The Creeps, a monster movie by Finnish filmmaker Marko Mäkilaakso (Bordertown, Helsinki Syndrome), had its world premiere on 11 April at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF). The traditional atmosphere pervading the BIFFF audience is part of the experience and is directly linked to the enjoyment of a film. The bloodier and gorier the movie, the better it is received by the crowd, and Mäkilaakso’s killer snowmen certainly delivered in that respect.

Imagine the boys from American Pie, only a little more naive and with flatulence issues, on their first holiday alone: Zach (Chris Cavalier) and Joe (Kheba Touray), two teenagers from Oregon, are preparing to celebrate Zach’s birthday at Monsterfest in a Northern Finnish ski resort. By chance, they pick up Finnish outsider Jaakko (Matti Paalanen), who only wants one thing: friends. Jaakko's superpower is to always be able to pull a bottle of Olvi beer out from underneath his coat, which works like a charm on the two Americans. When a flock of homicidal snowmen are awakened by scientists tinkering with other dimensions and unexpectedly crash the party, Zach, his friends and his new crush, rock singer Natalia (Veronica Jarvis), manage to flee – but the bloody trail in the snow is inching ever closer.

The movie is brimming with nods to beloved classics, from Gremlins (Joe Dante plays Zach’s Uncle Joe) to Die Hard (Natalia saving the day with a chainsaw), and from the series Knight Rider to Highlander. In fact, in their fight against the snowmen, the kids are assisted by Christopher Lambert, Zach’s biggest idol, and KITT, the talking car from Knight Rider (voiced by William Daniels), whereas they are bullied by Jaakko’s brother Biff (portrayed by Iiro Panula). All of these appearances will make the hearts of 1980s kids beat a little faster.

Iiro Panula is an actor one will definitely want to see more of after this film, as his comedic timing is spot on. The most outstanding thing about the movie is that the supporting roles are extremely well cast: Finnish comedian Ismo Leikola is hilarious in his role as a party host, and actor Mikko Leppilampi (Pearls and Pigs, Playground [+lee también:
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The Creeps is intentionally atrocious. Viewers can tell that a lot of heart and soul went into creating the snowmen (and making each of them a unique little character), into generating the special effects (one scene in particular feels like a Space Invaders computer game) and into the set design (right down to the walls of the portable toilet!). The soundtrack (with original songs by Mäkilaakso himself) is also very fitting.

The only things that let it down are the scenes in which Zach breaks the fourth wall because they make the movie lose momentum, and thus they feel unnecessary. What’s more, KITT without David Hasselhoff is a bit like Finland without salmiakki. With Hasselhoff and his flashy leather jacket, the film could have ended up being a tad closer to perfection.

The flick is best enjoyed with a group of friends, watching on a big screen. But if you want to watch it kalsarikänni – ie, drunk, alone on your sofa wearing nothing but underwear – there is nothing wrong with that either.

The Creeps was produced by Frozen Flame Pictures and Kajawood Studios. Its distribution and world sales are handled by Raven Banner Entertainment.