Movie Review: Once Upon a Time at Christmas (2017)

Once Upon a Time at Christmas is a horror/thriller from indie director Paul Tanter about a couple of killers dressed up as Santa Claus (Simon Phillips) and Mrs. Santa Claus (Sayla de Goede) who are out on a murderous path on the days leading up to Christmas. The killers are killing using the “12 Days of Christmas” song as a guideline, and each day they kill in some manner related to the next verse of the song.

Mrs. Claus looks like somewhat of a Harley Quinn type character in appearance. She is wearing a tight outfit, and wears pigtails the same way Harley does, and also wields a baseball bat. Her accomplice is a larger guy who is really dirty and carries an axe. He most resembles the escaped Santa from the episode “And All Through The House” from Tales from the Crypt but a bit huskier as far as appearance goes. As the two are out killing people, the police have to try to figure out where the killers will strike next, and meanwhile, the rest of the town is a playground for the murderous duo.

While the plot of this film was a fresh and interesting concept for a Christmas horror film, the execution could have been better. The production quality and sound were great, but there were some other factors that really could have used some more attention. The CGI blood was pretty cheesy, and this film could have benefited from some practical effects. Even the worst practical effects will look better than CGI at the end of the day and is much more welcomed when it comes to horror. The cinematography and sound were really good, and there were also some nice overhead drone shots in this film, but it seemed like maybe there were just a couple too many. That being said, the production quality overall was good.

The writing was a bit hit and miss. Some of the dialogue was questionable given the situations, like when the Sheriff wants to implement a curfew because there is a pair of serial killers on the loose dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus, and the mayor tells him no because people won’t be able to shop. The Mayor also just has some questionable decision-making in general. There are also some situations themselves that are questionable like a scene where the two killers are somehow hiding in the women’s bathroom stalls of a busy establishment with an axe and a crossbow. It just seems like there should have been another pass on the script in some places where the question”Does this make sense?” is asked, and if the answer is “no”, it may need revisiting. Again, great concept. But there were just certain things that didn’t make sense. Sometimes it’s fun to add situations like this, so that doesn’t necessarily make it bad, but it could have been better.

Another thing that was noticeable was the acting. The quality of the acting was pretty good for some characters, but really not the best for others. Looking into some of their previous work, this is likely just due to having some very experienced actors in the cast, and then some who just didn’t really have much or any experience at all. This made questionable writing for the scenes with these characters that much more apparent.

Overall, Once Upon a Time at Christmas isn’t a bad film. There were a lot of good qualities that make it worth a watch, and while there were some parts that could have used a bit more attention, this is a fun Christmas horror film that we recommend as an addition to your holiday horror marathons.

Once Upon a Time at Christmas is available today to stream on Amazon Video, and also on DVD and Blu-ray. Also make sure to follow them on social media here:

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