Movie Review: Dead by Christmas (2018)

A group of ol’ chums gather in Louisiana (more on that in a bit my creeps) for the holidays to honor their dead friend Sam (Cody Wise), who unbeknownst to them was murdered by a candy cane to the eyes courtesy of a sinister Santa. Once there we learn of their tortured past being raised in an orphanage where a priest (who often dressed as Santa) regularly rubbed their rosary beads if ya can dig on what I’m laying down. Before long that freaky Father Christmas arrives on the scene and begins killing our protagonists one by one
On the plus side, Dead by Christmas shows off some decent cinematography here and there, as well as a few instances of practical gore which are always welcome. Additionally the back story was unique enough to add interest to the film, and I also enjoyed the setting; by taking place in December in Louisiana, the environs have an Autumnal quality to them which gives the piece an off kilter feel. Finally the score by Alexander J. Castro is pretty damn solid, and adds a lot to the ambiance of the piece.
On the downside, some of the performances…okay, most of them, picture quality, and audio quality and sync are on the rough side, and also in the negative column, there is some padding here and there…which is massively surprising given this films runtime of just under sixty minutes. Also the Christmas setting and killer Santa are definitely things we have seen multiple times in the horror biz (although he does have innovated kills to his credit and the mask used is suitably creepy).
Dead by Christmas is a serviceable slasher, but fails to rise (severed) head and shoulders above the pack. It is unevenly paced, and not particularly well made or acted…but, you can tell the folks that made it love the genre, and I’d be willing to check out what they come up with next!