2022 Directed by Alison Star Locke
Twenty years after the disappearance of her daughter, a recovering alcoholic is preparing to host her family's Christmas celebration when her estranged ex-brother-in-law arrives unannounced, bearing nostalgic gifts and a heavy secret.
Another solid Christmas themed film from Shudder. I'd say this was more a drama than a horror/thriller, but it's still a quite interesting execution of the revenge genre by removing the glamour from the act of revenge itself. Some will find it hard to watch mostly due to the subject matter, but I was really taken in by the story. It hits some good emotional points and strong performance by the lead which I honestly didn't expect at all. Pairing this with another Shudder banger Violation will make a slow, uncomfortable, emotional double feature.
2022 Horror Ranked
Shudder Exclusives & Originals Ranked
Christmas Horror
Atmospheric; bleak; cold; constrained; lean; limited; short; simple; talky; underwhelming.
this could've been really good if they hadn't made it the most predictable movie of the year
Jingees this was really good, better than I expected it to be. An excellent thriller with a claustrophobic and chilling vibe. Anna Gunn was great, I know she’s popular from other things but this is the first thing I’ve ever seen her in and she was excellent, I loved the sound of her voice. Definitely a winner if you ask me, loved the snow storm setting too, wish I’d watched this at Christmas.
Darlene(Anna Gunn from Breaking Bad) gets an unexpected visit from a family member on Christmas eve that brings back bad memories and a dark secret.
Slow burn dialogue driven drama with horror elements sprinkled in. The tension is thick from the start and never let's up. Only three characters show up on screen but there's never a dull moment. Anna Gunn and Linus Roache were both great. The story is bleak as fuck with dark subject matter so trend carefully.
It's got some festive xmas decor but damn it's too bleak to be watched during xmas. Still a solid watch though.
Score : 7.7/10 ✅
Absolutely yes to this. An unobtrusive yet interesting home invasion that’s more driven by chit-chat than being the classical tale of the ‘survival of the strongest’. I like a different take on a specific genre, which would explain my high note.
It’s mostly interesting if you care enough to listen to these two characters talk to each other about remorse, grief, guilt, and desperation in seeking the ultimate truth. The passive-aggressive behavior here is energetically a great idea due to the fact that they are basically passing the buck over and over about who’s to blame and what’s to do next.
It’s pretty insistent when it comes to explaining the damage this specific event has done…
This is more of an intense drama then a horror film and even though it's set at Christmas, this is way to depressing to watch this time of year. The film has a very intense atmosphere that makes the viewer feel something unwanted and horrible is about to happen , the calm before the storm really. A film that's sialogue driven, set in one location with three actors. Thos does have some shocking surprises and uncomfortable subject matter that changes the tone of the film becoming a tale of violent revenge when a woman who's a recovering alcoholic who is dealing with her missing daughter many years later is told by her brother in law some disturbing revelations. This was…
Starts out as a comfort movie set during a snow storm with a bunch of Christmas decorations. Love the snow storm noizes we hear throughout and it's a single location. Turns out the comfort is temporary because all it takes is one conversation and dark secrets unravel in this drama thriller. It's very slow and the whole movie is pretty much one big conversation. It had great tension for more than half of the runtime but then it completely released it and I felt like I was watching a dark drama afterwards (which isn't bad but it doesn't fall into the horror genre). I'm not a connaisseur of Anna Gunn and her usual performances but the acting felt forced for both actors. The dialogue is sometimes corny and cliché but other times I found it competent it depends on the scenes. The conversation in the third act was good drama but it needed more thrills.
Generic cat and mouse thriller with lazy writing and some hammy performances by typically reliable actors. Unfortunately unlike Christmas Bloody Christmas it doesn't have a wicked cool robot Santa at the very end to salvage it in any sort of way. I love a good blinding blizzard setting but it's wasted. Come on Shudder, you can and have done better than this, give me another Deadstream or Sissy.
