It’s inevitable at this time of year, as the festive period approaches, that discussions about what does and what doesn’t constitute a Christmas film arises.

And it’s each to their own to determine what is a Christmas film for them, as long as there’s a general understanding that Die Hard categorically doesn’t qualify as one.

It’s safe to say however, that this film certainly qualifies, but whether it’s a good one is a completely different argument.

Having been left a house by his Norwegian uncle in a remote part of Norway, Bill (Martin Starr) decides to up end his American family and make it their new home.

He’s decided with his wife Carol (Amrita Acharia) that the barn in the back will be perfect to convert into an Airbnb- style property, despite all the work it will take. Their daughter Nora (Zoe Winther-Hansen) isn’t thrilled by any of it, leaving as she is, all her friends behind.

Her younger brother Lucas (Townes Bunner) isn’t doing cartwheels either, but he comes around to the idea when he discovers something very peculiar living in outside – a barn elf. He thinks it can be a cute friend/pet to have around, but little does he know of the darkness this diminutive creature harbours.

After his last film, the appalling SAS: Red Notice, Norwegian director Magnus Martens has a lot of making up to do. Which he sadly doesn’t even come close to doing with this, in fact he only makes things worse.

It’s unmistakeably a hybrid of a film, that borrows far more than it should; for instance, it's difficult not to see this family as some wannabe heirs apparent to the Griswold’s, with their own take on a European vacation, but instead of “look kids, Big Ben, parliament”, it’s more like “look kids, a barn elf”.

But if that wasn’t enough, there are definitely whiffs of another ‘Christmas’ flick in Gremlins; Lucas is presented with a set rules to follow to keep the elf happy, if he breaks any of them, there’ll be hell to pay. Sound familiar?

And if that wasn’t enough, there’s a sprinkling of yet another ‘Christmas’ film in Home Alone as they have to find ways of combating the attack from this creature in their home.

The outcome is a sloppy smorgasbord of other films, resulting in a film better suited for another ‘holiday’, that of Halloween, as it’s a real horror show.

Possibly part of the issue is that elves just aren’t all that menacing, even with an axe in hand. And regardless of the spurts of blood, there’s just an element of farce, intentional or not, that makes it difficult to take anything seriously. Much like the recent Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, it’s just more of a concept that looked fun on paper, but was just poorly executed.

So perhaps there could be arguments as to whether or not this is a Christmas film or not, but one thing that can surely be agreed upon is that what it is, is a terrible, terrible film.