Secret Santa

Christmas comes but once a year, and within this year of prolonged absents of family trivialities one may just use this time of abstention to mould past angers, past resentments and embittered grudges; time here is certainly not the healer of festive cheer.

An examination of an unsettling character study of a family gone awry during this festive period of togetherness and tolerance is set against a family reunion that besets the inner circle with bitter hostilities and sour truths. It is quite frankly a boiling-pot of frustrations and indifference to any form of respect and love toward one another; these blood-lines have been severely severed during time and this winter solstice celebration of Christmas tidings have reached the equinox and irreversibly tipped into a state of perpetual darkness.

This disturbing dark comedy has a rich, if not too seemingly cliché, contemporary, and most notably, fractured, middle-class nuclear family at its epicentre and with a varied personality clash as the middle-classes values and moralities we see a notorious and foreboding nucleus imploding resulting in old and fresh wounds opening with a vengeance.

The writers' here have prepared a wonderful dish of an evil and sardonic flavour that cuts with a fervour of pure malice; the essence of hate and jealousies convey an ambiance of uncomfortable resilience of portraying what exactly lies under the surface of this family get-together. Notwithstanding the diverse cast of characters, it is really the script that hits home and does its utmost to deliver a plentiful feast of derision, scorn and contempt. It is more than a dialogue but a central nerve that teeters on the brink of insanity; sharp, focused and predacious in nature.

The team of Mr. Robert Kurtzman and Ms. Marcia King-Kurtzman have added a palate of equal measure of gore to the festivities, pushing a strong combination of horrific sights and wonting violence. It is all fitting in very well in conjuncture of said vicious script and its violent sequence of events that push home the narrative of how much integrity can both inflict pain and relief anguish. To paraphrase the old adage that "many a true word is said in jest" or that truth is often found in comic utterances is that drives its agenda.

This is an exceptionally cruel and unpleasant film to watch, notwithstanding, and not necessarily because of, the bloodshed but simply because of this feuding family. The grinch like tone has come and taken the spirit of Christmas and turned this festive mood into a moot point of family ethics and tolerance.

The Christmas horror film genre has come a long way since the days of Scrooge (1951), Black Christmas (1974), Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010) and Mercy Christmas (2017) for example, it is all a varied style of Yuletide horror, and being a mixed bag of festive frights, all this fun and frolics only add to the delight of Santa's secret bag of goodies: enjoy.

I've read the reviews, and while some folks "got it," many did not. So...for those of you expecting to see a "legit" horror film, check yourself before you wreck yo...er...the movie. It is painfully obvious that the writer and director's intent for this flick was to follow in the grand tradition of making a rad, fun, culty, schlocky b-flick with just enough "wrongness" to make it right. In many ways, this has "cult classic" written all over it. For the future, that is.

Everything about this flick SCREAMS "cheesy b-flick" and they hit the mark. The constant clichés, the intentionally awkward dialog, the over-the-top EVERYTHING...it just succeeds at being bad, so well!

Surprisingly, for a b-flick, it was pretty well made. I mean, don't expect Oscar caliber, but as b-flicks are made, the money was spent in the right place...the effects (which were practical fx for the most part).

Really, the reviews needed one that let folks know that this is not a movie to be taken as a serious film. It must be taken in the grain it was meant for. With that, just get your popcorn, don't judge the flick like you would judge a "serious" film, and enjoy.

Coupla notes on content:

• I don't recall seeing any nudity beyond one scene that is relatively close to the beginning. It's not lengthy, but it's there and it's mildly graphic.

• Enough profanity to make a sailor blush. Most of it is beautifully scripted in to some completely over-the-top scenes and dialog.

• While there is some good blood and gore, I wouldn't call it a gorefest, and most of the "action" is saved for the second half of the film. Nonetheless, if you don't like blood (in rather copious amounts and in some pretty gross ways) then this is not for you.

• I don't recall any drug use, but all these people were nuts by the end, so they didn't need it!

Secret Santa is a film about a dysfunctional rich family coming together for there annual Christmas gathering. Secrets and bad mouthing are the norm, and the family feels like one you may know or be apart of. When everyone suddely begins to loose there crap during the Secret Santa game, and all kinds of murder, mayhem, and comedy ensues. Plus, you do get a very ingenious reason for the madness as the plot unfolds. The characters are relatable, and when you begin to loose them you feel that loss, but it's done so entertainingly. Sometimes you find yourself rooting for things you shouldn't and sometimes you find yourself loathing them. Athough not a polished big budget film, which plays to it's strenth and makes it feel almost realistic at times. Director Adam Marcus puts forth a Christmas, horror/comedy that if given the chance you may just enjoy and add it to your seasonal holiday rotation. I say this as not being a fan of horror movies set at Christmas, but dammit Adam Marcus made one that I fully enjoy and will definitely watch again.

Went into this one not expecting much but i actually found myself laughing at at it, along with the gory stuff going on.I'd say it was a Black Comedy/Horror, if you don't like gore, then i would give this one a miss as the gore comes thick and fast but boy, it's funny too.Not going to go into anything that happens in it, just sit down and enjoy the fest.

I didn't really know what to expect from this movie, but it got under my skin upon the first viewing. It somehow manages to strike the perfect chord between darkly hilarious and horrifying at the same time. It grabbed me from the beginning and didn't let go. Filled with memorable performances, this cast was somehow able to create an onscreen chemistry that is rarely achieved by a horror movie. In our household, we have an annual Holiday Horrorthon instead of a traditional Christmas party. We showed this movie for the first time last year, and I can tell you that we have never received a bigger reaction (or bigger praise) for any movie we've ever shown before than we did for "Secret Santa." We never show any of the same movies two years in a row, however, we had so many requests for this one that we brought it back again this year. NOTE: this movie also makes for a pretty amazing drinking game, if you're up for it.