Since Love Actually hit the movie screens, only to be showing repeatedly on cable television every holiday season for no perceptible reason, the concept of interconnected stories that have little to do with each other has been related to Christmas. Even television shows like Glee have explained away the concept as a “Love Actually episode.” So when you have a movie called A Christmas Horror Story, it’s not surprising that the movie is set up with unrelated interconnected stories.
There may be no leg lamps, but each story is uniquely holiday-centric, finally revealing the connection with a twist ending.
Dangerous Dan (William Shatner), is a bible-thumping radio DJ who loves Christmas just a bit too much and is happy to spread holiday cheer to all his listeners on Christmas Eve.
Santa must face zombie elves that would rather eat his and Mrs. Claus’ brains instead of eat cookies and finish the long list of work on the busiest night of the year.
Three students break into the basement of their school (where everybody wants to hang out during school break and on a holiday) where two murders happened a year prior; the only clue being a biblical verse written in blood on the wall. The only issue is the murders may have been more supernatural than anybody suspected.
When Scott and Kim bring their son, Will, to the woods to chop down a Christmas tree, ignoring the signs that forbid entry, Will gets lost, returning strangely as a different person. Are the legends of changelings the weird lurker warns the family about true?
Caprice and Duncan are less than thrilled to be dragged along with their parents to visit Aunt Edda, who’s a bit superstitious about one too many legends. One legend she doesn’t fool around with though is Krampus. After Duncan carelessly knocks over a Krampus statuette, she kicks everybody out of the house, only to have them spin out on the road when a large white figure attacks. Is the figure the caretaker taking revenge for his boss, or something worse?
While I won’t reveal the connection between all five stories, I can say that the conclusion to A Christmas Horror Story is worthwhile. The film is truly a horror movie, combining many classic legends concerning family and the holidays into one intertwined story. Despite the many murders that occur, as well as its lack of rating, the level of gore is medium, never going overboard when a different camera angle or direction can intensify the scene even more.
If you are looking for a twist of the classic Christmas movie, check out this movie on Netflix, DVD/Bluray, and other streaming services. Please note, however, that this may not be suitable for geeksters of all ages.