A Christmas Horror Story

A horror movie anthology that centers around 4 stories related to Christmas (except 1 which actually isn't).

Story 1: a very unoriginal story of young guys breaking into an empty building on Christmas eve. Not very orignial and not even very Christmas related but oh well. The lesser story in my opniion.

Story 2: Santa fighting off his elves turning into zombies. Sounds silly ? Wait for the end !

Story 3: a family steal a Christmas tree from a grove only to find out their son isn't the same anymore. Not a very orignial story either but I still liked it.

Story 4: a family visit their in-laws, and come into confrontation with a malevolent Christmas entity. Likely made in the wake of the Krampus movie.

Some reviewers complained that the story were interwoven and shown simultaneously, but that didn't bother me.

Not a masterpiece but you can do worse compared to the schlock that's made in the horror genre.

As most have said, the stories are somewhat uneven. All the stories started out great, but most of them ran out of steam and their ending was anticlimatic. The 1st story about the school was a complete bust in my opinion. What started out as extremely interesting case turned into just a cliche mess.

However, the main arch story was awesome and without giving spoilers, that ending was really unexpected.

A solid 6.

So I am fresh off of watching this and I have to say that I am a bit disappointed. The trailer and the current reviews made it out like this was going to be a blast to watch, and some parts of it were, but for the most part I felt pretty let down.

So this is an anthology film, but instead of running each story back to back the film instead runs them simultaneously throughout. So basically you jump around from each story, the main problem here is that I found two out of four of the stories to be pretty cliché and boring. It was a bummer to be right in the middle of one story that is picking up only to be thrown back to a story that is just plain boring. The pacing was a big problem too, nothing at all really happens until about an hour in, once things do get rolling it is decent but not enough to make up for the first dull hour.

I do have some good things to say, the Santa and Krampus scenes were absolutely awesome, it mostly made me wish that I was watching a movie that was strictly about them. The acting was well done throughout, and the special effects/gore was all top notch considering they didn't have a huge budget. Plus William Shatner is thrown into the mix, hard to hate that.

I feel like this could have been so much better because the parts that worked did work really well, but the stories just didn't blend well together and since you have to watch them all at once that really effected the entertainment of the overall film. It's rare that I truly hate some parts of a film but then absolutely love other parts, unfortunately with this one the good was not good enough to out weigh the bad. The fun parts were still really fun though, it just seems like the whole thing could have been a lot more fun.

5.5/10

I appreciate that while 'A Christmas horror story' echos the format of any given anthology film by splitting its length between distinct stories, its approach to that end is much more loose and free-flowing. Set primarily all within and around the town of Bailey Downs, each story happens concurrently, with passing shots or scenes to initially illustrate that connection. Where other movies in this style would tell its stories one by one, separated with the customary wraparound segment, 'Christmas' cuts from one story to the next, generally a few minutes at a time, until they are all told to completion. Does that style make it easier to engage with, or more difficult? I can't say for sure; mileage will vary from one viewer to the next.

Static imagery, blood, and gore looks fine generally; more dynamic CGI is more of a mixed bag. Other rounding details like hair, makeup, set design and decoration, and so on range from questionable to suitable; the cast's performances range from suitable to swell (although, that said, William Shatner has rarely seemed so indifferent in his acting). Of more concern for a genre picture is the quality of the writing, and here it's a rather mixed bag. Character writing, dialogue, and plot development across each story are founded foremost on contrivances: leaps in logic, poor and unlikely decisions, stubbornness and pride, and so on. To one extent or another some of the story beats are predictable - there are also some great ideas here - but above all, however well done it may be at times, very little strikes me as especially remarkable or noteworthy.

I'll say this: the action-horror vibe at Santa's workshop is a good bit of fun; Kris Kringle has never been so hard-boiled. Despite some ham-handedness, I think each story concludes with a fine ending. And while the wraparound segment here is given less concrete treatment compared to other anthology flicks, I do like the way that it progresses with subtle suggestions of something sinister before summing up sharply. Why, the strong finishes are enough to make me want to hold the entirety in higher regard. The fact remains, though, that while duly entertaining, 'A Christmas horror story' doesn't do much to grab our attention outright. It's enjoyable enough that it's worth putting on if you want to watch a horror flick without necessarily having to actively engage with it, though don't go out of your way to find it.

Worth 107 minutes of your time? You could do a lot worse.

It's the most wonderful time of the year. To die.

Directors Grant Harvey, Steve Hoban and Brett Sullivan all lend their talents in an attempt to turn the happiest day of the year into a horrifying movie experience in A Christmas Horror Story.

Best described as an anthology, A Christmas story interweaves multiple stories with Christmas being the anchor theme. The stories are diverse and in no way repeating. Santa takes on a horde of zombie elves. A family goes Christmas tree hunting where their son gets possessed by a demon. A group of teenagers return to the scene of a grizzly crime to film a documentary where the evil still lurks. And a family is terrorized by Krampus, the anti-Santa Claus.

William Shatner plays a radio DJ host that helps intertwine the stories and provides some spots of levity along the snowy roads to where the film journeys. The stories themselves do not play out in their entirety before moving to the next segment a la say Tales of Halloween or the ABC's of Death. Instead, the filmmakers jump between the stories which allow them to keep audiences on their toes and ensure that the lesser terrorizing / more dramatic scenes are broken up with the moments horror fans relish.

What makes A Christmas Horror Story so different from its peers is that there is not a dull story in the mix. Sure, not all stories share the same enthusiasm, gore or humor, but there wasn't any particular segment I wished would just mercifully end so that we could get to a more interesting one. That is great praise to say the least. I could not say that about Tales of Halloween and that makes A Christmas Horror Story more in line with say Trick 'R Treat than Creepshow.

Yes, Yes, Yes, we still had our favorite. That would be Santa's story on combating zombie infected elves and his eventual showdown with Krampus. The effects, make-up and overall execution of this segment are worth the price of admission alone. Santa comes across as an 80's action hero. His eyes didn't twinkle. His dimples weren't merry. His cheeks weren't like roses. My god was he scary! The Santa/Krampus showdown might be the highlight of the film but one can't ignore the other segments that lead to the climax. Each provide a fun sleigh ride of horror and all three could have been their own movie if the stories were expanded.

A Christmas Horror Story played at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival on Saturday night and the audience clearly got in on the fun laughing at the right moments and offering applause for some of the more gruesome scenes.

There are not a plethora of good Christmas horror films out there. In fact, after Black Christmas you would be hard pressed to name another outside of a Silent Night, Deadly Night. But A Christmas Horror Story brings enough presents in its Santa sack to make this a rather fun film that might just become a 'go-to' film for many horror fans every December.