A Christmas Horror Story (2015)

You either like those short stories that are somehow and somewhat connected to each other or you don't. If it's the latter don't bother watching or reading on, because you obviously are not the target audience. If you are of course, give this a shot. While not the best horror anthology, just the fact that Shatner is a radio host who's telling jokes (you know he's a funny Dude) and is always there after a shock to make you feel good.

Having said that, the casting overall is good, as are the stories all not really in the original sense of the Christmas spirit. But with a horror movie that should be the most obvious thing and nothing one should have to figure out. The characters are oblivious to their fates or what lies ahead of them in general. Funny and scary stories that really are entertaining. Job done

Fmovies: Ah..., now this is the kind of fun, Retro Fantasy Horror film that I like. As opposed to your sadistic Eli PHUK'n Roth brutality films (not to disrespect those of you though who DO happen to like that kind, but Eli Roth wouldn't know how to bloody ENTERTAIN if his life depended on it. All he knows how to do is highlight suffering and disgust...)

This film however, although truly entertaining and funny at times, used humour very sparingly (well, maybe except with the Elves...) It was not self-referential and there was absolutely NO winking at the audience. There was a lot of genuine suspense during the movie. IF you happen to like this type of fun old fashioned Horror film, I honestly feel that there is a lot to like in it. As I mentioned, the humour thankfully is not overdone. There are parts that are genuinely funny, but I feel that for the most part, the film leans more heavily towards Suspense and Horror. This movie has a vibe slightly similar to say 'CREEPSHOW' Good, solid, scary Horror at times, but along with touches of humour here and there. Perhaps this one is a BIT more serious...

Probably, what will determine if you like this movie will be whether you enjoy more Fantasy based Horror films or not. Personally I do very much. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am also an avid fan of absolutely dead-serious, Scary as $hit Horror films too. Some of the greatest Horror movies of all time are quite serious. But, I have a real affection for Horror films that truly are entertaining along with being scary. Films for example like 'CREEPSHOW', 'LOST BOYS', & 'FRIGHT NIGHT' (the original) to name a few. But, some of my favourites are chilling ones like the Classic 'LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE', the deeply Psychological 'SESSION 9', or the recent extremely well done 'BANSHEE CHAPTER' (dude, I seriously had to change my PANTS after that one!)

As I have mentioned in many other reviews before, I personally lean much more so towards the Fantasy based Horror films. Ones either with a serious Supernatural slant, or ones based on Classic Gothic Lore like the Hammer Horror films, for example. So, I would be one who REALLY loved the 2010 film 'THE WOLFMAN' with B. Del Toro, where many people did not.

Anyway, sorry to digress there a bit, but when it comes to Horror movies, people can REALLY be different in what they like, so if I am going to recommend a Horror film, I want to make SURE that I am clear about the kind that I like so that you can hopefully determine whether YOU would like it.

I think what I personally really liked about this movie was that I appreciated the quality performances which the director was able to draw out of his cast, some of them quite young. Usually it is the HORRENDOUS acting that puts me off many of these modern Horror films, especially the low budget ones. But quite honestly, I felt that all here did an above average job in their roles. Oh yeah... there was ONE thing that I wanted to SURE to address (although, I would LOVE to UNdress that one young actress! Sorry... just something about those boots, skirt and wool stockings... :D ) Anyway, uh (cough) sorry about that... as I was saying... One thing that I want to mention that I VERY MUCH DISAGREE with that some here said, is that they didn't like the way that the stories were intercut together. Well, in my lowly and wretched opinion, I personally felt that the director did a frigg'n EXCELLENT job in doing that, seeing that that is quite difficult

Beginning with our beloved gift giver about to board his sleigh and coming full circle towards the end, A Christmas Horror Story weaves together four stories of almost every popular horror sub-genre. With our first story, we have a found-footage style ghost story set within the dark corridors of a school. Our second story follows a police officer and his family in a creature possession mishmash, who despite the warnings of trespassing, illegally cut down a tree. On the way they seamlessly cross paths with the next desperate and foolish family, who wind up getting into an accident, soon finding them being picked off one by one in the vein of a holiday slasher. Finally, we come back around to a festering nod to modern zombies, as Santa Claus must ward off his elves that only want to devour flesh.

While certainly not being a new concept in the world of horror cinema, with George Romero's Creepshow having carved a place over 30 years ago, anthologies have since become more mainstream with Michael Dougherty's 2007 woven horror treat, Trick R' Treat. The greatest similarities come between the character's paths, often overlapping in some magnificent or minute manor, which works to establish a pace lacking in breakups or cuts that might remove us from the film. With our stories loosely being introduced by disc jockey Dangerous Dan (William Shatner), A Christmas Horror Story jumps back and forth between each tale, often placing too much on our plate. It can feel burdensome to embrace all our stories at once, though there is a decent amount of fun to be had with each.

Establishing its first story with a group of teenagers who should probably want to have sex rather than break into a school (I mean, right?), our group of paranormal investigators wave goodbye to their friend who initiates the third story, who passes the vehicle of our second story. It's a brief introduction that exemplifies the disorder our film follows, juggling four stories without any real rhyme or reason. It's a method Trick R' Treat used much more confidently and smoothly, layering each story like a beautifully decorated tree. Each story lacks a central character(s) that grounds the story in our deepest consideration or appreciation. Besides a staff wielding Santa Clause, we find ourselves rooting mostly for the demise of each character on screen. There's a superficiality to our horror inspired Christmas treats, resembling a well put together fruit cake that in the end winds up being, well, still a fruit cake.

Directors Grant Harvey, Steven Hoburn and Brett Sullivan certainly deserve praise and applause however, as they manage to blend enough sub-genre's into one film that doesn't pander too much to its fans. The shaky camera in our first story is quickly disposed of in favor of deeper shadows and richer tones. Santa moves around his workshop, slaying Christmas elf after Christmas elf, offering enjoyable new levels to our zombie tale. Our stranded family embraces what's in the shadows, while delivering enough bloody eggnog to satisfy the splatter fiend in all of us. What falls flat unfortunately is our second story, passing on an engaging premise of wrongdoing, family woes and marital hiccups that could have featured some Twilight Zone inspired creatures. Where awe-inspiring makeup brings to life the mythological terror of Krampus, we are too often treated to poor digital effects that only hinder and shift our wonder of our four stories.

While there is a terrific end to Santa's unwrapping of

A Christmas Horror Story fmovies. 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.

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.

You never know what are you getting yourself into with movies like this. Luckily, A Christmas Horror Story gets most of the beats right.

It's a mix of multiple intersected story lines movie, fun horror movie and Christmas movie. There are even few known names here, but generally all the cast does a good job. Cool stories, couple of cool twists here and there and pretty sweet FX makes this movie a fun watch.

Yeah, it's nothing original and over the top, but it's well made and not too long. I'm guessing this movie will get repeated Christmas viewings in the years to come. Recommended but keep you expectations real.