He Sees You When You're Sleeping

Gathering together for the holidays, a man heads out to his family house in the countryside to come to terms with a past tragedy that occurred years earlier, but when he finds a killer Santa Claus killing people much like his earlier encounter he tries to put the past behind him to save his family.

This was a really fun holiday-themed genre effort. Among the better aspects here is the strong central setup that offers a fantastic chance to mix together traditional slasher elements with some psychological aspects. Giving the kid a chilling backstory about the killer targeting his parents when he was a kid dressed as Santa Claus is a fine touch to set this up rather nicely by exploring that trauma as a means of remaining away from his family for years afterward. As the trip is used as a way to try mending fences and reconnect with his family, this allows for some rather nice early introduction methods of getting to know the rest of his family and who they're about that's punctuated rather nicely with the fleeting visions of the twisted Santa lurking around to keep that in mind. This brings together some fun scenes featuring them trying to help him as time goes along but also going along with whether or not he's insane for a great time overall. As this allows for a strong setup, there's plenty to like here with the turn into the psychotic slasher going around killing others. The opening attack on the parents as a flashback offers a strong start to everything which sets his traumatic history with a reasonable enough sequence to start it, while the early scenes of the killer taking out the stragglers of the family around the farmhouse come off as solid shock ambush sequences featuring the killer appearing out of nowhere to deliver a killing blow with an unusual holiday-themed object. The final confrontation when the Santa strikes the main house and starts engaging in plenty of great confrontations throughout which include scenes of the group coming apart with the mistrust built up over the early setup, several rather fun extended chase scenes around the house, and some fun kills that provide this one with some rather fun time here. There's not a lot to hold it back but it does have some minor drawbacks. The main flaw to the film is the slightly underwhelming and plodding first half which tends to focus on the family squabbling that comes at the expense of the slashing. Being more of a sluggish family drama involving their personal issues they have not just between the son returning to put his past trauma behind him. Still, the rest of the family trying to deal with each other and several other betrayals, there's not a lot going on for much of the running time as it spends the time building up the series of storylines present. The other issue is the rather underwhelming and somewhat goofy explanation sequence for everything, taking this one into a bizarre turn involving how everything finally comes together and offers up a goofy resolution offering nothing of any purpose that warrants such a rampage of what transpired. These few factors are what end up bringing this one down slightly.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

This was a film that I got the chance to see via screener thanks to Shirly from Studio Dome Press. What intrigued me was the title as I knew this was going to be a Christmas horror film. It seemed as well that this was going to be a slasher as well. I've seen more films that fall in this sub-genre and use this niche, so I was curious as to what we'd get here as the holiday season approaches.

Synopsis: Chester returns to his home after seeing his parents' murders 17 years ago by a killer dressed as Santa. A new Santa killer begins picking off his relatives. Chester questions if the original has returned or if a more terrifying truth exists.

We started this back in the late-50s or the early 60s. We're in the home of Nathan Van Buren (Scott Bolger). He's there with his wife, Lila (Reagan Kelly). Upstairs is their son, Chester (Will Pealer Jr.). His uncle, Nick (Scot Spurlock), is telling him stories. Chester wants one more and things get dark. It makes the boy uneasy. This ominous feeling grows as over the radio they hear about a serial killer who escapes from prison. What I'll say here is that Chester's parents are murdered and he sees it.

This then shifts to 1980. It is December 23rd. Chester is now an adult, played by David Lenik. He meets with his doctor, Landry (Nicholas Vince), who thinks he's ready for release. There is a regiment of medication he must take to help keep his nightmares and visions in check. Chester leaves and outside is his girlfriend who is waiting. Her name is Afton (Nellie Spackman). They're heading to the house that everything happened in to spend the holidays.

Staying at this house is his Aunt Marion (Caroline Williams). Her son, Burke (Cedric Gegel), is also there with his girlfriend, Melody (Natalie Veater). Burke is a jerk so we see Chester and him take shots at each other. He goes outside to get away from him and gets a pleasant surprise. When he was a child, he was friends with a neighbor named Eden (Peyton Michelle Edwards). She brings home wood for a fire with her stepfather, Dick Galveston (Tom Moynahan). Chester and Eden plan to see each other the next day.

Our lead starts to question his sanity that night as he finds a note from the killer in his room. When he tries to show it to the others, it is gone. This makes us wonder, was it there? Things aren't as they seem here though and not everyone cares about Chester as well as his mental state. There is a person in a Santa suit that is lingering around. Is this someone who is trying to crack Chester or is this killer back?

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is confirming that this is a slasher film that has someone in a Santa outfit as the killer. What comes along with that is that we have kills to start this movie then it slows down to set up the situation as well as our characters. It is a slow burn until things ramp up to the climax. If you know me, I'm not always the biggest fan of this style of film, unless you have good characters or kills. The ones with both tend to be my favorites. I'll go into what my thoughts were.

Where I want to start then would be with the story. This opening sequence is borrowing from Silent Night, Deadly Night where Uncle Nick warns Chester about being asleep on Christmas or Santa might kill you. I do love that mean-spirited idea, especially to set the tone here. It is from there that it feels a bit like Cult of Chucky where we have these family members who don't have the best interests at heart for Chester and we don't know who all is in on the plot. When people start to die, I even got vibes of My Bloody Valentine where Chester is convinced this killer is back, but there could be more to what is happening. I'm not comparing this as a slight, because to be honest, credit to them for borrowing elements that work to craft this story. They work seamlessly.

I do have a gripe here that hurts the pacing for me. There are a few times where we have characters just telling stories to help fill in backstory. Chester tells things to Afton. This is the first information dump. Then from there, another time was Eden and Chester talking, to let us know that they were friends as kids. There was another one or even two that we got. It just was bogged down with dialogue there. I prefer being shown over being told, but I get why we can't every time. Just something that didn't necessarily work here for me. Fans of this sub-genre might feel the same.

Let's then delve into what I look for with the characters. The acting performances are fine. Lenik is a bit wooden, but I'm forgiving. He is mentally unstable. He is on medication so I just figure that he's not as used to interacting with people. It is a rough time for him which would make sense. Edwards is cute and I like her as the only one who seems to have Chester's best interests at heart. She is interesting though since Chester does have a girlfriend. Spackman is fine there. She is more interesting as we learn about her. Gegel fits as this jerk cousin. Veater was also solid as his girlfriend. She isn't given much to work with. I did like seeing Williams as well as Lauren-Marie Taylor having cameos here. The rest of the cast are fine. There are characters here for cannon fodder, which I appreciate.

All that is left then is filmmaking. I'll need to talk about the kills here, because this goes brutal at times. Our killer is using an ax, which I did like to see. I also love that there are Christmas related items used to kill people. That adds charm and character. I'll say that the cinematography and framing were good to help hide the seams since they went practical with everything I can see. That's another perk. They don't use the time it is set all that much, but I know it is set in the 80s to not need technology. I'm glad it isn't in your face as it has a timeless feel. Other than that, the soundtrack didn't stand out. I'm surprised they didn't use more holiday music, but I'm also glad they didn't go over the top.

In conclusion, this is a solid lower budget slasher with the Christmas theme. We are getting elements from other movies that fall in this sub-genre, but I did like how they're used here. This is well made enough. I thought that the cinematography, framing and effects were good to make the kills look good. The acting was solid. No one is great, but I don't have a gripe there either. Even though I'm not a big slasher fan, I did enjoy my time here. I would recommend giving this a viewing to fans of these types of movies.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

He Sees You When You're Sleeping is another low budget Christmas slasher from the same people that brought us Werewolf Santa- The Halloween Collective.

And, despite the fact that the special effects are equally as mediocre; and the acting is rather theatrical...it's honestly not that bad.

That's not to say it's a masterpiece by any standards...or even particularly good.

Just that it's entertaining enough to warrant watching (it's available to stream on Dailymotion by the way, if you do).

Mainly because the twist at the end has some redeeming qualities to it.

The plot revolves around a character named Chester, who returns to his childhood home, after being released from an asylum, that he was confined to after having watched his entire family murdered by an axe wielding Santa Claus.

Only to discover that his extended family has been plotting against him, to take control of the property.

Cue the return of said axe wielding Santa.

So...pretty standard fare, as far as Christmas slashers go.

But done decent enough to keep you engaged.

I especially like how the Collective seems to have incorporated a running gag into these Christmas themed horror films - the use of a white figure skate as a weapon.

As this same skate makes an appearance in both this film, and Werewolf Santa.

A clever little easter egg, included to keep things interesting.

That being said...it's still a below mid kind of film overall.

Unless you are comparing it to other ultra low budget Christmas horrors, for which it qualifies as top tier.

I did like Werewolf Santa better though.

3.5 out of 10.