User reviews

Not a bad film but certainly not a ten . The majority of the actors are good the story's well written and there's plenty of gore .

I turn cheap movies off straight away but the story to the actors were good and funny. And it was pretty good acting too

For a B-horror film it has enough blood and nudity one would expect but with a plot that makes no sense and the end point is just a waste when it's all said and done. If you want to be entertained and you are looking for a watchable Christmas film this will fill the void.

I've never written an IMDB review before but I always had a feeling the time would come when I had to be a good citizen and set off a warning flare. That time is now. This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. As a horror fan I have seen a lot of low calibre productions over the years but this takes the biscuit. I am struggling to find a single redeeming feature...I suppose the acting is just about passable but other than that it's just so so bad. It tries to be funny but misses the mark horribly, the direction is hideously pretentious in trying to be cool and different, and the whole thing looks like it's been filmed on a 2004 camera phone. Oh and I haven't even finished watching it yet, I don't think I'll bother. Merry Xmas.

Watched the film how who why what give this a 5.6 rating I would give it a - 56.6 what a load of b******** bad acting and directing one of the worst films I have ever seen and I have seen some bad ones

Writer/director Adam Marcus probably doesn't realize half how accurate the title of his film, in fact, really is! In case you ever participated in a Secret Santa routine, in your family or among colleagues/friends, you just know that you never get what you really want, and that basically all presents are worthless. All I wanted for Christmas, was a fun and reasonably qualitative holiday-horror, but what I got was this lousy "Secret Santa".

Moreover, this is the worst type of bad movie. The type that thinks of itself as clever, tongue-in-cheek, and original. Hate to break it to you, Mr. Marcus, but your film isn't any of the above. It's a frustrating mix between vulgar humor and sickening gore, with exclusively loathsome characters. A rich and eccentric family, of which the father is a pharmaceutical tycoon, gathers at their cabin in a fancy skiing resort. It's the kind of family where everybody hates each other so badly, that it already is highly implausible they're celebrating Christmas together. Someone in the group spiced up the punch with a powerful truth-serum, which leads to even bigger arguments than usual. The serum apparently also has a bizarre side-effect, though, as they gradually also turn into mad-raving and drooling maniacs.

The gore is mean-spirited, but very poorly handled and not shocking at all, with a lot of CGI-stuff and hectic camerawork. The humor is frustrating because Adam Marcus makes use of "easy" stereotypes, like a boy who stutters, a pervert uncle, an uptight aunt, a Swedish girl, etc. The performances of the ensemble cast are lousy, but what do you expect with such a mediocre director in charge? Since it's Christmas, I'm generously giving two extra points, though. One for the opening credits in which the letters of the cast members' names turn into horror-terms, and one for the following quote that made me chuckle: "Your parents named you Penny because that's what they think you are worth!".

Seen some really negative reviews of this on here. Don't get it. Played like an Xmas version of the Crossed comic. Very black humour but a welcome addition to the list of Xmas films for the less jovial of us.

Had to leave this review, just to warn people how bad this film really is. Don't be taken in by the 10/10 ratings. They've obviously been left by friends and family, as well as hired reviewers in Pakistan. False reviews seem to be rife. It's such a shame. If your after a horror movie choose something else. If you fancy a horror OF a movie then you're in the right place.

Went into this one not expecting much but i actually found myself laughing at at it, along with the gory stuff going on.I'd say it was a Black Comedy/Horror, if you don't like gore, then i would give this one a miss as the gore comes thick and fast but boy, it's funny too.Not going to go into anything that happens in it, just sit down and enjoy the fest.

Members of a wealthy family gather for Christmas dinner, but with the punch spiked with a powerful truth serum, old family feuds come to the fore, leading to extreme violence.

Writer/director Adam Marcus's Secret Santa is not to be confused with Secret Santa (2015), which is bad, but not quite as bad as this. Marcus gives us a film in which the characters are such a vile waste of skin that watching is painful.

One might imagine that seeing these utterly despicable people being bumped off in a variety of revolting ways would be a lot of fun, but it's not, the level of obnoxiousness so high that no amount of suffering is enough to compensate. Even when they're being sliced and diced, they're utterly reprehensible. The film is intended to be a black comedy, but people this horrible aren't funny in any circumstance; I loathed every minute in their company, even when they were dead.

There's a high level of graphic gore - decapitation by shovel, impalement on Christmas tree decoration, vomiting of internal organs etc. - but the special effects are 'enhanced' by CGI blood: just one more thing guaranteed to rankle this particular horror fan.

I didn't really know what to expect from this movie, but it got under my skin upon the first viewing. It somehow manages to strike the perfect chord between darkly hilarious and horrifying at the same time. It grabbed me from the beginning and didn't let go. Filled with memorable performances, this cast was somehow able to create an onscreen chemistry that is rarely achieved by a horror movie. In our household, we have an annual Holiday Horrorthon instead of a traditional Christmas party. We showed this movie for the first time last year, and I can tell you that we have never received a bigger reaction (or bigger praise) for any movie we've ever shown before than we did for "Secret Santa." We never show any of the same movies two years in a row, however, we had so many requests for this one that we brought it back again this year. NOTE: this movie also makes for a pretty amazing drinking game, if you're up for it.

Atrocious in every sense of the word. Terrible and no redeeming features. Please don't waste your time. Not even funny. Looks like it's shot on a camera phone. Vile!

An unknown assailant spikes a dysfunctional and toxic family's Christmas punch with a military grade drug, turning them into homicidal maniacs and fighting to survive the night as they start turning on one another. Director Adam Marcus who gave us the Friday the 13th spin off Jason Goes to Hell, returns to the horror genre with this seasonal themed shocker. It's supposed to be a comedy but it's full of lame jokes and bad taste gore. One character is decapitated with a shovel and the assailant has sex with the head, another has a Christmas Tree star thrust through the back of their head and out through the mouth. The special effects are pretty good for such a low budget effort, but there are no sympathetic characters and it's not nearly as shocking as Marcus would like to think. Worth watching if you have a high tolerance for horror comedies, but other than that there's just a lot of tasteless and cruel jokes, a ton of cartoon blood, and a lack of originality wrapped up under this Christmas Tree.

If anyone is in any doubt that this is rotten, just have a look at the trailer.

Gathered together for a Christmas party, a family looking to reconnect at their mountain cabin find their holiday festivities interrupted by a series of violent outbursts that leave several members of the party dead and forces the survivors to band together to uncover what's going on and stop it.

This was a massively flawed genre effort. About the only thing worthwhile with this one comes from the rather fun series of encounters that takes place once the family has become tainted and set off on their rampage. The series of interactions and comments that sets this off into a flood of violence as they snap and start viciously beating or stabbing each other is a shockingly vicious sequence where the sudden outburst and need to corral the participant gives this a rather strong starting point that gets brought about. The ensuing scenes trying to get a handle on what's going on results in even more vicious and violent sequences throughout the cabin and resulting areas of the mountain where a series of chasing and interactions that allows some great stalking scenes and brawling-filled encounters which give this some intriguing elements as they play out their hatred and vitriol against each other. As a whole, these are enough to work nicely enough here although there are some big issues with this one that holds it back. Among the biggest detriments featured here is the deplorable and uninteresting group of people on display that we're supposed to follow. The constant sniping and petty insults that greet us the second they're on-screen, the open comments about the children being ungrateful disappointments that aren't worthy of following in the family name, and no end to degrading slurs to their family are offered throughout this one and are just completely off-putting the moment it starts. It begs the question of why the family has functioned long enough to engage in this tradition in the first place much less want to go through with a Christmas party together with the people in the family with the way they interact and comment against each other which is made all the worst by the idea everything is designed to be comedic. It's entirely the wrong way to go about this type of film and is a big reason that makes it so hard to get into this one from the beginning. As well as some cheesy effects involving the CGI gore, these all bring the film down.

Rated Unrated/R: Extreme Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, Nudity, and a sex scene.

I've read the reviews, and while some folks "got it," many did not. So...for those of you expecting to see a "legit" horror film, check yourself before you wreck yo...er...the movie. It is painfully obvious that the writer and director's intent for this flick was to follow in the grand tradition of making a rad, fun, culty, schlocky b-flick with just enough "wrongness" to make it right. In many ways, this has "cult classic" written all over it. For the future, that is.

Everything about this flick SCREAMS "cheesy b-flick" and they hit the mark. The constant clichés, the intentionally awkward dialog, the over-the-top EVERYTHING...it just succeeds at being bad, so well!

Surprisingly, for a b-flick, it was pretty well made. I mean, don't expect Oscar caliber, but as b-flicks are made, the money was spent in the right place...the effects (which were practical fx for the most part).

Really, the reviews needed one that let folks know that this is not a movie to be taken as a serious film. It must be taken in the grain it was meant for. With that, just get your popcorn, don't judge the flick like you would judge a "serious" film, and enjoy.

Coupla notes on content:

• I don't recall seeing any nudity beyond one scene that is relatively close to the beginning. It's not lengthy, but it's there and it's mildly graphic.

• Enough profanity to make a sailor blush. Most of it is beautifully scripted in to some completely over-the-top scenes and dialog.

• While there is some good blood and gore, I wouldn't call it a gorefest, and most of the "action" is saved for the second half of the film. Nonetheless, if you don't like blood (in rather copious amounts and in some pretty gross ways) then this is not for you.

• I don't recall any drug use, but all these people were nuts by the end, so they didn't need it!

Christmas comes but once a year, and within this year of prolonged absents of family trivialities one may just use this time of abstention to mould past angers, past resentments and embittered grudges; time here is certainly not the healer of festive cheer.

An examination of an unsettling character study of a family gone awry during this festive period of togetherness and tolerance is set against a family reunion that besets the inner circle with bitter hostilities and sour truths. It is quite frankly a boiling-pot of frustrations and indifference to any form of respect and love toward one another; these blood-lines have been severely severed during time and this winter solstice celebration of Christmas tidings have reached the equinox and irreversibly tipped into a state of perpetual darkness.

This disturbing dark comedy has a rich, if not too seemingly cliché, contemporary, and most notably, fractured, middle-class nuclear family at its epicentre and with a varied personality clash as the middle-classes values and moralities we see a notorious and foreboding nucleus imploding resulting in old and fresh wounds opening with a vengeance.

The writers' here have prepared a wonderful dish of an evil and sardonic flavour that cuts with a fervour of pure malice; the essence of hate and jealousies convey an ambiance of uncomfortable resilience of portraying what exactly lies under the surface of this family get-together. Notwithstanding the diverse cast of characters, it is really the script that hits home and does its utmost to deliver a plentiful feast of derision, scorn and contempt. It is more than a dialogue but a central nerve that teeters on the brink of insanity; sharp, focused and predacious in nature.

The team of Mr. Robert Kurtzman and Ms. Marcia King-Kurtzman have added a palate of equal measure of gore to the festivities, pushing a strong combination of horrific sights and wonting violence. It is all fitting in very well in conjuncture of said vicious script and its violent sequence of events that push home the narrative of how much integrity can both inflict pain and relief anguish. To paraphrase the old adage that "many a true word is said in jest" or that truth is often found in comic utterances is that drives its agenda.

This is an exceptionally cruel and unpleasant film to watch, notwithstanding, and not necessarily because of, the bloodshed but simply because of this feuding family. The grinch like tone has come and taken the spirit of Christmas and turned this festive mood into a moot point of family ethics and tolerance.

The Christmas horror film genre has come a long way since the days of Scrooge (1951), Black Christmas (1974), Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010) and Mercy Christmas (2017) for example, it is all a varied style of Yuletide horror, and being a mixed bag of festive frights, all this fun and frolics only add to the delight of Santa's secret bag of goodies: enjoy.

This movie is schlock at its absolute schlockiest. Terrible over-acting, goofy one dimensional characters, mean spirited people as far as the eye can see.

But if you watch it with an eye toward absurdist, over the top grotesquery, it works.

It truly is a movie so bad it circles back around to good again.

Secret Santa is a film about a dysfunctional rich family coming together for there annual Christmas gathering. Secrets and bad mouthing are the norm, and the family feels like one you may know or be apart of. When everyone suddely begins to loose there crap during the Secret Santa game, and all kinds of murder, mayhem, and comedy ensues. Plus, you do get a very ingenious reason for the madness as the plot unfolds. The characters are relatable, and when you begin to loose them you feel that loss, but it's done so entertainingly. Sometimes you find yourself rooting for things you shouldn't and sometimes you find yourself loathing them. Athough not a polished big budget film, which plays to it's strenth and makes it feel almost realistic at times. Director Adam Marcus puts forth a Christmas, horror/comedy that if given the chance you may just enjoy and add it to your seasonal holiday rotation. I say this as not being a fan of horror movies set at Christmas, but dammit Adam Marcus made one that I fully enjoy and will definitely watch again.

Secret Santa (2018) is currently available on Tubi. The storyline follows a fractured family coming together for Christmas dinner. When they begin to act on their deepest impulses, a tense holiday meal spirals into chaos.

Directed by Adam Marcus (Jason Goes to Hell), the film stars Michael Rady (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants), Drew Lynch (Drew Lynch: Did I Stutter), Debra Sullivan (Let It Snow), and Michelle Renee Allaire (Swipe Left).

I enjoyed this way more than I expected. While the cinematography, acting, and dialogue are inconsistent, the film truly takes off after "the fork" scene. The hilarious kitchen table banter, especially the bickering between the mom and aunt, added a lot of humor. The inclusion of wild incest elements and over-the-top, gory kills makes it stand out.

In conclusion, Secret Santa could have been executed better, but it remains entertaining for what it is. I'd score it a 5.5/10 and recommend it with the right expectations.

When a severely dysfunctional family gathers for its annual holiday party and secret santa gift exchange, things go from awkward to deadly when simmering resentments spill over into bloody violence. This movie is unapologetically, gleefully over-the-top in its depictions of gore and depravity. It mostly works to comedic effect, although several of the gags (pun intended for the road and severed head scenes) push the bounds of bad taste into the realm of trying-too-hard-to-be-shocking cringe. Overall it's a low-budget splatterfest that's a cut above average thanks to some witty banter, a fairly novel premise and a commitment to the silly excesses its concept demands.

Cannot understand all the negative reviews. The acting is above average for this type of movie and the dialogue is funny and very very dark. For those of you willing to give a very different kind of Christmas flick a go...have fun and Happy Holidays.