Le Renne Blanc

The Finnish film 'White Reindeer' is marketed in the USA and Britain as a horror movie, but that's not precisely accurate. This is a stark, moody film but not a scary one. It purports to be an authentic Lapp folktale about a woman named Pirita who turns into a white reindeer in order to feed upon men.

This story has elements of both the vampire and the werewolf legend, as well as the succubus. Apart from reindeer being native to Lapland, I can't imagine why the reindeer was chosen as the species for this folktale's version of the shape-changer legend. Bats and wolves are predators, and therefore scary. The reindeer is a domesticated herbivore that serves humans ... not very spooky, is it? In one sequence, the were-reindeer woman sprouts fangs. Actual reindeer don't have fangs, so why should these be part of her transformation? Female reindeer have antlers, so why doesn't Pirita sprout antlers?

Speaking of superstitions and myths: early in this film, a black cat scurries across the path of an approaching sledge, but the director gives this so little emphasis that it appears to have no significance. In Cornwall, it's considered *good* luck to have a black cat cross one's path, and this same thing is considered *bad* luck in America. Do Lapps have any superstitions concerning black cats?

Mirjami Kuosmanen, the actress who plays the central role in this film, is quite pretty ... but her performance as a native of northern Lapland is weakened by the fact that she is clearly wearing makeup. Due to the low production budget, we never actually see Pirita changing into the reindeer ... but the director cleverly gets round this by having his leading lady lunge towards the camera, then cutting to a shot of a reindeer in the same position. Still, I was hoping we would see a shot of a woman's shadow changing shape ... or a series of human footprints in the snow abruptly becoming hoof-marks.

The Lapp landscape in this movie is starkly beautiful and awesome but never frightening. The photography is excellent. There are two impressive dissolve shots involving flames, and a splendid montage sequence. I was extremely impressed by a night sequence over a bonfire. During the Midnight Sun sequences, there are two shots featuring a weird colonnade of white pillars: these appear to be artefacts of the Lapp culture, but we never learn what they are. A sequence in which a carved vertrebra dances magically across a shaman's drum has an eerie pagan power that made me think of Nijinsky's staging of 'The Rites of Spring'.

My one complaint about this film -- a minor grievance -- is that we never learn the time period in which the main action occurs. These Laplanders possess milled coins, a rifle, and loomed curtains. One sequence takes place at a prayer service that is clearly Christian, featuring a minister in Geneva bands. Are we watching scenes in the twentieth century, or some earlier time? I'll rate this moody, compelling (but not frightening) film 8 out of 10. Oh, my deer! I Lapped this up!

Be careful what you wish for is the moral of this captivating 1952 fantasy horror (a rare genre movie from Finland), and perhaps the world's only example of Sami gothic cinema. A newly-married young woman, Pirita (Mirjami Kuosmanen), desperate for affection, visits a shaman who offers a potion that makes her an irresistible object of desire, but there is a terrible cost. Pirita becomes a bloodthirsty shapeshifter who lures men out into the barren wilderness where she kills them. It was the directorial debut of Finnish cinematographer Erik Blomberg, and was filmed amongst the starkly beautiful fells of Finnish Lapland. Blomberg combines an almost documentary filming style with avant-garde experimentation to produce a dreamy art-house horror film without compare, and it remains one of world cinema's criminally under-seen masterpieces. The film was entered in competition at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival and earned the Jean Cocteau-led jury special award for Best Fairy Tale Film. After its limited release five years later in the United States, it was one of five films to win the 1956 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film.

I really like this one, i think it's one of the best old Finnish movies. The landscapes and photography are beautiful, which is not very surprising for film shooted in Lapland, and the movie itself is interesting in terms of plot and style. The story is based into old folk-story, so it is quite different and unique plot for horror movie. The cast, especially Mirjami Kuosmanen and Åke Lindman, made good job in this one.

As people have many times said, this movie is not very scary, but how many old horror flicks are? I don't recall being very scared in any movie made 1950's or earlier. This movie is still very interesting and unique. It's a great part of the history of Finnish cinema. I recommend this for all fans of old black and white movies.

Mirjami Kuosmanen (Pirita) is a witch who marries reindeer-herder Kalervo Nissila (Aslak) in a Sami community in Lapland. Nissila is often absent and Kuosmanen gets lonely. After visiting a shaman, she goes through a ritual that will make her more attractive to her husband as well as to every other herdsman. However, she is already a witch and the combination of these events allows her to shapeshift into a white reindeer every night, where she lures men to follow her. Not a good move for any herdsmen who take up the chase....

This film has an interesting setting in the bleak snow forest in Finland amongst an indigenous community. We get a cool genre of film following the story of a vampire shapeshifting witch who wants love but is also deadly. Kuosmanen is good in the lead role and has the perfect look for the witch, especially when she is being evil.

If you come across a white reindeer, do not follow it!

In fact, there are loads of bad white things. If you come across white chocolate, do not eat it as it contains zero chocolate. The Ku Klux Clan dressed in white and Essex girls wear white stilletos.

I recently watched the Finnish film 🇫🇮 The White Reindeer (1952) on Shudder. The storyline follows a woman living in an isolated village on the snowy plains of Finland who, after a mystical encounter involving a reindeer, is cursed with a vampiric affliction and begins a haunting killing spree.

The film is directed by Erik Blomberg (Kihlaus) and stars Mirjami Kuosmanen (Puck), Åke Lindman (The Unknown Soldier), and Aarne Tarkas (The Wild North).

I really enjoyed this movie for what it was-and what the filmmakers were able to accomplish with the resources they had. At its core, it's a folkloric tale, and the snow-covered landscape and mountainous backdrop give it an eerie, mysterious atmosphere. The film does a great job portraying the way of life and attitudes toward nature in this remote community, setting up the story's strange events with authenticity and depth.

The acting, costumes, and settings all feel impressively genuine, drawing you into the film's unique world. The cultural depiction was compelling, and there's even a wild reindeer-wrestling scene that was a standout.

The story itself is a refreshingly unique take on the vampire mythos-unlike anything I've seen before. I especially loved the dramatic, haunting score. While the horror elements are mostly conveyed through cutaways, they work well against the stark black-and-white visuals. The ending isn't quite as dramatic as the build-up, but it still lands well.

In conclusion, The White Reindeer is a well-crafted Finnish folk-horror film that tells its story effectively within the context of its era. I'd give it a 6-6.5/10 and recommend it-with the right expectations-for fans of atmospheric, culturally rooted horror.