Director: Ryan Cavalline
Year: 2022
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Anthology
Plot:
After escaping from an insane asylum, a crazed convict takes a woman hostage and regales her with tales of Christmas Folklore from around the world.
Review:
The Legend of Hans Trapp-A couple going through a slew of marital problems manage to invoke the spirit of Hans Trapp, a savage killer better known as the dreaded Christmas Scarecrow. This was a pretty enjoyable start for this type of story. Mostly centered around the justifiable antics he commits that set her off on the need to take her revenge on him following the interaction and influence of the titular scarecrow which is given a solid backstory explaining everything. This is all brutal enough and has some fun moments with how it all plays out, while the low-budget origins here involving the effects or weird animated scenes intercut into the storyline that disrupt the flow somewhat offer the main drawbacks.
Christmas Hell-Awakening in a strange environment, the murdered husband finds that even Christmas holds its own judgment during the holiday season. There wasn’t a whole lot to this one that seems to work. The overall concept of a person stuck in a purgatorial afterlife-like situation based on the time of year that they died is a genuinely unnerving and creative concept that works quite well, especially with the visuals here echoing a mental torment that ties in nicely with the psychological mind-games usually associated here. It’s so rushed in this type of format that it’s hard to realize effectively what a majority of this is supposed to mean, and with a cheap look that comes off throughout here, all holds this one down.
Santa's Little Scalper-Trying to get better in life, a man finds himself under the spell of a special doll made for children whose behaviors need extra attention. Overall, this was fine for what it is and has some fun factors about it. The main storyline involving the creepy and demented-looking doll interrupting his life and trying to insert its influence over him has a rather fun psychological effect the more it carries on. That helps to make his pathetic and lonely existence feel that much more terrifying when we realize the effect this has, while the overly familiar setup that once again offers a doll warping the mind of someone in its possession as the central storyline doesn’t feel too original in the long run as the main point holding it down.
Frau Perchta - The Terrifying Christmas Witch-Staying at a remote bed-and-breakfast, a lonely man meets the kooky owner who spurs his interest in a figure who is best known for her gruesome punishment of the sinful during the Christmas Holiday. This one was somewhat of a disappointment overall which could’ve been much better. The central setup offering a fine introduction of the figure gives us the backstory necessary due to the obscure nature of everything which helps to make the rest of the time here featuring the owners’ obsession with the perfect cookie or the little ticks that signal the involvement of the titular figure needing to be involved in his life. This is the weak link as it’s more of a punchline than anything and is ruined by the CGI bloodspray, but it’s still pretty fun otherwise.
Le Pere Fouettard-Awakening in a distressed state, a woman finds that she’s captured by the French Christmas Cannibal who ate children. This was a somewhat disappointing story to end things on. The backstory on the particular killer and his history working in the traditions of the holiday seem like it would be a fun enough feature on its own much like the scenario presented here involving the woman kept captive by the killer which is all good enough. That gets undone by the fact that it’s just too short to get anything accomplished here and she never has the chance to spell anything out about their names, why she’s captive, or even a connection to the beginning story. Combined with the budgetary limitations featured here, it’s somewhat disappointing.
Overview: **.5/5
A generally fine indie holiday-themed anthology, there are some likable factors here which are generally enough to overcome the detrimental issues that show up here. Those who are fine with this style of indie presentation or are fans of the creative crew will have the most to like here while most others out there should heed caution here.
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