Finland happens to be one of my favourite countries in the world. There’s a wonderful dark humour that oozes from the very pores of the population that is really endearing, and that dark humour is very apparent in this witty and wacky Lapland thriller, Walter Presents: ‘Reindeer Mafia’, set on the Norwegian/Finnish border.
If you want to avoid spoilers, stop reading this article now.
Sameli Nelihanka has been imprisoned for murder after he intentionally set a house on fire in rural Norway – a house that had a body inside. But being the bungling incompetent that he is, he managed to get his car stuck in the mud as he tried to make his escape, meaning he was a sitting duck with the local emergency services arrived.
Credit: Walter Presents
Some years later, and he’s been released on parole after the death of his mother, Brita – a woman who, despite her illness, ruled the family business with an iron fist. The Nelihankas have reigned over vast areas of Lapland for many years, like a mafia family, as referenced in the series title.
Brita’s death results in an intense power struggle between the remaining family members, including Sameli, Rouku and Pieti. This power struggle comes about because on her death bed, Brita wrote private letters to various people regarding her final wishes for the distribution of the family wealth and influence. And those letters stir up a hornet’s nest of anger and animosity in the family and beyond.
Sameli is the leader of a gang of misfits called the Wolverines who style themselves on a biker gang, like a wintery version of the Hell’s Angels. They certainly look the part, with their long hair, beards and leather jackets – but rather than powerful Harley Davidsons, they scoot around on snow mobiles. They also run a dodgy “reindeer safari” operation, fleecing naïve tourists out of their hard-earned Euros.
In addition to the family in-fighting, Sameli has to contend with some impropriety within his gang – not to mention the appearance at his mother’s funeral of his ex-girlfriend – whose father Sameli murdered in the fire all those years ago.
‘Reindeer Mafia’ (Poromafia, in its native Finnish) is great fun. It’s dark, funny and has some wonderfully zany characters. But it’s also got an intriguing storyline as we witness some brutal family grievances being played out in the snowy Lapland wilderness.
There are some nicely under-stated performances by the leading players, who are all very convincing in their roles. It’s very Scandinavian in its style – there’s no screaming and shouting, no car chases and no over-the-top reactions. It’s cool – super cool. And it promises to be a fun ride.
Walter Presents often serves up something a little left-field, and this is one such gem.
Walter Presents: ‘Reindeer Mafia’ launches on Channel 4 on 11th February 2024 at 11.30pm, and the boxset is available on C4 Streaming now.
