On Christmas Eve, self-confessed Christmas hater Tori Tooms just wants to get whiskey wasted and make some bad decisions. Her plans are interrupted when a robotic Santa in a nearby toy shop glitches and goes on a rampage, leading to a festive, neon-drenched killing spree that will drag Tori into the fight of her life.
It is clear that writer, director and producer Joe Begos is developing a certain artistic vision that is very visually appealing. Building on the blood-drenched neon of Bliss (2019), Christmas Bloody Christmas is a fairy light hellscape that brings all the holly jolly joy of the season along with a dose of extra gory mayhem. It is a sumptuous feast in many ways, with the gently twinkling neon lights luridly illuminating an axe-wielding Santa, hell-bent on destruction. Tori is a fierce, foul-mouthed, independent and opinionated protagonist, and the idea of an animatronic Santa as the killer is interesting. The practical effects are great, and something that is always welcome in the world of CGI and green screens. The small cast, and number of locations, means the focus is always on the action, and there is plenty of splatter and screaming to satisfy even the most bloodthirsty of slasher fans.
The interplay between sex and violence is nothing revolutionary in a slasher, but it is done in an interesting way here that avoids many of the misogynist tropes of the genre.
Begos’ love of the genre is clear, there are nods to both Terminator and Halloween, with the relentless Santa standing in as a festive version of the futuristic cyborg from the Terminator franchise. John Carpenter’s influence is present in the spooky, sinister synth-heavy soundtrack and in Tori’s final girl credentials. It’s also clear that earlier holiday slashers, like Silent Night, Deadly Night, have influenced this bloody offering.
As seasonal horrors go, this is an entertaining romp but at times the plot feels a bit thin, this is especially true in the third act when Tori has the final showdown with Santa, a showdown that quickly runs out of steam. The festive final girl narrative is a bit formulaic and the constant bickering between Tori and her employee Robbie quickly grates. Also, as a personal aside, can we stop showing women getting strangled during sex scenes, please? The interplay between sex and violence is nothing revolutionary in a slasher, but it is done in an interesting way here that avoids many of the misogynist tropes of the genre. This is welcome and positions Christmas Bloody Christmas as a film that seeks to include, rather than alienate, half of its audience. However, the apparent push for a more sex-positive slasher is undone by this unnecessarily abusive inclusion. Rant over. This aside, this is a fun addition to the Christmas horror canon and is well worth a watch when it is released on Shudder.
3/5
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Christmas Bloody Christmas (2022)
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