Once Upon a Time at Christmas

I do not know Jeff Ellenberger (who played Deputy Fullard). I have never seen him in any other film, nor even heard of him. But I know this about him: He deserved better than this film. He seems like a good actor trapped in a bad film and it saddened me. In fact, his presence just highlighted for me how bad everyone (and everything) else was in the film. I hope he has better luck in future films.

I am still puzzling over the sheriff talking to a coroner with a VERY heavy British accent who uses an unfamiliar British slang word that causes the sheriff to say, "Oh, right, I keeping forgetting you're a Brit." Of all the many hard to believe things in this film, THAT one really knocked me for a loop.

The casting director of this film didn't put in any effort, nor did the producers when it came to selecting actors who could truly act. The level of mediocrity in the performances is beyond terrible. Despite its potential to be a good Christmas slasher, the film falls apart entirely due to the dreadful work of its cast. But the biggest thing about this and what kept me from loving it at a "so bad it's good" level is that this is a British production filmed overseas with everybody straining to use American accents and CLEARLY British locations that are supposed to pass for Woodridge, USA (that's the actual super generic American name they give the town) and WHY? Why would you make that choice when your actors can barely talk let alone do an accent why would you do that. And why is Santa using a regular British accent why does he get a pass?! Maybe they worked him being British into the story and I missed it but whatever I don't care.

0 stars if there was a 0 Stupid and dumb Not worth watching.

Horrible acting paired with a predictable plot and unnatural dialog makes this movie very unpleasant. Don't waste your time with this one, you could probably figure out exactly whats gonna happen in the first 10 minutes and I have never heard so many clunky and uncomfortable conversations in one movie before. Absolutely awful in every way.

This has the same terrible writing and dialogue. The two guys that wrote it have no idea what they're doing so everything happens solely to move the plot forward without any nuance and there's just tons of stuff I could rag on like the bad acting and half the cast doesn't even bother with the fake American accent and this could all be a fun bad movie if it didn't take itself so seriously!!

Like I can just see the two guys that wrote this sitting at a bar giving each other congratulatory slaps on the back and that just drives me nuts for some reason!! Ok in all fairness, they actually do try to inject some humor in ONE scene, but it's so awful. AWFUL!!

But I'm still gonna give it two stars because the lead is a Clarice Starling knockoff FBI agent who wears the same outfit for the entire week or whatever this movie takes place over and in some scenes she has blonde highlights and in some she doesn't and I absolutely loved that.