Today is the feast day of Saint Nicholas and in several parts of Northern Europe, such as The Netherlands, Belgium and Poland, today is the day when festive gifts have arrived, left in shoes by good St. Nick. And in the spirit of this special December day, behind this door are a couple of gifts for you, in the shape of two little seen movies that are true Christmas crackers!
Now I am perhaps risking the wrath of St. Nicholas by being slightly naughty here, as technically one is not a horror film per se, but has very strong links with the genre and takes place at Christmastime. While today’s other movie does not feature a Yuletide setting, but does feature supernatural horror, and is set in the snowy wilds of Lapland. And as both are brilliant films, I think they deserve a place in this history of Christmas horror.
The first movie was released back in 1952, the same year as Beware My Lovely in fact. And this is a black and white feature from Finland, directed by Erik Blomberg, who also wrote the screenplay with his wife Mirjami Kuosmanen, who also stars in the movie. The story is set in Finnish Lapland, said by some to be Santa’s home turf, and it is called The White Reindeer. However beware, for this is no whimsical winter fairy tale, rather this is a folk horror story based on the legends of the Sami people, the indigenous folks of old Lapland.
We open with a traditional style song telling of the birth of a girl, and then we move into the future, where the girl is now a young woman in a Sami community, living out in the snows, making a living farming, hunting and herding reindeer. At a sleigh ride a young woman, Pirita (played by Mirjami Kuosmanen) catches the eye of handsome villager Aslak (played by Kalervo Nissilä). They fall in love and are married.
However, several months later and things are not going smoothly, Aslak is often away from home, leaving Pirita alone for long periods. Worried he is falling out of love with her, she visits a local shaman who gives her a love spell to perform, a ritual that will make her irresistible to men. However nothing comes for nothing, and the rite requires her to kill the first living thing she sees on returning home . Unfortunately that turns out to be a young white reindeer, animals considered rare and blessed by the spirits in Sami lore.
Perhaps needless to say, the spell does not work out quite how Pirita would wish, for while she can attract men at will, now she can transform into a white reindeer too, but also is compelled to drink the blood of the living…
The White Reindeer is a highly unusual film, and a very early example of what we would now call folk horror. With dialogue kept to a minimum, Blomberg chooses instead to tell the tale in vivid imagery, mostly shot out on location in the snowy wilds of Lapland. And this approach reaps many benefits. Firstly we get a fascinating view of traditional Sami culture. Secondly the cinematography is breath-takingly beautiful and eerie. But most importantly, this approach truly captures the flavour of the old folk tales, full of dark, unforgiving magic.
Although the movie is not explicitly set at Yuletide, the combination of Lapland, sleighs, reindeer, snow and ancient magic certainly qualify The White Reindeer as perfect Christmas viewing. And as it serves up a rather gothic folk story featuring wild magic, shapeshifting and something close to vampirism, it’s hard not to give it a free pass into the realms of Christmas horror. But most importantly of all though is that it is an incredible film that deserves to be more widely seen.
And the same goes for our second movie. Now this film is explicitly set firmly in the festive season, and as we will hear, its story owes more than a little to A Christmas Carol. The film is question is 1961’s Cash on Demand, and it will instantly interest horror fans for this was a movie made by the legendary Hammer Studios, and what’s more, stars none other than Peter Cushing! Plus as a further bonus, Cushing’s co star is Andre Morrel who played Watson to Cushing’s Holmes in Hammer’s Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), plus appeared in classic Hammer horrors Shadow of the Cat (1961), Plague of the Zombies (1966), and The Mummy’s Shroud (1967).
Now despite this pedigree, Cash On Demand wasn’t one of the usual Hammer horror outings. Rather it is a British take on film noir, although like many noirs it does venture into somewhat dark territory. Adapted from a television play The Gold Inside, Cash on Demand opens in a quiet little bank just before Christmas. There is much talk of the staff Christmas party, but manager Mr Fordyce, played by Cushing, is not one for making merry. Resembling a certain Mr Scrooge more than a little, Fordyce is all about the business and has little time for seasonal sentiment.
However this will be Christmas he will never forget, for into the bank comes a Colonel Gore Hepburn, played by Andre Morrell, who claims to be an insurance investigator. But once inside Fordyce’s office, Gore reveals he is in fact here to rob the bank. And to ensure his cooperation, his gang has taken the manager’s wife and children hostage and if Fordyce does not play ball, their lives will be forfeit…
Released in December 1961 in the US and in December 1963 in the UK, this is an exceptional little movie. From a simple set up emerges a tension and taut thriller as a battle of wills takes place between fusty manager and suave criminal. Both Cushing and Morrell give exceptional performances, with neither character slipping into stereotypical good guy or bad guy roles.
Now I won’t reveal how it all turns out, but suffice to say this traumatic experience at the hands of an unexpected visitor does prove to be somewhat redemptive for the ultra-straitlaced Fordyce, chiming perfectly with the Yuletide setting. And while Cash On Demand may not strictly speaking be a horror movie, there’s more threat, suspense and tension than you will find in a great many other festive fright flicks! So then, treat yourself and track this one down!
However, rest assured though, behind tomorrow’s door we will have some more full-blood Christmas horror for you!
