Dismembering Christmas

Not long ago, Slasher Studios screened their film "Don't Go to the Reunion" before a full house at HorrorHound Indianapolis. The crowd cheered, laughed, and it was a big hit. Maybe not scary, but the kind of movie you want to see with some friends and a few beers.

Now they're back... with a vengeance. That same great mix of blood and belly laughs, but with an improved video quality, some great camera shots, and a beautiful soundtrack. We even have a killer with black gloves, which can only be a nod to the great Italian giallo films. (Indeed, in some respects this is more of a mystery than a slasher, at least for the first half.)

"Dismembering" retains that independent feel. There is still some amateur acting at times (one actress in particular) and minor sound issues that come from not having a sound stage or boom mics, but it's part of the Slasher Studios charm. This is a low-budget, high-fun film. Most of the actors double as crew – including the director-editor (Austin Bosley) and makeup artist (Marla VanLanen).

And for being shot over 12 days, it comes off as quite professional. (Even notorious rush artists like Jim Wynorski typically allow 17 days in case of retakes.) Though he did get a "thanks" on "Reunion", hinting at some sort of involvement, director Austin Bosley is new to the Slasher Studios family. He has acted and directed a few things, but one hopes he sticks around with this group a while. He seems to have the magic touch. (With all due respect to Slasher Studios' former regular director Steve Goltz, who co-wrote this screenplay.)

Worth singling out is the actor who plays Mark: Baker Chase; he is the strongest of the cast – a good actor, with a good look, who has a bright future if he wants it. His IMDb credits show him very busy over the next year or two, and it would be no shock if he made the transition to mainstream films or television.

Slasher fans will have to check this out. Christmas and slashers have been going hand in hand since the 1970s, but never before have they been this highly entertaining. This Christmas, be sure to deck the halls with lots of bodies!

Ignore the cast and crew written reviews that gush on this pile of steaming redundance. Bad in every way, stay far away from this grade Z turkey. The average viewer can't get past the 5 minute mark. Abysmal.

Slasher Studios always prioritizes character likability, and these efforts make Dismembering Christmas fun from beginning to end. When the killer arrived, I found myself worrying about my favorite characters. When the blood started to fly, and when I realized no one was safe, they had me at the edge of my seat.

Watching the film brought back so many video store memories I found myself searching for a big, black clamshell case with the logo on it.

My only regret was that I watched it alone. Dismembering Christmas is made for a living room filled with friends to gasp and giggle along with you. It will be a movie horror fans watch every holiday, as well as when the mood strikes them in the other three seasons. Put on a holiday sweater and enjoy!

Dismembering Christmas is in my opinion Slasher Studios best project. Although I am a fan of their previous work I think this film goes above and beyond anything they have done before. The film is just overall a lot sharper looking and is very well filmed. Austin Bosley does an amazing job directing this. It was nice to see Steve Goltz return with a writing credit to this film along side Slasher Studios co- creator Kevin Sommerfield.

The film was delightfully awesome! The tone was a lot more present in this film and although there was less gore than previous SS features, when there was gore it was done extremely well.

The cast done fantastically. Lead by Nina Cova and Leah Wiseman and with a few Slasher Studios Favourites thrown in for the fans this film will go down as Slasher Studios break through film. Although Don't Go To The Reunion was a personal favourite of mine I feel on the wider scale of thinsg this will will be the studios break out hit!