For some reason Malcolm McDowell is in this seasonal slasher kind of based on the 1984 Silent Night, Deadly Night. Apparently right down to the dullness that plagued the original one. The brutal gore scenes are definitely the high point. The most intense moments are all utterly predictable but are doused in buckets of blood. Although this movie is streets ahead of it's predecessor, it is really not worth the pick up.
The plot is primarily the same as the original. Our psychotic Santa killer is on a killing spree on Christmas Eve. The town is full of Santa Actors for the annual Christmas parade. It makes it virtually impossible to find the killer. So he gets a lot of good kills and wields a flame thrower. Pretty standard so far for Christmas horror flicks.
The whole movie felt forced. The gore and killings were inventive and fresh. They kept you going. However, that's all the movie had. It didn't bring anything else to the table. I have trouble seeing Donal Logue outside of the dad from Grounded for Life. That's right I watched Grounded for Life! Malcolm McDowell is horrible. He was actually annoying to listen to. He was really trying to force an accent and it was horrid. The acting from the rest of the cast felt lazy and... blah. It just sort of felt like the movie happened and then was over. It was very forgettable.
- The film is partially inspired by the real-life Covina Holiday Massacre which took place on Christmas Eve in 2008.
- Most of the characters are named after members of the famous Leeds United football team from the seventies: Cooper, Giles, Madeley, Revie, Jones, Jordan, McKenzie. In addition, Bremner St and Reaney's Diner are mentioned in the script.
- The Hollywood Reporter called the film a "cinematic lump of coal"
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