There's Something in the Barn (2023)-- Ending Explained with spoilers

 

Plot: An American family moves to Norway to convert a barn into a B&B. But there's something in the barn.

Moving to a new country can seem like a brand new adventure, but acclimation can only be possible if you learn to accept the culture of the country you are migrating to, and of course, following the laws.

Because you never know how much trouble you are inviting into your life after breaking rules. Especially when those rules were placed to safeguard you from mean elves.

There's Something In the Barn is an entertaining movie with a strong start. The pace in the second half slows a bit even though that is when the film should have picked up considering the chaos the first half initiates.

The humour comes in bits and pieces, and most of it is predictable and forced.

But the movie still manages to pull off a movie with various elements efficiently.

There is a family moving to a new country, the threat of the elves, the family coming together, and learning how to cope with different people and a new environment.

THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE BARN Movie Plot

The movie opens with a man desperately trying to burn down a barn. Things don't go as planned, and he ends up getting killed.

The scene then shifts to the Nordheim family. They are making their way through snowy roads, and all of them are wearing beanies that say NORWAY.

The family consists of Bill and Carol, and kids Lucas and Nora.

Nora is the typical teenage girl who isn’t too pleased with the move to Norway.

Bill is the only one completely in high spirits. On the way, they stop to take photos and find a sign that warns about moose in the area. Bill turns around, and right behind him is a moose exactly looking like the one from the signboard. 

The family rushes back to the car but can't get rid of it. Luckily, a policewoman comes along and saves them. She welcomes the family to the country, and off they go on their way.

The house Bill has inherited is in good shape, but it is the barn that interests him. It's going to be used as a B&B, after all.

Carol is actually shocked by the state of the barn. It requires way too much work, yet she wants to be the supportive wife.

As the family heads indoors, Lucas notices a sound and movement. He goes to tell his parents and uses the film's title. His parents assure him that it is the cold that makes the wood creak and make weird sounds. Lucas immediately agrees with that explanation.

The family then goes about the town and tries to talk to the civilians. They don't look too thrilled and have stern expressions even though Carol still tries too hard. Lucas wanders off and meets with a local professor. He doles out information on elves, and when he learns where Lucas lives, his face drops.

At this point, he could have said something about the trouble that lurks there, but then again, no one actually tells random people their house is ridden with elves on their first meeting, do they?

Carol immediately tells Lucas to get away from that man when she finds him, but Lucas doesn't seem in any form of threat from a sleepy looking man.

Later, the family goes about planning the repairs. Nora is moping about being away from her friends and having nothing to do. Carol tries to cheer her up, but Nora is far from ready to accept her suggestions.

Lucas keeps an eye on the barn at night and spots glowing eyes. He investigates the next day and finds an elf in the barn. Lucas is initially frightened, but then the elf's stomach growls, and Lucas gives him a cookie, which the elf happily munches on.

The next morning, Bill walks out of the house with a shovel but finds he doesn't need it. The driveway is clear of snow. The family reasons that the neighbours may have done it.

Lucas talks to the professor again who tells him about how to keep elves happy and he can do so by following three rules: Make no changes to their environment, don't use artifical lights, and don't make a loud noise.

As luck would have it, Christmas is around the corner, and the family is busy putting up decorations.

Lucas warns them to stop, but he's just a kid, so who cares. Nora seems to be excited about Christmas, too, which is why Carol encourages them all to get into the festive spirit.

The very next day, Bill finds that the decorations have been vandalized. The police are called, but she doesn't think this incident is serious enough to file a report on.

While Bill and Carol are discussing how to go about the repairs, the elf tries to brain Bill with a barrel. However, he misses. Lucas complains to the elf about being mean and how they are supposed to be friends.

Bill and Carol then decide to throw a Christmas party and invite the whole town as a sort of promotion of their business as well. Everyone at the party gets drunk and immediately gets in a good mood.

Nora gets drunk but lies to Carol. However, she soon  the grumpy elf who is watching them gets puked on. He is not happy.

Lucas knows trouble is brewing and so tries to pacify the elves by talking to the professor for ideas.

The professor doesn't really believe in the existence of elves but still gives Lucas ideas on how to pacify irate elves. He suggests making porridge for them with rice and milk then topping it with butter and cinnamon.

Lucas, who has never even heard of porridge before,  makes the perfect bowl for his elf friend and keeps it in the fridge.

Bill has looked up the recipe for Lutefisk and serves it up to his family. The smell is so bad that none of them touch it. Nora and Carol get into an argument, and Bill is left with tasting his own dish. It is not good and he spits it out.

Since he's still hungry, Bill gobbles up the one thing he finds in the fridge: porridge.

Lucas is upset his father took his porridge but at least there's still some Lutefisk left. He leaves a plate at the barn for the elf to eat.

The elf takes one bite and is disgusted. He gets angry. This is war!

One of the locals dresses up as Santa and comes towards the house since Bill had requested he do so to amuse Lucas.

The poor guy mistakes an elf for Lucas in a costume and gets strung up a tree with Christmas lights.

The Nordheims find the body and freak out. They finally believe Lucas when he tells them about the elves. The elf in the barn was living with more elves that apparently didn't make a peep or an appearance in all these days for whatever reason.

They now throw a ruckus when they declare war on the family for being served Lutefisk. The family tries to make a getaway in the car but are attacked. They rush indoors and manage to call the police.

The policewoman arrives but is skeptical of the family's claim that they are being attacked by elves. She refuses to do anything and believes the family is drunk. When she finally goes outside, she finds her snowmobile taken. One of the elves is riding it. She tries to stop him and Bill and Carol urge her to use her gun but the policewoman tells them that this isn't America and guns are not used reckessly. The elf riding the snowmobile rides right at her and over her. The poor policewoman is shredded. Blood splatters everywhere.

If only she had a gun to stop them. At this point it seems the movie is becoming political. Luckily, it moves away from the topic quickly.

The family take shelter in Nora's room while the elves party downstairs.

Apparently the other elves don't care about noise and artificial lights. The rules apparently applied to that one elf only.

The family talks about their failed Christmases after Bill remarried. Carol realizes her family has accepted her despite not being able to throw a decent Christmas.

Lucas tells them how the professor can help with the elves. Bill and Lucas decide to go to him while Nora and Carol stay put.

Nora and Carol bond when the teenager tells her that the fact that she's throwing attitude means that she has already accepted Carol as her stepmother a long time ago.

Carol is flattered.

Bill and Lucas make it to the professor who is sitting cozily and enjoying his evening. He is pulled into the elf craziness too.

THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE BARN Ending Explained

Nora and Carol come up with an idea to fill Christmas decorations with alcohol and make homemade grenades. They throw them at the elves but are pretty bad shots.

The professor arrives and tries to reason with the elves giving yet another political statement. The elves remind him that this movie isn't a platform for that and tie him up.

The whole family is eventually captured but that one elf who had eaten cookies, decides to help the family escape.

The Nordheims, now freed, decide to get rid of the elves by burning down the barn.

The kind elf, Lucas' friend is spared and given a place to live in an abandoned museum where there is no electricity and no chance of anyone disturbing him. The elf is clearly an introvert.

The movie ends on a happy note.

There's Something in the Barn is an interesting addition to the Christmas Horror genre but it definitely needed to iron out the creases in its plot.

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