Gremlins, There’s Something in the Barn proceeds with snowy, candy-colored PG-13 comic earnestness – and stays there for almost an hour before the film’s first kill. Once it gets going it’s a lot of fun, as axes and knives and Christmas ornaments and snowmobiles fly in an epic battle between the family and more than a few angry elves, but one is left wondering why the film seemed to tread so lightly on violence, and so high on light comedy and corny one-liners, if it was ultimately going to push beyond that line in its final act. It’s a bit of a tonal mishmash, particularly when the film gives us two later scenes of Kodak-moment sentimentality that come out of nowhere, and that no one sitting down for this film would be asking for.

It’s hard to dismiss There’s Something in the Barn for these things, however. Among its derivativeness and imperfections, there’s an entertaining yarn here, highlighted by an impressive debut performance by Townes Bunner as young Lucas, who manages to avoid the trap of uber-precociousness that can bury films like these. His E.T.-like friendship with the barn elf, and his confusion and heartbreak when the elf goes violent, give the third act some stakes, and allow for the film to have a heartwarming gleam amid the blood-soaked snow.