I'm one of those people that will usually watch anything as long as Shatner's in it. So when i saw he was in a Christmas horror movie, I knew I had to give it a shot. Reading the synopsis, I knew Shatner wasn't going to be the star focus, but i was okay with that. I thought a Christmas horror story would be a fun idea. And then I actually saw the movie. This story is really 4 in one. Santa with elf zombies, changling kid, krampus against family, and haunted basement. All of this is connected by Shatner who is a radio DJ. And he's the only real saving grace of this film. Hearing Shatner as a mildly drunk Christmas loving radio DJ is amazing. Besides him and perhaps santa, every single character in this thing is annoying. There's seriously no character that I rooted for or even wanted to stay alive. Every single character is a pain in the butt level of annoying. I also have to say. This, this was a chore to get through. I didn't enjoy a single moment of this movie (With the rare exception of the Shatner scenes) When we're introduced to the characters we see them as unlikable jerks, and just because they're put in danger doesn't make them any more likable.Plot points are just kind of....there and quickly forgotten. The endings of most of these wrapups are RIDICULOUS and are at odds with what they're trying to convey.
1. The kid being a changeling story wraps up with the mother going to return the changling to where they took it from in the forest. She meets up with this guy that says "they won't harm you here because they're afraid of me." she sees she's surrounded by a bunch of changlings, and proceeds to shoot the guy and he dies by accident. The changlings, instead of killing her go "oh! okay! here's your son!" Wait.....what? That's the end? no twist? no...'she dies and the kid was already dead'? seriously? this mother character was one of the worst freaking characters! I was actively hoping she WOULD die. the fact that she or the kid DIDN'T die actually dropped this from a 3 to a 2.
2. Okay so with the santa story I was all for it when i was writing this review. Then i saw the ending 'twist'. it completely ruined it. look. you can't have a twist like "oh, of course this guy is really just crazy for no reason and is NOT santa fighting krampus because that makes more sense" when you have KRAMPUS ALREADY IN YOUR MOVIE. It's not far fetched to have him be the villain when he already IS killing people in your movie.
3. The krampus family thing had development that lead nowhere. you find out that the son who is a giant asshat is in actuality a sociopath who kills animals, but the mother and father were actually understanding each other and then developing as characters then "poof. dead." thanks for that? It reminds me of the actual Krampus movie. except....you know, even stupider.
4. okay, basement possession baby didn't even have anything to DO with Christmas. That could have literally taken place at any time of the year. The fact that it was Christmas had NOTHING to do with the plot. it almost feels like this was made for a different story but ended up being too short so they tacked it onto this and had the characters say "oh by the way it's Christmas!" a few times during their scenes. These were the most boring of the bunch as 3/4 of the scenes were slow walking with no payoff.
Speaking of payoff, with the exception of the santa scenes, none of the deaths were on screen and it looked stupid and cheap.
If it weren't for Shatner this movie would get a 1, but god help me, Shatner can make even the worst piece of garbage worth it. So Shatner, I toast you with a wassail. As for the rest of this stupid nonsense, it can go right in the trash bin. 2 out of 10.
1. The kid being a changeling story wraps up with the mother going to return the changling to where they took it from in the forest. She meets up with this guy that says "they won't harm you here because they're afraid of me." she sees she's surrounded by a bunch of changlings, and proceeds to shoot the guy and he dies by accident. The changlings, instead of killing her go "oh! okay! here's your son!" Wait.....what? That's the end? no twist? no...'she dies and the kid was already dead'? seriously? this mother character was one of the worst freaking characters! I was actively hoping she WOULD die. the fact that she or the kid DIDN'T die actually dropped this from a 3 to a 2.
2. Okay so with the santa story I was all for it when i was writing this review. Then i saw the ending 'twist'. it completely ruined it. look. you can't have a twist like "oh, of course this guy is really just crazy for no reason and is NOT santa fighting krampus because that makes more sense" when you have KRAMPUS ALREADY IN YOUR MOVIE. It's not far fetched to have him be the villain when he already IS killing people in your movie.
3. The krampus family thing had development that lead nowhere. you find out that the son who is a giant asshat is in actuality a sociopath who kills animals, but the mother and father were actually understanding each other and then developing as characters then "poof. dead." thanks for that? It reminds me of the actual Krampus movie. except....you know, even stupider.
4. okay, basement possession baby didn't even have anything to DO with Christmas. That could have literally taken place at any time of the year. The fact that it was Christmas had NOTHING to do with the plot. it almost feels like this was made for a different story but ended up being too short so they tacked it onto this and had the characters say "oh by the way it's Christmas!" a few times during their scenes. These were the most boring of the bunch as 3/4 of the scenes were slow walking with no payoff.
Speaking of payoff, with the exception of the santa scenes, none of the deaths were on screen and it looked stupid and cheap.
If it weren't for Shatner this movie would get a 1, but god help me, Shatner can make even the worst piece of garbage worth it. So Shatner, I toast you with a wassail. As for the rest of this stupid nonsense, it can go right in the trash bin. 2 out of 10.