Horrors Elsewhere is a recurring column that spotlights a variety of movies from all around the globe, particularly those not from the United States. Fears may not be universal, but one thing is for sure — a scream is understood, always and everywhere.
Something wicked has come to Bailey Downs this winter. Contrasting the annual, yuletide festivities is a chain of unearthly incidents happening on the outskirts of comfort and cheer. A horrific crime from the recent past has not only stained the town’s history, but it has also triggered a new holiday tradition. There will be no escaping the Christmas spirits this year.
Bailey Downs, Ontario — the birthplace of werewolves Ginger and Brigitte Fitzgerald as well as a frequent locale in Orphan Black — is a familiar sight during Christmastime. Snow-white streets, festooned buildings, bustling malls; all the trademarks of the season are there. However, this town has something others lack: a supernatural underbelly. The origin of this uncanniness is not specific to one area or person, but the trouble essentially began after police officers made a grisly discovery at the high school. Most have forgotten it by now, but for others, they remain haunted by the Christmas Day murders.
A Christmas Horror Story is an ensemble of interwoven plots. At the center of this assortment of ghoulish and yulish tales is droll radio host Dangerous Dan (William Shatner), one of the wretched few unable to shake the memory of Connor and Jenna. Dangerous Dan entertains his listeners solo on this Christmas Eve while his coworker Norman visits the food drive at the mall. In the meantime, other hapless residents of Bailey Downs succumb to various holiday horrors.
It only seems fitting this treasury of terror starts off at the infamous high school. Three students, Dylan, Ben and Molly (Shannon Kook, Alex Ozerov, Zoé De Grand Maison), sneak into said school during winter break to shoot a student project about the two murdered students. Illegally acquired police footage shows the officers finding the victims’ bodies in the basement. The details of the crime, including the ritualistic qualities, do little to ward off the prying teens. Molly and her friends ultimately get more than they wished for after being locked in the basement, and the truth about that unfortunate Christmas Eve soon comes out.
The tone of A Christmas Horror Story is almost split down the middle; one set of stories has a humorous touch whereas the other is more serious. Falling squarely in the latter category, Brett Sullivan’s narrative visits a dark time for young and unwed mothers in Bailey Downs. The historical goings-on beneath the school impel the present events of this unsavory story. The slow pacing weighs this offering down at times, but that is to be expected when considering both the subject matter and the movie’s overall structure.
Not far from town is a patch of forest owned by Big Earl (Alan C. Peterson). This is where Scott Peters (Adrian Holmes) and his family, wife Kim (Oluniké Adeliyi) and son Will (Orion John), are planning to get their Christmas tree. Will gets lost, but his parents quickly find him before going home. Big Earl watches the family from afar, more concerned than angry. He fears the Peters have taken more than just a Christmas tree.
Seeing as every story overlaps in some way or another, Grant Harvey’s gloomy tale follows one of the cops who found Connor and Jenna’s bodies. Scott’s reluctance to get counseling since then has incurred a tremendous amount of stress for both him and his family. The tension is only heightened after they steal one of Big Earl’s fir trees. Scott and Kim are so consumed by their troubles they fail to realize something is very off about Will. What the parents brought home, thinking it was their son, was looking to be cared for and loved. Yet, as this creature quickly surmises, there may not be any love left to give in the Peters household.
The third tale features Dylan’s girlfriend Caprice (Amy Forsyth) visiting her Aunt Etta (Corinne Conley) along with her parents (Jeff Clarke, Michelle Nolden) and brother (Percy Hynes White). The trip to the remote mansion is a short one after Caprice’s brother intentionally destroys an antique Krampus figurine. Although her mother thinks Etta was overreacting by asking them all to leave, Caprice clarifies what happened as well as signals the Bauers’ fate: “She wasn’t mad; she was scared.”
A disharmonious family’s Christmas misadventure is not the novelty it used to be. On the other hand, Grant Harvey’s story sticks out due to the fact it features a predatory Krampus on the loose. This moralistic segment lightens the mood without sacrificing the sheer level of mean-spiritedness seen so far. On top of that, the monster itself is unique-looking because of its muscular stature, white as snow complexion, and a distinguishable pair of ram-like horns. Watching this unconventional depiction of Krampus bear down on an obnoxious family like the Bauers is oddly delightful. This tale is a perfect salute to classic EC horror.
It would appear A Christmas Horror Story is experiencing a mood swing with these last two tales, but looks can be deceiving. In Steve Hoban’s second entry after directing the wraparound, Santa Claus himself (George Buza) goes from sleigh-riding icon to a slayer of zombified elves. A mysterious ailment rips through the elf community at the North Pole, causing Santa to fight back as his helpers turn profane and violent. The nightmare does not end there; Santa’s archenemy pays him a visit as well.
Even though the last story is an enjoyable spectacle — Santa wastes no time dismembering ferine elves and going hand-to-hand with Krampus — a crucial plot-turn drastically alters the course of things. The staggering switch-up might come across as self-deflating, but the change is organic and adds a whole other layer to an already-mercurial tale.
Ideas come easy when making a horror movie about Halloween, a day inherently eerie and inspiring without having to dig deeply into the imagination or challenge rigid expectations. Meanwhile, storytellers like Hoban and those others behind A Christmas Horror Story have their work cut out for them; they transform an established time of joy and tradition into something daunting and unpredictable. A movie like this is further proof that horror and Christmas work well together. The threads never feel as cohesive as they could be, but A Christmas Horror Story is unrelenting when it comes to unboxing the darker side of the holidays.
