This Forgotten Folk-Horror Gem Offers a Groundbreaking, Unique Perspective on Bloodsucking Myths

The 1952, Finland's movie The White Reindeer is considered one of the remarkable overlooked treasures in the rural horror category. Although it won awards at the Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Globe Awards in its day, it remained ignored until a gorgeous 4K restoration was released in 2017.

Placed on the remote, snow-covered fells of northern Scandinavia, the picture offers an spooky, completely otherworldly grim folktale. This area is sometimes known as the Lapland region, though the indigenous Sámi people view that name as offensive.

The Chilling Introduction and Change

In a memorable prologue, it is foretold that a recently born Sámi girl will transform into a witch. She develops into the character Piriti (played by the actress Mirjami Kuosmanen), a determined lady who rebels against her lonely existence as the partner of a roaming reindeer herder.

She seeks comfort from a regional shaman, but perhaps due to her innate magical abilities, his romance spell backfires and turns her into a vampire-like shape-shifter, doomed to hunt and consume human males in the form of a snow-white reindeer.

Creative Approach and Inspirations

Kuosmanen co-wrote the screenplay with her spouse, filmmaker and director of photography Erik Blomberg. He merges breathtaking real-life footage of Sámi life on this otherworldly terrain with intense stylization that evokes silent-film expressionist filmmakers like F.W. Murnau and Fritz Lang.

Recorded in monochrome and predominantly on location in the wild, White Reindeer juxtaposes the blinding whiteout with dark Gothic tableaux, and transitions between them via the in-between half-light of the northern sun.

Ambiguous and Ethereal Story

Even though the story is uncomplicated and the events are clearly presented, White Reindeer stays unclear and dreamlike. It remains uncertain exactly when in history it’s occurring.

The reasoning of the characters’ behavior can be unclear, and the figures appear isolated, isolated in the vast negative space of their surroundings. Moreover that rare breed of monster movie that keeps its focus directly and empathetically on the monster as its point-of-view character.

The lead actress channels the silent film legends in a performance filled with repressed desire and a fierce desire she doesn’t fully understand.

Memorable Influence

Regardless of its short hour-plus duration, The White Reindeer can seem deliberate, thanks to its sparse narrative approach. But Kuosmanen’s powerful acting, Blomberg’s astonishing visuals, and the movie’s haunting allegory for the way a repressive society can demonize female desire will linger in your mind for a considerable time.