The older I get, the earlier Christmas seems to start each year. Businesses certainly look to make the most of it, seamlessly transitioning from Halloween into the festive season. This is great if you’re a big fan of the holidays. Not so great if you’re more bah humbug than ho ho ho. The endless forced fun. The alcohol-fuelled jollity. It’s simply too much for some who just want to drink themselves into a stupor and try to forget about it. Two cynical souls get a bit of a shock in Christmas Bloody Christmas.
It’s Christmas Eve and record store owner Tori Tooms (Riley Dandy) just wants to party and get wasted. Her partner in crime and star (only) employee Robbie (Sam Delich) has a crush on her, which he doesn’t hide very well. As the drink begins to flow, so do the cutting ripostes. All seemingly leading towards an inevitable outcome. However, they hadn’t reckoned on a robot Santa Claus going on a killing spree.
Filmed in lurid 16mm, Christmas Bloody Christmas puts the slaying back into the festive season, with bells on. If you’ve been lucky enough to experience a Joe Begos (VFW, Bliss) before, you know what to expect. Robocop Santa does not disappoint. The blissed out neon visuals are accompanied by a snappy script and charismatic central performances. Whilst there’s not much nuance to Christmas Bloody Christmas, it’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Christmas Bloody Christmas is out in US cinemas and streaming exclusively on Shudder from 9 December.
