Shudder Day: The White Reindeer (1952)

 While Shudder has some Holiday Horror to check out, it is a bit early.

Instead, let me check out a Film that is still set in Winter and might be a hidden gem.

This is...

In the Intro, a Choir (a la The Greek Chorus) tell us of a woman who was a Witch and died, but only after giving birth to a daughter.

She would share her curse.

That girl is now Pirita.

She finds love in Lapland amongst her people (the Sami) and marries a fellow Reindeer Hunter.

See- this is festive as hell, right?

While they are married, he must leave for a long season to follow the group of Reindeer across the vast, snowy countryside.

She gets lonely and desperate, going to a Shaman.

If she sacrifices something (a young reindeer) to the Stone God, she will get her wish.

Unfortunately, like most wishes, there is a big downside.

She is made irresistible to all of the Reindeer Hunters...because she is unwillingly transformed into the titular White Reindeer.

One of them hunts her, but she turns human again and kills him (off-camera).

Later, another tries to shoot her, but his gun blows up in his face.

At first, she doesn't seem to be aware of these transformations.

When she does realize it, she tries to stop them before her Husband goes to hunt her down, lest he die too.

Will she succeed?
To find out, stream it now.

A fun, if dense, tale of Folk Horror.

I'm born and raised in a State that hasn't seen snow in my lifetime.  As such, it is a bit fun to see Movies that are full of nothing but snow.

This one appears to be rooted deeply in local folklore and it gives it a nice charm.

In many ways, this one is ahead of American Films of this era.  A female Horror Character was rarely allowed to kill anyone, let alone men (see Dracula's Daughter).

This one also feels quite similar in its tone to The Wolf Man, a Film so good it is still acting as my mouse pad.

No, it is not like She-Wolf of London- that one didn't actually have a transforming lady.

If you're in the mood for something different and want to see legit Folk Horror, give this one time to simmer and it might just sell you on its beauty.

An engaging and legit Folk Horror Film from the past.  While it is creaky at times and bloodless, it is still quite good.