PLOT: It’s Christmas Eve, and Tori and Robbie just want to party and get drunk. Unfortunately, a robotic Santa with evil intentions may ruin their plans.
REVIEW: Recently, I went to the World Premiere screening of Christmas Bloody Christmas at this year’s Beyond Fest. Intending to review this flick, I decided to go in completely blind. Indeed, the title gives a little warning, but the lively introduction of writer/director Joe Begos grabbed my attention. Whatever this holiday offering had, it was going to be rambunctious. And now, I’m happy to say that the wild and wooly, fast-paced fright fest is perhaps one of the best St. Nick inspired horror features in recent years. Bloody, with practical effects, and many F-bombs to offend those who don’t like cursing. And I cannot wait to talk about the rockstar performances of Sam Delich and especially Riley Dandy.
It’s Christmas time, and record store manager Tori Tooms (Dandy) is looking to meet up with a random one-night stand. Yet her employee, Robbie Reynolds (Delich), convinces her to hang with him for the night. As the two head off to own the town – without any physical contact as they make it clear to keep it casual – they are unaware of what’s happening around them. An incredible new Santa Claus display made of military-grade technology is having some issues. The issues? Much like the B-movie classic robots in Chopping Mall, this Merry Monster starts doing the most anti-Santa thing you can do, taking an axe to people in his way and all the while going after an unaware couple wanting to get stoned and drunk on Xmas.
Let’s start with Dandy and Delich. Had the entire movie been about these two looking to party and hang out, I would have loved every minute of it. The two actors are beyond charismatic, with chemistry that is on fire. Much of the fun is just watching them wanting to mess around, but trying to avoid any sexual activity. It’s hilariously charming. However, Ms. Riley Dandy gets to go a bit further into action. And frankly, she kills it at every turn. Do you know when you see a performance that draws that person into the limelight? Someone like Samara Weaving in Ready or Not? Dandy is that good here, and I do not doubt we’ll be seeing a whole bunch more from her. What a fantastic performance from both of these two.
Let’s spread some credit around when it comes to the performances. Begos did excellent work bringing together an engaging cast that includes Jonah Ray, Dora Madison, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Jeremy Gardner, Graham Skipper, and Abraham Benrubi as the crazed robotic Santa. It’s a world with pulsating rock music spread throughout, amped-up energy, and a mess of red stuff, including crushed skulls, a guy split in half, and many other notable axe murders. And best of all, the emphasis is on the practical. The head-crushing scene on the staircase is especially cheer-worthy.
Joe Begos creates a lean and mean flick here with a groovy sense of weirdness and whimsy. The sharp dialogue between his leads is a joy, especially coming from those two performers, and it wears its Terminator influences proudly. It’s just a fun flick. And at a trim 87-minutes, it moves along while only losing a minimal bit of steam as the more intense conclusion begins. Either way, the filmmaker creates a monstrously cool-looking flick that is fun and won’t hurt your brain. Seeing this with an audience just freaking watching a killer Santa flick and enjoying the gory goodness on display is all you need to do.
Christmas Bloody Christmas is a treat. Sure, it’s not the most original movie you’ll ever see, but who cares? What you have here is a gleefully blood-soaked horror experience. In fact, with so many holiday-themed frights feeling less than scary, this one is a real thrill. The Christmas atmosphere is solid, the opening montage of advertisements is clever, and the rarely ceasing energy keeps it moving. And yes, I will give credit to Dandy and Delich once again. Frankly, I’d love to see these two characters in other movies. They were a delight to watch. And the extra bonkers kills undoubtedly help. Christmas Bloody Christmas will be ready to unwrap for audiences (in theatres and on the Shudder streaming service) on December 9th, and it’s well worth the wait.