Christmas Bloody Christmas Review from Shudder!
I’m always down for a good Christmas horror film, especially during the upcoming holidays. Much like partaking in the tradition of folks watching horror films in October during Halloween, I find the Christmas season bringing out my inner dark side to watch Christmas themed horror.
I dig Joe Begos Films. V.F.W was killer and Bliss among others. Begos has his heart entrenched in the fundamentals of old school horror/cult and from watching his work it’s easy to see that. Christmas Bloody Christmas is a good example of Begos bringing to life those days of ‘80s killer Santa flicks like Silent Night Deadly Night (see review here), Christmas Evil (see review here), or to a lesser extent To All a Goodnight. There’s a great conversation in the movie about director Bob Clark’s Christmas movies, such as A Christmas Story and Black Christmas too which I found amusing.
Christmas Bloody Christmas opens with a bunch of humorous tongue-in-cheek Christmas ads and background info on a new robot Santa engineered by the military which will change the face of Christmas. It is said the Robo Santa Plus will alleviate the use of creepy human mall Santas and provide a more enjoyable experience for all.
Christmas Bloody Christmas then goes on to tell the story of edgy record store owner Tori Tooms (Riley Dandy) and her plans to get drunk and laid on Christmas Eve. Tori’s employee Robbie Reynolds (Sam Delich) has had his eye on his boss for quite some time, but she hasn’t come to terms with the notion yet. Robbie strategically attempts to convince her as the two down shots of whiskey while visiting a neighboring bar and friends after hours at a closed department store.
It’s at the aforementioned department store that a particular model of robotic Santa resides, and it’s broadcasted on the news that this model has been recalled due to a malfunction. It becomes too late as the robot Santa springs to life in a murderous bloodthirsty rage.
Like the Terminator, the robotic Santa locks in on its targets and track them until it destroys them. The voice prompts of hohoho sound similar to say Robocop in their hollow delivery. After Robo Santa kills a couple of Tori’s friends it follows her and Robbie where it kills the family next door in horrifying fashion including a boy who first mouths off about the unwanted clothes Santa brought him.
I gotta say there are some genuine moments of suspense and terror even with the hokey premise of terminator Santa robotically walking around stalking his prey. The violence is downright brutal, meanspirited, and the effects are impressive even if shown in quick cut shots they are nasty.
I got finished reading other reviews about Christmas Bloody Christmas and always enjoy addressing concerns I read in those reviews. In particular I keep hearing the mention of too much profanity in the film. Only in a grimy indie horror film are you gonna hear people complain about such nonsense. If it was a mob film, comedy, drama about inner city gangs no one would bat an eyelash, but the horror genre continues to be everybody’s whipping boy. Tori Tooms character does drop the fuck bomb continuously but frankly I never noticed. It never stuck out and it certainly never bothered me. Even on IMDb they have recorded how many times fuck was said in the film. I believe it’s 487 times total with an average of it being spoken 5.6 times per minute, who cares!?
I also never had a problem with the characters. I didn’t feel they were unlikable so much that it was a major turn off or anything. It’s 2022 and strongly opinionated women like Tori Tooms do exist. They own their own businesses and are independent individuals who aren’t desperately seeking a husband or partner to settle down with. Sometimes they just want to fuck. I felt the film took a very modern approach having Tori as the aggressor with Robbie who was used to deliver her sexual gratification as if a man wanted a blowjob from a woman but vice versa.
In the later part of the film Tori manages to escape the slaughter ground around her home to only end up in the not so welcoming arms of the police. Officer Smith (Jeremy Gardner) thinks Tori is responsible in some form and persists on acting like a douchebag throughout the film until Robo Santa comes calling. Fortunately, level-headed Sheriff Monroe (Jeff Daniel Phillips) is there to keep order but even he will face the wraith of the killer robot Santa.
Christmas Bloody Christmas is a fast-paced holiday horror romp with plenty of mean-spirited unsettling violence and enough gore. I dig Begos’ shooting style making all of lights of objects stand out as bright neon Christmas lighting while making everything else so dark. We get all those brilliant greens and reds used throughout the film and they really pop on screen in vibrance. By the end of the film Robo Santa is a bit worse for wear and almost looks like a cross between the killer robot out of Richard Stanley’s film Hardware and Johnny Five from Short Circuit.
Christmas Bloody Christmas is a solid holiday horror offering. Begos once again delivers. It’s not perfect but it held my interest and kept me watching for more. It’s harrowing and fast-paced after we get through the first 20 minutes of character development/bantering then it’s a descent into depraved holiday killing debauchery. Christmas Bloody Christmas has since earned a ton of money and was neck and neck with Sam Mendes newest film Empire of Light, LOL, even if it’s an indie film released straight to streaming on Shudder.
AKA: Кровавое Рождество
Directed by: Joe Begos
Written by: Joe Begos
Produced by: Joe Begos, Josh Ethier
Cinematography by: Brian Sowell
Special Effects by: Chris Bailey, Logan Long
Editing by: Josh Ethier
Music by: Steve Moore
Cast: Riley Dandy, Sam Delich, Jonah Ray, Dora Madison, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Abraham Benrubi
Year: 2022
Country: USA
Language: English
Colour: Colour
Runtime: 1h 26min
Studio: Channel 83 Films
Distributor: RLJE Films, Capelight Pictures, Shudder