Director: Massimiliano Cerchi
Year: 1996
Country: USA/Italy
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
Following a massive killing spree in the city, the lack of clues for the crimes leads a police detective and a voodoo priestess to team up, looking into the one salvageable factor in a series of witnesses claiming to see a killer dressed as Santa Claus, and they must solve the killings in the city.
Review:
This was a rather poor and dire genre effort. One of the better factors here is the somewhat intriguing storyline that has the potential to dive into a rather curious psycho stalker setup that’s clearly being attempted here. With the majority of the film going through the idea of the killer randomly appearing on the city streets trying to accomplish the bizarre goal of using body parts from his victims to piece together a demented Christmas tree that the police are trying to solve with no luck, this is certainly a serviceable enough entry that works well enough for this type of film. Given that it serves to introduce the cast as well as the type of flimsy, if still brutal enough, gore setpieces that are on display here featuring severed body parts, it has some cheesy enough aspects.
That doesn’t change the fact that the overriding detriment found here is the overwhelmingly obvious low-budget feel. The fact that this one is so egregiously dark and unable to figure out what’s going on, as practically nothing is lit with anything resembling natural light, is a genuine travesty to overcome, where the majority of the film consists of indistinguishable blobs interacting together even in police stations or housing. The outdoor scenes are a lost cause with the ambient lighting making for a painful time here, and even though it’s got some bloodshed, there’s plenty of obvious, flimsy effects here. With a generally familiar storyline offering a one-note take on the clueless authorities trying to stop a madman with no clues, this one does have some detriments featured here.
Overview: */5
An enjoyable if generally problematic indie genre effort, there are some enjoyable elements here that manage to make this worthwhile while being let down by the major issues here holding this down. Those with an appreciation for this style or approach of indie genre fare will have the most to like here, while most others out there should heed caution.
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