Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)

To kick off the holiday season, I ventured out to the NARO Cinema for a treat and as always they delivered. My evening adventure took me to the 2010 cult holiday classic Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale. 

Plot: In the depths of the Korvatunturi mountains, 486 meters deep, lies the closest ever guarded secret of Christmas. The time has come to dig it up. This Christmas everyone will believe in Santa Claus.

I have no idea why I waited so long to watch this one. While it may not be a true horror movie with blood and gore, it is an interesting tale that is extremely entertaining. Yes, the subtitles and cross-language dialog may turn some people off, but it is unique and is quite a journey. The atmosphere is solid and the performances are good. Most of all, the interwoven folklore elements are tremendous and even the comedic elements work. Sure, a couple jump scare attempts fall flat and the premise is a bit off, but overall this one is worth watching. In the end, this movie is a must for the Christmas season and a movie that should be seen. 

Krampus (2015)

As I continue to count down the days until Christmas, I decided to continue with some holiday horror. After some searching, I settled on the 2015 entry, Krampus.

Plot: While the holiday season represents the most magical time of year, ancient European folklore warns of Krampus, a horned beast who punishes naughty children at Christmastime. When dysfunctional family squabbling causes young Max to lose his festive spirit, it unleashes the wrath of the fearsome demon.

I was actually pleasantly surprised by this one.  Is it perfect? No,  it does have some slow moments (especially in the middle), but this one is much better than many of the other Krampus films that are out there.  This horror conduct has a nice mixture of those elements along with some solid performances,  decent effects,  and a nice array of creatures. In the end, this one is worth watching and perfect for this holiday season.  

Krampus: The Reckoning (2015)

I cannot believe that tomorrow will be New Years Eve. Looking back, I sucked at keeping up with the blog this year as I battled school, work, and the daughters’ softball schedule. Maybe next year, I will do a better job. Since we are still in the holiday season, I decided to watch another seasonal horror flick, the 2015 no-budget entry, Krampus: The Reckoning.

Plot/ Zoe is a strange little girl, with a not so imaginary friend the Krampus who is the dark companion of kindly old St. Nicholas. The Krampus has been unleashed upon a small town and the legendary demon will seek out all the naughty people to punish them at Christmas time. No one is safe as the Krampus hunts them down, tortures them, and then drags their helpless souls to the depths of hell.

Knowing this was a low budget flick, I went into it expecting the majority of flaws that are usually abound in this arena, and of course, they were there. Even with that, I have to admit that I actually enjoyed the plot and storyline, which while it was sprinkled with some clichéd moments, flashed at least a touch of originality. Yes, it is far from a perfect movie, as there were some pacing issues, uneven performances, and some head scratching moments with the scripting/scenes, but as I alluded to earlier, those were expected, as they are usually present in low budget flicks. In the end, this may not be a great movie, but it is not as terrible as some may say. If you love no-budget horror cinema and can overlook some of the budgetary issues, you may find some late night holiday cheer.

A Christmas Horror Story (2015)

There is nothing like kicking back and having a scary movie night, especially when I do not have to get up for work in the morning. With that being said, it is also an awesome treat when I can find something holiday related, and that was the case tonight, as I decided on the 2015 Christmas themed anthology, A Christmas Horror Story.

Plot/ Interwoven stories that take place on Christmas Eve, as told by one festive radio host: A family brings home more than a Christmas tree, a student documentary becomes a living nightmare, a Christmas spirit terrorizes, Santa slays evil.

There is nothing better than horror movies centered in and on the Christmas holiday. Personally, I love watching some good horror this time of year, especially because I have some time off work and time to spend diving into some projects. This one is much better than I expected with just enough blood and gut splattered in with the four stories to make it fun. Plus, it has William Shatner playing a drunken radio host, what could be better. Yes, some of the dialog is awkward and the acting is uneven, but that does not truly destroy this one in any way. In the end, this may not be the best of the genre, but it is a decently intertwined anthology that makes for a solid Christmas horror flock. If you are in the mood for something darker this Christmas, give it a shot.