Horror anthologies are nothing new- “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) is considered one of the best acted, and the “V/H/S” franchise has proven that horror fans still crave this sort of thing. Neither are anthologies set during a specific holiday- “Trick ‘R Trick” is set during Halloween, as is the new “Tales of Halloween”. However, horror anthologies set during Christmas are a bit more rare. Does the brand new “A Christmas Horror Story” cause delightful chills?

 

I shall discuss the plot of the each story and my thoughts on it individually, and then go into a broader overview of the overall experience from there.

 

Story 1- Directed by Steven Hoban.

William Shatner stars as Dangerous Dan, the local DJ. He is stuck in the booth on Christmas Eve, and while he sounds merry, he clearly doesn’t enjoy being there at the moment. His assistant Norman is gearing up to report live from the mall, for their annual Charity Food Drive, but seems to have a nasty chip on his shoulder. As Dangerous Dan attempts to contact the reporter, it becomes increasingly obvious something dire has happened.

This is, for all intents and purposes, the wraparound story, even though the stories are interwoven throughout, and we don’t always cut to it between segments.

 

Shatner is hilarious and is clearly having a lot of fun playing this role. His droll deadpan delivery is perfect, and he makes for a believable radio host. And this is his show, through and through, as his partner doesn’t even have any lines. As things get more grim and serious, watching Shatner’s face try to figure it all out, while still sounding chipper for his listeners is a real treat.

 

Director Steve Hoban, who also directed the last story here, keeps the mood light and fun, until the end, in which this ties in with another story and shit gets heavy. Despite the single location, the lighting is good and offers some fun visuals. Simple, but fun, and a sweet introduction to the movie and Bailey Downs, the town in which everything happens.

 

Story 2- Directed by Brett Sullivan. Written by Sarah Larsen.

Three teens- Dylan (Shannon Kook), Ben (Alex Ozerz), and Molly (Zoe De Grand Maison)- are making a documentary/ journalistic expose about the history of what is now their high school. It used to be a convent, and in the basement were jail-like rooms, in which those found to be guilty of original sin were thrown in and punished. The big legend surrounding the haunted site involves a young lady who became pregnant. She claimed it was immaculate, but the nuns did not believe her. They left her in the locked basement, where she died. As the teens explore, they encounter a lot of strange happenings. Is it the ghost of the long dead young lady? Is it their minds playing tricks on the kids?

 

While standard in its plotting, this segment offers up some nice surprises, especially in how it resolves everything. Yes, this is a “Blair Witch”-style haunting, but the teens do smart things, and the reason the school could be haunted is very different and interesting. The ending is especially good and intense.

 

The young thespians all act the hell out of their roles, with Maison showing excellent promise and a bright future. Sullivan keeps the pacing tight and the atmosphere thick. The CGI effects used here are subtle, but look good, and the practical effects are nice and gory. Larsen’s script uses audience expectations to good effect, as this pulls the rugs out from the usual cliches at times, so it stands out among the crowd.

 

Story 3- Directed by Grant Harvey. Written by James Kree.
Taylor (Jeff Clarke), a struggling, down on his luck dad, drags his wife Diane (Michelle Nolden), daughter Caprice (Amy Forsyth), and son Duncan (Percy Hynes White) to see his well off aunt, Edda (Corrine Conley). After leaving, the family finds themselves hunted by none other than Krampus (Rob Archer)! Why is Krampus chasing them? Can they survive in the abandoned church?
 

Jeff Clarke is good as the put upon dad, and Nolden and he share good chemistry, so their marriage feels realistic. White is a little too precocious for his own good, mostly due to a late reveal of his character’s backstory. Not bad, merely serviceable. Forsyth on the other hand, is freaking amazing as the kleptomaniac teen final girl, and her acting at the ending is perfect.

Harvey keeps the situation tense and grim at all times, so the stakes always feel high. Krampus’s design is awesome- an eight foot tall, pure white, horned and hooved demon, moving at incredible speeds. Archer does an excellent job emoting behind the makeup, and makes for a scary beast. The dialogue is snappy, and this has the second best ending of all the stories.

Story 4- Directed by Grant Harvey. Written by Pascal Trottier.

A cop with PTSD, Scott (Adrian Holmes), and his family- wife Kim (Olunike Adeliyi) and son Will (Orion John)- go in search of the perfect Christmas tree. While in the woods, Will goes missing. The parents find him, and they bring their chosen tree back home. But, is it really their child that came with them?

Sadly, I don’t much care for this entry. Our two leads here have no chemistry, and as a married couple, that really, really hurts this portion of the movie. The characters’ motivations are inconsistent- in one scene Kim’s telling Scott that they should call the doctor, as Will has been acting weird, but in the next scene, wherein Scott is confronting their son on some of the WTF happenings, she takes the son’s side. Now, I grant that Scott went too far, but her reaction makes no sense to me, since she has already acknowledged Will is different. Then when a late night phone call happens, and describes exactly how odd Will has been acting, instead of listening, she hangs up on the guy.
 

In terms of the tropes utilized, nothing offered here is all that different from the evil child causing mayhem we have already seen numerous times, and better at that. And the drama, which really is the backbone of this short doesn’t work thanks to the bad acting. Also, the ending, while different and far more engaging than the rest of this, simply brings up one too many plotholes to really make sense. I think a big reason for this lack of engagement might be due to how it is told. Just as the dread is amping up, we cutaway to one of the other stories, and the lack of atmosphere means that once we cut back, the audience doesn’t stays invested.
 

While well shot by Smith and writer-director Harvey (yes, exact same Grant Harvey who helmed story 3), there’s an over-reliance on loud music cues to keep the audience in shock, but it just feels repetitive. Sadly, it seems to be true- all anthologies have one segment that just doesn’t work (“Trick ‘R Treat” being the exception).

 

Story 5- Directed by Steve Hoban. Written by Doug Taylor.

Santa Claus (George Buza) and his elves are getting ready for the round-the-world trip later tonight, when Jingles (Joe Silvaggio) seems to be infected by something. He then attacks Santa, who kills the elf in self-defense. The elf doesn’t stay dead though, and he spreads this to all the other elves. So, it is Santa vs. zombie elves!

Santa versus zombie elves! Do I even need to go on after that? Of course it is awesome, and the best one of them all! Hoban amps up the action heavy story with some really cool shots, like a moving dolly toward a door, until we get a close up of Santa’s blood-dripping staff.

Buza is remarkable as action hero Santa. His is the best acting in the entire damn movie, for my money. The make-up effects and gore are excellent, as are the costumes. The North Pole sets are excellent, genuinely feeling ethereal, but still a part of the movie’s overall aesthetic. The story goes in a few unexpected ways, and Taylor should be damn proud of the balls to the wall ending. Without a doubt, the best story here!
 

So, even when the stories did not always work, everything felt coherent and part of the same universe. This is due, in part, to director of photography by Gavin Smith, who lensed all of the movie, to help give it a cohesive tone and feel.

 

The way we cut back and forth and back and forth between the various stories isn’t always the smoothest, and is jarring at times- going from Story 2, after the teens get locked in, to story 3, we just cut to these random people we haven’t seen before. It takes a moment to register what is happening. Sometimes a very easy and natural progression, as in the link between story 3 and 4- story 3’s family is driving, and on the road, pass story 4’s family getting out of their car. And that’s how we start following them, it works really well.

Not perfect, thanks to some awkward transitions and one non-starter of a segment, this Christmas movie is still great fun. Most of the stories are engaging, if not truly scary, the acting is good for the most part, and it is different enough to satisfy any movie buff with a craving for something holiday themed, but sick of the same old thing.