Director: Joe Begos
Year: 2022
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
Wanting to quit her shift, a woman hanging out with her friend before a Christmas date finds themselves targeted by a relentless robotic killer Santa Claus gone berserk and hunting them down killing anyone who gets in his path, forcing them to find a means of stopping it.
Review:
There was quite a lot to enjoy with this one. One of the better elements here is the exceptionally fun setup at plays that provides an immersive atmosphere throughout here. As this generates a fantastic display of who the group really is, from the interactions at the record store to the conversations with her friend that include everything from her sexual proclivities to past amorous activities and musical taste, which helps to bring them together with the rest of the friend group to be quite enjoyable. As well, the atmosphere throughout these scenes is a fantastic look as the decorations and Christmas lights have a distinctive flair added to it all with the neon light-work here to make an atmospheric touch to the occasion.
That provides a framework for the solid slashing action throughout here. The initial concept of the killer Santa robot being operated the way he does with the AI capabilities it has, the resulting rampage is understandable and provides a great series of encounters where it comes to life at the party to take out the guests or the rampage at the apartment. The resulting chases and confrontations here are exceptionally brutal and graphic, featuring plenty of high-energy setpieces filled with gory deaths, some heartbreaking moments, and some frenetic energy offering up some solid spectacle in their execution. These factors all manage to bring about quite a lot to like about it.
This one does manage to have a few flaws. The biggest drawback to this one is that the concept of these stalking scenes feels incredibly uneven given the robotic AI that feels far too humanistic in execution to what this is trying to be. The finale offering the exploits of the robot stalking her throughout the city features the creation making traps, offering up bait for her to fall into, and some rather bizarre behavior that completely flies in the face of it being considered a robotic entity. As well, with just one brief notice about its means of going berserk, it’s easy to miss how the whole rampage starts which is bizarre and easy for some to miss. However, these are really the only issues with this one.
Overview: ***.5/5
A highly effective and generally enjoyable effort, that there’s very little wrong with this one which is barely detrimental anyway makes for a highly over-the-top holiday feature. Those who are looking for a seasonal type of slasher effort, are intrigued by the concept or are fans of the creative crew will be the ones to like this one the most while only those who don’t like the style within won’t care for this one.
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