I love Christmas horror movies.
I don’t celebrate Christmas, but I get immense joy seeing the Christmas season cross into the realm of horror. Films like Black Christmas, Silent Night, Deadly Night, Christmas Evil, Krampus, and A Nightmare Before Christmas, always make for celebratory holiday viewing. Give me an evil Santa killing people, plus some pissed-off parent groups, and I know I’m in for a good time. When I heard that horror maestro Joe Begos of Bliss and VFW was going to dip his toe into the Christmas horror subgenre, I knew I had to check it out. I was not disappointed, as Christmas Bloody Christmas is one of the wildest horror films I’ve seen this year.
The film follows Tori (Riley Dandy)and Robbie (Sam Delich), two friends chased through their small town by a robot killer Santa. The plot is simple in the best way possible, as Begos, who also wrote the film, understands that keeping the plot simple allows him to focus more on his direction, character, and kills. He shines with all three. Begos use of shooting with 16mm film and keeping the natural grain and dirt gives his film personality and grit. The film gauge captures and blows out the neon and Christmas lights, making his scenes grimly beautiful. The kills in the film are gruesome and bloody, aided by the practical blood effects and non-CGI robot Santa. The robot Santa is legitimately terrifying, with clear Terminator and Hardware influences (and I suspect Robot Santa from Futurama), as a creature dedicated to hunt you. It helps that even with all the bloody kills, Begos knows when to show restraint and let scenes breathe so the tension can build. Seeing the grainy footage of the robot Santa skulking with an ax, his silhouette captured in the red and green lights felt menacing as all hell.
Christmas Bloody Christmas also benefits from having relatable and engaging characters. Riley Dandy and Sam Delich have incredible chemistry together, feeling like two long time friends who love giving each other shit. Their dialogue is peppered with twinges of history that give their characters weight without halting the pacing for exposition dumps. I could honestly listen to Tori and Robbie talk about music and movies all day (I’m inclined to agree with Tori on Pet Semetary Two being better than the first one). They feel like friends I’d hang out with at bars talking about movies, and their relatability adds to the intensity as I rooted for them to survive.
Christmas Bloody Christmas is a fun addition to any Christmas horror marathon. It’s a film full of great characters and kills that beams high energy and thrills from beginning to end. It’s the perfect movie to watch drunk with your friends, trapped inside on a snowy night. Christmas Bloody Christmas is a must-watch for this year’s holiday season.
Christmas Bloody Christmas will be released by RJLE Films in theaters and Shudder on December 9th