Summary
A military grade robotic Santa Claus goes on a rampage.
I am very much a fan of the rising talent that is Joe Begos, VFW was fantastic and Bliss I was less keen on but there was still a lot of talent there, but this I think might be his best film yet. There is something so undeniably fun about this film, yes the premise is a little like Terminator minus the science fiction stuff, but that doesn’t take away the gory spectacle we are treated to.
In addition the early part of the film before the slashing even really begins is incredibly strong and that speaks to the strength of both the writing and the characters created. Riley Dandy is fantastic as the lead and is instantly likeable, her and Sam Delich also have great chemistry together and play off each other really well. I ended up caring so much about them as a couple that I was actually sad when his character died and they were parted from each other. The film does all of that emotional work before the first act is even over, that is no mean feat.
I really do hope that Begos and Co bring this back for a sequel with a juiced up robo Santa Claus now even angrier, and have Dandy back as the Ripley of this burgeoning franchise. I think this will probably be a new Christmas classic for me and something that I come back to every year.
Overall, a great film, watch it.
4.5/5
Pros.
Dandy
The gore
The threat
The mania of the final showdown
The commentary, comedy and good back and forth at the start of the film
Cons.
Robbie’s death still makes me sad now when I think about it.
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Another Millennial Reviewer 