by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden
In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s Australian holiday horror Carnage for Christmas by Alice Maio Mackay, courtesy of the Portland Horror Film Festival.
Synopsis
When true-crime podcaster and sleuth Lola (Jeremy Moineau) visits her hometown at Christmas for the first time since running away and transitioning, the vengeful ghost of a historical murderer and urban legend seemingly arises to kill again. She’s up against not only a psychotic killer, but a town haunted by secrets.
The Good
Joseph: Director Mackay, who cowrote the screenplay with Benjamin Pahl Roberson, paces this whodunit slasher nicely — no surprise, as this is her 13th credit at the helm and 14th as a writer — keeping things on the lean and mean side for its 70-minutes running time. Her characters, LGBTQ+ and otherwise, are strongly written and portrayed.
Mike: Carnage for Christmas works on a couple levels; on one hand there’s a nice whodunnit that features a well done progression of crime-evidence-payoff that culminates in a killer and rationale that actually makes sense (instead of some totally out of left field reveal), and on the other there’s a good portrayal of LGBTQ+ folks who don’t get enough representation in film. While some of it is a bit in your face and likely straddles the line of being a little TOO aggressive in its message(s), sometimes that is required for people to take notice. Kudos to Mackay for focusing on a confident protagonist who isn’t a second fiddle to anyone and is capable of taking care of themselves.
There’s also no B.S. padding to sit through. At a tight hour and some change things get going right from the start and don’t stop until the credits roll, all while STILL providing enough info on not just the main characters, but some of the secondary as well AND the backstory of the town’s urban legend. A nice thing to see when so many movies run close to twice as long and aren’t able to budget their time half as efficiently.
There’s also some good practical effects work on display with one scene in particular being outstanding for its graphicness.
The Bad
Joseph: Other than LGBTQ+ characters leading the way, there’s not a lot of originality to the story. Carnage for Christmas rather safely follows the beats of many a whodunit slasher and holiday slasher that came before. The performances range from impressive to far less so.
Mike: I have to say Carnage for Christmas just wasn’t all that good outside of what was mentioned above. The acting was rather wooden and the editing on the flashbacks was more distracting than it was effective at conveying a different moment in time.
While I mentioned the length of the film above as a plus, it also factors into the negative aspect of giving this the feel of an episode of some “edgy” TV show, especially with the ending that totally felt like the last few minutes of a program that follows the last commercial break.
Inevitably there’s going to be folks who find the LGBTQ+ aspect too much and while the film is clearly not targeting them, the lure of some Christmas fear will still pull them in and so I feel the need to make people aware to hopefully avoid unwarranted attacks on the film. Dislike the film for its faults such as the pacing, acting,or even the story itself, and not the types of people it portrays.
The Verdict
Joseph: With films such as T-Blockers and Bad Girl Boogey on her resume, Mackay has been making quite a name for herself as a filmmaker, and Carnage for Christmas should find possibly her widest audience yet. It’s an interesting take on Christmas killer fare, and aficionados of slasher movies should find it well worth a watch.
Mike: Alice Maio Mackay has created a taut thriller that doesn’t mess around with needless extrapolations by tertiary characters or pointless, wandering shots, instead getting right into the meat and potatoes of the meal. While the acting is a bit weak and some may have issues with the pacing and overall feel of this being an episode of an R-rated Nancy Drew ripoff, there’s still a nice whodunnit here with some outstanding practical visual effects with one that won’t let you think of the term “Christmas angel” quite the same.
Carnage for Christmas
Directed By: Alice Maio Mackay
Written By: Alice Maio Mackay, Ben Pahl Robinson
Starring: Jeremy Moineau, Zarif, Olivia Deeble, Dominique Booth
Run Time: 1h 08m
Rating: NR
Release Date: 2024
There is no trailer available as of the time of this review
Comments
Post a Comment
Share your thoughts with us