Inclubabu
Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.
BoardChiri
Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay
Bessie Smyth
Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.
Nigel P
A small American town pays host one Christmas to a maniac dressed as Santa Claus. Rather like Salem's Lot, this town is frequented by often very flawed characters who one by one, succumb to terrifically staged, grisly fates.My feeling at the beginning was that Sheriff James Cooper, played by the mighty Malcolm McDowell, who often seemed to magically turn up at the scene of the various crime, was somehow linked to the malevolent Claus. To cast McDowell as a mere Sheriff seemed unlikely to me. Maybe I was right?Deputy Aubrey Bradimore (Jaime King) is the unfortunate who is seconded to the spree. Anytime any of the townsfolk are 'naughty' - and there are plenty who are - it seems Father Christmas isn't far behind. You can hear his heavy breathing behind his improvised, bearded mask.The running time is made up of sinners hiding behind a veneer of respectability, suspected by none except Santa. This makes him a kind of red-hatted avenging spirit. The premise and outrageous killings are over-the-top and often quite silly, and yet this remake of the 1984 'Silent Night, Deadly Night' weaves in several plot moments from the real-life 2008 Covina massacre.Director Steven C. Miller and writer Jayson Rothwell ensure that events are staged in a very television-drama style, and as such, the minor indiscretions of the characters have a soap-opera feel about them. For the ongoing fascination for a truly Bad Santa, this is enjoyable, but a fairly standard slasher.
meddlecore
A good description of this film would be that it is a combination of the earlier Silent Night, Deadly Night, and latter Krampus. The antagonist is similar in demeanour to the Krampus (though far more vicious); and there's that one part where a Grandfather awakens from a catatonic state, bearing a warning- like is also seen in Krampus. While many of the kills are reflections of those seen in Silent Night, Deadly Night (ie strangulation with Christmas lights and the impalement of a scantily clad teenager upon a trophy head). There's not much of a plot here, though. Just a whole lotta killing carried out by a sociopath in a Santa suit on Christmas Eve.The kills, however, are vicious as hell...and extremely gory. With the special effects having been done quite well- as in, they are rather realistic.Some examples include: woodchippering a half-naked chick, whose already had her leg cut off, while alive; axing a dude's head in half (while the camera doesn't (seem to) cut away); lots of scythe related stabbings and slicings; and one violent bludgeoning, with a set of "ho, ho, ho" brass knuckles.By the time it's over, it is pretty obvious that this was all a vain attempt to create a franchise in the image of Silent Night, Deadly Night. But there is simply not enough story to keep you intrigued. And what elements of a storyline are there; are dropped at the most inopportune times, and developed so poorly, that they are almost entirely irrelevant to the overall story.Poor storytelling, but lots of gore. They clearly expect to make a sequel...so at the very least, there's lots of room for improvement.4.5 out of 10.
bowmanblue
This film is severely low brow, kind of dumb and we've totally seen everything it has to offer (albeit better). Yet - for some reason - I really enjoyed it.Think 'Scream,' but with a Santa going around bumping off the townsfolk in various grisly ways then you're half way there. No, it's not as good as Scream (or even any of its sequels), but, if you're looking for a violent slasher flick to pass the time (and not require too many brain cells for) then this one fits the bill.You don't really need to know much about the plot = Santa-killer. You can probably fill in the rest yourself. Maybe it also helps to watch it around Christmas time. Seeing Santa roast perfect strangers with a flamethrower makes a pleasant change from those awful, sickly-sweet John Lewis commercials currently infesting the screen.Some people have complained about the killing of a child in the film, so, if you're squeamish and find that sort of thing unwatchable, you might want to steer clear.Otherwise, sit back and watch Malcolm McDowell deliciously overact (don't complain - he's doing it on purpose - this is kind of tongue-in-cheek, after all!) and deck the halls with burned-up bodies!
callanvass
A man dressed up as a Santa is slaughtering people on Christmas Eve in a Midwestern town. It's up to officer Aubrey Bradlemore (Jamie King) & Sheriff Cooper (Malcolm McDowell) to stop him. I would consider this movie to be a very loose remake of Silent Night, Deadly Night. It does borrow some things from it, but it does its own thing for the most part. Unfortunately, this is a real stinker of a film. It tries way too hard to be explicit and offensive that it becomes easily noticeable. The original was an entertaining slasher with some genuine controversy. But unlike that movie, this movie lacks the psychological edge that Silent Night Deadly Night had. The plot is nowhere near as strong. We don't know what makes the killer tick. We get an idea during the ending, but I felt that was a stupid thing to do. In the original, Billy is mentally damaged, this guy seems like a complete psychopath for the sake of it. Sometimes that can be good, but not in this case. Gore hounds will most likely be pleased, others may abhor at the nasty stuff in this movie. I won't spoil all the goodies, but here is a few examples. We get a chopped off leg, a ridiculously bloody bullet to the head, sliced off fingers, stabbings, and lots more. Those that liked the original like I did will get a kick out of the deer antler impaling. I did feel shocking a 14-year-old to death was crossing the line, though. The acting is merely average. Jaime King is better than this film deserves. She had every reason to phone it in, but she didn't. Her character is way too thin to care about, sadly. Malcolm McDowell is pretty poor in this movie. He has a couple of good lines. "Don't put avocado on the burger" "Big mistake, bringing a flamethrower to a gunfight" . Brendan Fehr is reduced to a cameo in the beginning. The rest of the cast are strictly amateur hour. The ending paves way for a possible sequel. All I have to say to that notion, is please, no. This is a mean-spirited affair that bored me to tears. Stick with Silent Night, Deadly Night. 3/10
