Carnage for Christmas

There's a million Christmas slashers out there and they all kind of blend together for me. Many have a killer Santa, others have silly little creatures doing the slaying. Making this so specific - an LGBT Scooby Doo mystery - made this super memorable for me. Yes, this one wears it's micro budget on its sleeve, but it also swings for the fences and never holds back in the name of good taste or trying to pretend that it's something it's not. The kills are mostly good, the characters are memorable, and the finale delivered exactly what I wanted. I wouldn't recommend it to just anybody, but for those in the mood for something fresh and new.

Self described as a "transgender holiday horror", Carnage For Christmas is a queer Christmas themed slasher from Australia.

The story revolves around Lola, a true crime podcaster, who became obsessed with the topic after finding the skeletal remains of their small town's most famous missing person...the young victim of "the toymaker".

Upon returning home to visit her sister for Christmas, she gets caught up in a real life cat and mouse game, with a slasher clad in a Santa suit...after her sister's lesbian roommate and her girlfriend are found murdered.

The killer targets the podcaster as the player in his game, by sending her a cryptic Christmas card, and series of clues, that lead her to suspect that it's the work of "the toymaker"...or, at least, some kind of copycat.

But the police don't take it seriously...so she, and her sister, are left to solve the crimes themselves.

With suspects abound in a small town that has a predominant history of hate.

So...they best act fast...because the bodies are really starting to pile up.

For such a low budget production...it's actual pretty decent.

With the special effects being particularly well done.

They- alongside the good storyline- more than make up for the, otherwise, mediocre acting.

At just under 70 mins, it also benefits from it's relatively short runtime.

As it allows them to avoid saturating the film with unnecessary filler.

I really quite enjoyed it.

And would definitely say it's worth a watch.

As far as the drama and gore go...it works.

But I did, however, feel like the ending was a bit rushed, and ridiculous, though.

4 out of 10.

A pretty inept thriller mystery horror film with a killer dressed like a bad Santa Claus. When a podcaster returns home for the holidays, brutal murders start happening that may be linked to her and the town's past. Now she must discover the truth as each murder gets closer to people she knows. This is not a well made film as it comes off as a very student film/low budget film. Despite these elements what does set itself apart are the trans and queer elements that add some modern flare to the overall story. Some of the actually cinematography is interesting as the use of saturated colors makes it seem as though the filmmakers were inspired by early Argentinian films.

Returning home for Christmas, a true-crime podcaster looking forward to seeing their family during the holidays is alarmed when a series of crimes against fellow members of the trans community paint her as a prime suspect and must rely on her skillset and other friends to stop the rampage.

There's quite a lot to enjoy here with this one. Among the better elements with this one is the solid small-town murder mystery that serves as the main setup of the whole feature. The central plotline involving the group of friends coming together at the behest of their returning friend trying to set everything right during the holiday season which serves to set off a series of killings around the town that are directly tied to her arrival makes everything appear quite enjoyable overall. The small-town history involving a history of murders taking place in the town that includes a series of unraveling clues pointing to a figure from it's past come back to life and starting a new spree over everything is all handled nicely enough as the clues lead to a killer directly targeting members of the specific community. Even with this factor being taken into account, the whole setup coming into a rather cohesive conclusion adds nicely to the overall presentation which is a great time here. This one also manages to bring together a fairly solid series of brutal and generally enjoyable stalker set pieces that are handled rather nicely. The opening setup that turns out to be a recreation of one of the stories from the podcast she hosts is an impressive enough time as the case reveal comes off nicely after the stalking and brutal murder that starts everything. The regular stalking here, done at the hands of the Santa-dressed killer, are generally quite fun, resulting in either the sudden shock ambush that ends in a brutal kill or the grim aftermath of everything when they stumble upon everything. With there being a lot to like about it, the only real issue with this one is the generally predictable setup that results from operating in such familiar territory where so much of this one is hammered home by the slasher formula. It's not truly detrimental or damaging but does stand out as a factor against this one.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.