Literally every year since I started this site, I’ve made myself a vow to review as many Christmas-themed horror films as possible during the month of December. I have failed to do so every. single. year. While I don’t see this year being any different, unfortunately, I can say that I did get to watch and review at least one of the many there seem to be floating around out there. That one is Reinert Kiil’s Christmas Blood.
For 12 years, a killer in a Santa Clause suit viciously murdered over 100 people, scratching off names from his self-compiled naughty list. He was finally caught and shot down by detective Thomas Rasch. He did not die, however, and after six years of being held prisoner at a secret location, the murderous Saint Nick escaped. Now, a new detective is on the case who, with the help of the traumatized detective Rasch, must stop the superhuman Santa before he claims his next Christmas Eve victims.
I don’t think I could ever get sick of Christmas-themed slasher flicks. There are tons of them out there, some good and some not-so-good, but either way, they are always fun as Hell to watch and the premise of a killer in a Santa suit never seems to get old.
Christmas Blood features a small cast of a rather eclectic group of individuals who make up the main cast. The antagonist who is said to be the personification of pure evil chooses a group of six friends who are having their own little Christmas reunion. The friends are comprised of an English speaking Australian, a mute, a Swede, and a few more girls of seemingly varied ethnicity. All of the actors portraying these roles are very talented and are great choices to be put up against the axe-wielding Kris Kringle.
Although the cast can be considered small, that doesn’t hinder the body count one bit. Characters are picked off one by one, in a multitude of fashions. While a lot of the kills aren’t explicitly shown on camera during Christmas Blood‘s 104 minute runtime, don’t fret; It is the aftermath of each kill that allows the special effects and makeup team to really shine. Bodies are bisected vertically, intestines are ripped out, decapitated heads are placed where they should never be placed, etc. And it is all done in glorious gory fashion.
Christmas Blood may leave viewers with some questions — why is this Santa so damn strong? How is he in two places at once, killing the poor helpless girls in one location and eviscerating another victim in a completely different location? Even still, it is a fun entry in the holiday slasher sub-genre and deserves to be seen by all, especially around this time of year. Reinert Kiil clearly knows how to deliver an effective genre film on a tight budget, so I am excited to see any future films he may churn out.
Although it has its flaws, this one is definitely worth your time. Grab some of the your family and friends, gather them around the fireplace after exchanging gifts and throw this bad boy in your DVD player. It’ll be one Hell of a time!
Be sure to pick up a copy of Christmas Blood on DVD, available now from Artsploitation Films.
This one gets 3.5 blood-soaked jingle bells out of 5 from yours truly.
