A Christmas Horror Story (2015) Reviews

• It Could Have Been A Lot More Fun

  HorrorOverEverything2015-09-24

  So I am fresh off of watching this and I have to say that I am a bit disappointed. The trailer and the current reviews made it out like this was going to be a blast to watch, and some parts of it were, but for the most part I felt pretty let down. So this is an anthology film, but instead of running each story back to back the film instead runs them simultaneously throughout. So basically you jump around from each story, the main problem here is that I found two out of four of the stories to be pretty cliché and boring. It was a bummer to be right in the middle of one story that is picking up only to be thrown back to a story that is just plain boring. The pacing was a big problem too, nothing at all really happens until about an hour in, once things do get rolling it is decent but not enough to make up for the first dull hour. I do have some good things to say, the Santa and Krampus scenes were absolutely awesome, it mostly made me wish that I was watching a movie that was strictly about them. The acting was well done throughout, and the special effects/gore was all top notch considering they didn't have a huge budget. Plus William Shatner is thrown into the mix, hard to hate that. I feel like this could have been so much better because the parts that worked did work really well, but the stories just didn't blend well together and since you have to watch them all at once that really effected the entertainment of the overall film. It's rare that I truly hate some parts of a film but then absolutely love other parts, unfortunately with this one the good was not good enough to out weigh the bad. The fun parts were still really fun though, it just seems like the whole thing could have been a lot more fun. 5.5/10

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• A pleasant surprise

  sprouty2015-12-05

  Let me start by saying I like generally horror films - not so much the torture films ("Hostel", "Saw" etc) - but things like "The Thing", "Halloween (Original)" The Exorcist, "It Follows", & "The Ring". So I was always gonna watch this because I also like William Shatner & Christmas. I was expecting this film was going to rate 5 or 6 but because it exceeded my expectations so much I am giving it a hefty 9. It's better shot, acted and written than the average shocker. The film nicely interweaves 4 stories and a semi-story of William Shatner as a DJ. All are nicely told and varied in tone. The film is really slick and well directed, shot, and edited together - especially since there were 3 directors. The dialogue is not always the greatest but heck its a horror film so its way above average for the genre. There are also plenty of nice scares. If your idea of a horror is lots of explicit gore this film is not for you - although there is enough to keep the less gore obsessed fan on the edge of their seat. The focus is spread across 4 very different sets of characters most of whom you wouldn't usually see in a horror film. The exception are the young teenagers who decide to break into their school, in order to investigate two murders that occurred in the school's basement the year prior. This story is exactly what you might expect - and no worse for it - but the other stories are all great. I can't say any more as I think this film is best watched without expectations and definitely without spoilers. A nice Christmas treat!

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• A surprisingly great film!

  emberstonepierce2015-10-21

  To be honest, I didn't expect much from this title and only thought I'd give it a watch because there was nothing else on. I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised and found it a very well made movie with some great casting and cinematography. There are so many cheesy, novelty, horror films released which center around a particular season or holiday and they seem to be mainly low budget affairs which aren't worth watching. This is a well made collection of stories which all interconnect and come together dramatically at the finale. William Shatner is a great boon and brings his character to life in a realistic and yet amusing way, with the dry humour we know and love. There's plenty of blood and gore for the die hard horror fans as well as an interesting collection of narratives, filled with black humour and intrigue. What a surprisingly great film!

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• Strong horror anthology

  TdSmth52016-01-31

  It's Christmas Eve. Three high school students go to school to film a documentary about the disappearance of two students last Christmas. Some part of the school was at some point a convent and there's more to the place than just the killings. A family goes to the forest to cut a Christmas tree. At some point their young son vanishes but they do find him after a while inside a tree. When they return home the kid isn't quite himself. A family travels to visit the father's rich aunt. But she's creepy and hostile so they quickly leave. But the daughter stole some trinket and the son dropped a Krampus figurine and broke it. That will come back to haunt them as their car breaks down and they have to walk through the forest. Things quickly get bloody. Santa is getting ready to deliver gifts. Suddenly one of his elves goes nuts, drives a hatchet through his hand and dies. Soon all the elves become zombies and violently attack Santa who will have to take them out one by one. All these stories are framed by a radio host who is in the Christmas spirit. Krampus makes an appearance in most of these stories and even confronts Santa himself. But when all appears said and done there's an neat unexpected twist. The stories aren't told independently but are interwoven and aren't anything special initially but improve markedly once they take a turn to the dark. The story of the kid in particularly has some creepy moments. The story of the kids playing investigators in a locked school during Christmas Eve no less is very annoying at first until things change. The whole business with the radio host was mostly irrelevant. It's good to see Santa get a cool role as well as all the resent fuzz about Krampus. I wasn't expecting much from this movie but I was surprised that it did have something different and enjoyable to offer.

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• All Four Stories Deliver

  gregsrants2015-10-21

  It's the most wonderful time of the year. To die. Directors Grant Harvey, Steve Hoban and Brett Sullivan all lend their talents in an attempt to turn the happiest day of the year into a horrifying movie experience in A Christmas Horror Story. Best described as an anthology, A Christmas story interweaves multiple stories with Christmas being the anchor theme. The stories are diverse and in no way repeating. Santa takes on a horde of zombie elves. A family goes Christmas tree hunting where their son gets possessed by a demon. A group of teenagers return to the scene of a grizzly crime to film a documentary where the evil still lurks. And a family is terrorized by Krampus, the anti-Santa Claus. William Shatner plays a radio DJ host that helps intertwine the stories and provides some spots of levity along the snowy roads to where the film journeys. The stories themselves do not play out in their entirety before moving to the next segment a la say Tales of Halloween or the ABC's of Death. Instead, the filmmakers jump between the stories which allow them to keep audiences on their toes and ensure that the lesser terrorizing / more dramatic scenes are broken up with the moments horror fans relish. What makes A Christmas Horror Story so different from its peers is that there is not a dull story in the mix. Sure, not all stories share the same enthusiasm, gore or humor, but there wasn't any particular segment I wished would just mercifully end so that we could get to a more interesting one. That is great praise to say the least. I could not say that about Tales of Halloween and that makes A Christmas Horror Story more in line with say Trick 'R Treat than Creepshow. Yes, Yes, Yes, we still had our favorite. That would be Santa's story on combating zombie infected elves and his eventual showdown with Krampus. The effects, make-up and overall execution of this segment are worth the price of admission alone. Santa comes across as an 80's action hero. His eyes didn't twinkle. His dimples weren't merry. His cheeks weren't like roses. My god was he scary! The Santa/Krampus showdown might be the highlight of the film but one can't ignore the other segments that lead to the climax. Each provide a fun sleigh ride of horror and all three could have been their own movie if the stories were expanded. A Christmas Horror Story played at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival on Saturday night and the audience clearly got in on the fun laughing at the right moments and offering applause for some of the more gruesome scenes. There are not a plethora of good Christmas horror films out there. In fact, after Black Christmas you would be hard pressed to name another outside of a Silent Night, Deadly Night. But A Christmas Horror Story brings enough presents in its Santa sack to make this a rather fun film that might just become a 'go-to' film for many horror fans every December.

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