Doc Rotten's Movie Monsters of 2010: Rare Exports

For each weekday throughout December, Doc Rotten will be looking back at 2010 examining 20 Movie Monsters of the year. Check back each day and rate how successful the monster worked on the big screen, DVD or BluRay. On December 31, we'll look at all 20 Monsters in order of their popularity. Let's take a look at today's Movie Monster of 2010.

Can Santa be scary? Many have tried over the years, but none have been as successful and original as the delightfully twisted Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale. Evolving out of a pair of celebrated shorts films by director Jalmari Helander (Rare Exports, Inc 2003 and The Official Rare Exports Inc. Safety Instructions 2005), Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale is a darkly comedic gem about a young boy, Pietari (Onni Tommila), in the Korvantunturi Mountains who must save his village when a team of archaeologists unearth the hidden tomb of the real Santa Claus. This Santa isn’t found dressed up in the classic red and white jump suit – although he does end up being dressed in the costume – instead this Santa wears no clothes, walks barefoot through the snow covered forest and has a intense focused stare that will send chills down your spine. As a horror film, this is more in the vein of Gremlins than the slasher films listed above. Rare Exports is a dark comedy with horrific undertones and some seriously creepy Santas. The film, well worth seeking out, is being released this December by Oscilloscope Laboratories and is already fodder in the rumor mill for a U.S. remake.