By: John Allen
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6169934
There is something about Christmas and horror movies, perhaps the juxtaposition of peace on earth and good will towards men against darkness and evil, that seems to fit well together. There has been a Santa’s Sack full of them. Black Christmas, Silent Night Deadly Night, Gremlins, and Krampus just to name a few. Krampus especially is as much a part of Christmas in European countries as Frosty the Snowman is in North America. The Krampus is a devil like horned creature that accompanies St. Nicholas and beats naughty children with sticks, and that is just the tip of the iceberg with that holiday horror. It is also a movie I would recommend you watch for a howling good time instead of the one I am reviewing today.
Mrs. Claus, from Wild Eye Releasing, directed and written by Troy Escamilla tries to emulate horror genre classics like Black Christmas. He fills the movie with storied genre tropes, a hazing and joke in poor taste in a Sorority leads to a murder suicide, sister of one of the victims attends same sorority ten years later (bad life choices, that’s why.) Killings start again (shocking I know, who could have ever seen that coming) One by one Sorority sisters and Frat boys are picked off in gloriously gruesome ways by a psychopath dressed as, ta da, MRS. CLAUS!
Sadly this movie is just awful, from lazy writing to lingering shots on, of all things, decorating a Christmas cookie. The camera stays too long on pointless moments and not long enough on relevant ones. The props are laughable and clearly plastic.Unfortunately, while a promising concept, the script itself was weak, stilted, somewhat predictable, rather impossible, and lack luster. I get what Mrs. Claus was trying to be, and with a bigger budget, proper equipment, set, lights, professional actors, re-writes, and a better title like I dunno “Sorority Christmas Slay” it could have been great.
However, its not all lumps of coal. The kills, the murders, the splatter fest that one expects in such flicks are actually pretty good! From being strangled by a set of Christmas lights to a tree topper in the eyeball, these kills were creative and bloody and actually fun to watch, albeit a bit over sold. Kudos to the team behind them, you can expect a little something, something in your stockings. I liked the look of Mrs. Claus as well, she was appropriate and seasonally ghoulish. So again there is potential here. Troy Escamilla might have something in Mrs. Claus, but not in its present form. Which is sad because aren’t we all just looking for that next great yuletide fright fest to bring a little cheer into the darkest time of the year?
1.5 bah humbugs out of 5
