Valkoinen peura (1952) Reviews

• Visually stunning horror

  limshun2005-03-30

  I recently got a chance to see this on the big screen and it is definitely a special film. Filmed in Lapland, nearly everyone moves about in this film on skis or reindeer-drawn toboggan. The lonely snow-covered landscapes lightly dotted with trees, humans, and curving herds of reindeer look beautiful in black and white. The film capitalizes on the mythic and mystic nature of the landscape and the land--The Land of the Midnight Sun. What a perfect setting for a film about love, loneliness, fears of abandonment, and, of course, vampires. The horror is a subtle one and even now barely verges on the campy (thanks to the uniqueness of its setting). The strange shots of the sun hovering on the horizon and of reindeer stampeding across the snow only enhance this bizarre tale. The main actress is quite stunning and plays the balance of her role well. A definite treat for fans of foreign or horror films.

• Beautiful and interesting

  tjuva2006-05-06

  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.

• Check it out

  Finne2003-05-12

  This film is quite unique in Finnish movie history. And it also has been filmed during a period when old Lapland and some real Lapp culture could be found from Northern Finland. Not that everything is authentic, but anyway this film combines nostalgia with fantasy and even horror and treats the Lapp culture with at least some respect. And landscapes are definitely worth seeing! Hmmm... the only film I know where a human being gets transferred into reindeer! One should be careful where to look at!

• An offbeat, interesting and original Finnish horror film

  Woodyanders2006-10-31

  Set in Lapland during colonial times, this eerie, haunting horror film centers on a tribe of close-knit, deeply religious and superstitious people who live in a bleak, barren, snow-covered mountainous region where life is often tough, exacting and thankless. A lonely, neglected woman (played with tremendous poignancy and conviction by the stunningly comely Mirjami Kuosmanen, who also co-wrote the terse, but rich script) visits a shaman so he can cast a spell that will bring her errant wandering shepherd husband back home to her. The spell works, but comes with an unfortunate attachment: The lady becomes possessed by an ancient evil spirit which causes her to transform into a murderous giant white reindeer that preys upon various tribe members. Blending the vampire and werewolf mythology into a fascinatingly unique and inspired synthesis which also adds elements from pre-Christian folklore, filmmaker Erik Blomberg's simple, lyrical parable about how all actions have consequences has the immediacy, intimacy and potency of an eloquently spun scary campfire yarn. Skillfully directed, produced, edited, co-written and shot in gorgeous monochromatic black and white by Blomberg, who began photographing movies back in the 30's and made only four other films before spending the rest of his career doing documentaries for television, this plainly done and elegantly understated debut feature benefits greatly from not only its powerfully direct and unpretentious story, but also from its highly unusual and intriguing period setting. Further enhanced by an evocative chanted score, outstanding use of the wintry, desolate, godforsaken Finnish countryside, and frequently striking visuals (the burial ground ridden with scattered animal bones is memorably creepy), "The White Reindeer" deservedly won awards at both the Cannes and Karlovy Vary Film Festivals. A singularly spooky and spellbinding picture that's strongly recommended to fright film fans who want to see something different and original.

• Unique, moody, compelling.

  F Gwynplaine MacIntyre2005-03-29

  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!