Movie Review: Good Tidings (2016)

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What happens when three deranged killers in Santa suits decide to crash your Christmas party? Good Tidings happens. This is a great season for Christmas horror, and Good Tidings ranks up there with the best of them. Directed by Stuart W. Bedford, this film really brings the Christmas spirit to horror.

The story is about a homeless veteran named Sam (Alan Mulhall) who is squatting in an abandoned courthouse with a lot of other homeless people he has helped along the way. He goes out scavenging food for the Christmas celebration they are having, and upon returning meets up with Roxy (Claire Crossland). Roxy is a cunning girl who is also living there, and not long after meeting up with her, the three Santas make their way to the courthouse. Once inside, things escalate really quickly. The deranged Santas waste no time determining that a lot of people are on the naughty list, and Sam and Roxy are left trying their hardest to keep everyone alive. This film has a lot of excellent practical effects.

There are a lot of scenes where this really shines, and as always it’s much welcomed in a world of cinema that relies heavily on CGI these days. The scenes where there is blood (and there are a lot of them) are done very well, and it gets pretty messy at times. They definitely nailed it in that department and used a lot of creativity to keep it fresh and entertaining. The production was also great in this film. The cinematography involved some really good camera shots and nice angles. The score even brought a really nice 80’s / 90’s slasher vibe to the film, with a lot of synth in the background music, and it really helped create just an overall nostalgic feel. There was even a nice nod to classic slashers in there.

Overall, this Christmas slasher should be on everyone’s list this year. It is a great addition to the Christmas horror film library and is a great horror film overall. We will definitely be adding this one to our Christmas horror marathons. Good Tidings is out now on Digital VOD in North America via iTunes, Amazon Instant, Google Play, and The Xbox Network.