Yuletide log slips from the fire to ignite the Xmas horror movie sub-genre.
Lets have it right, the 1/10 reviews are from hardcore horror fans who just didn't get the horror experience they was looking for. That's understandable, it's one of the toughest genres to please given the broadness available, but what of those who go in blind who are just after a bit of chilly yuletide nastiness?
Director Chris Peckover and his co-writer Zack Khan have given not just the Xmas horror film genre a shot in the arm, but also put a clever spin on the home invasion formula - the latter of which a formula that grew stale a long time ago. Now I can't vouch for trailers etc, so if folk have been misled then it's tough turkey at yuletide, but going in fresh without expectation levels - to just rock up for a viewing purely because it's an Xmas horror pic, then the rewards are plenty.
The makers make a move early to lay down a marker that all is not as it seems, and from there the surprises continue to flow with disturbing glee. We could argue it's in bad taste in this day and age as the fear of youth grows ever more acute, maybe? But it's a nice rug pull and the momentum never lets up right to the devilish resolution. Job done for me. Implausible probabilities and ridiculous actions in a horror film? Surely not...
This is funny in a dark way, cheekily troubling in its choice of protagonists to propel the piece, and it's nicely performed by the youthful cast. It's no Black Christmas or any other of those blood soaked Crimble horrors, this has a glint in its eye and amen to that. 7/10