The Advent Calendar

Advent Calendar (2021) is a new French horror film recently added to Shudder. The storyline follows a former dancer that is now a paraplegic. On her birthday her friend gives her a unique wooden advent calendar that each day she opens she gets a unique treat that impacts her life, sometimes for the better and sometimes for worse. One day it unlocks the ability for her to walk; however, death and misfortune for others is given with that gift. She will need to decide to keep walking or keep opening the doors on a daily basis.

This movie is directed by Patrick Ridremont (Dead Man Talking) and stars Eugénie Derouand (Inside), Janis Abrikh (Safari Park), Olivier Bonjour (Black Spot) and Sabrina Lopez Leonard (Black Spot).

First off this movie has the coolest advent calendar you've ever seen. There's some crazy dialogue in this in terms of how people talk to a paraplegic person and an even more crazy rap sequence. There's a bloody dog scene in here that made me smile and the "thing" behind the advent calendar is well done. The ending is even clever and well written.

Overall this isn't a perfect movie but it is unique and definitely worth a watch for horror enthusiasts. I'd score this a 7/10 and strongly recommend it.

This is more of a ghost story than a horror. It demonstrates how good storytelling can entertain viewers without the need for state-of-the-art graphics, stunts or other gimmicky distractions. This movie offers an intriguing story of mystery & suspense. The movie is well done in terms of likeable characters, good actors, good production quality. The one thing I did not like was the ending. It seems to be a trend in recent movies I've watched where the movie leaves some questions unanswered. It is my pet peeve about movies or series - where they don't solve all the mysteries at the end. I think it is the responsibility of the story teller to end the story with answers. No matter how hard that might be. Bottom-line: This is a mysterious, spooky story, akin to a ghost story and not a horror story. I recommend!

The movie is a bit disjointed.

The hospital scene cuts abruptly.

Some of the candies are eaten by other people (William in his mulled wine, the patient in the hospital, Sophia's boyfriend as an erection pill, Eva's father and that too twice).

According to the rules, all the candies were supposed to be eaten by Eva.

The kill sequences aren't nasty or shockings n there is an offscreen sex scene and almost zero nudity.

At times, Wishmaster part 4, The Craft n various other horror movies based on wishes came to mind.

I still cannot dig what Eva wrote on the mirror n why was that scene made.

But somehow the movie is captivating n it has a sense of dread throughout.

The demon in this one ain't scary or nasty.

Check out the demon from Kandisha.

The demon frm Kandisha is intimidating, malevolent n it tears apart it's victims in gruesome ways.

The Advent Calendar was a pretty good little story. I don't think people looking for traditional horror will find it scary in the least. In fact, I really didn't think it built much tension at all, but it did draw me in and had me really wanting to see how it turned out. Another thing I will warn potential viewers about is that it is somewhat inconsistent in its storytelling. Much of it unfolds like a straightforward thriller (with some supernatural elements), but every once in a while, they throw in a moment that feels more surreal or symbolic. Finally, I want to prepare you for the possibility that you might feel like some things went unexplained. I personally didn't mind these minor nitpicks. I was just glad the whole thing didn't fall apart in the final act, like so many thrillers do. I was satisfied with what they gave me. While I will not give it a strong recommendation, being that it isn't all that shocking or visceral, my feeling is that it was an enjoyable enough ride that I don't regret sitting through it. A fun little holiday-themed offering.

It's easy to scoff at the ridiculous premise, assigning sinister origins to innocuous items is usually a sign of a stupid movie, and "evil advent calendar" is as dumb as they come. Yet somehow they managed to wring a quality picture out of this ludicrous idea.

The tone is uniformly dark and serious, with the camerawork capturing some great low light shots and Eugénie Derouand expertly showcasing her character's turmoil. The plot mixes it's supernatural themes with the real world tragedies of living with a disability, and has an interesting focus towards the moral quandary of inflicting harm on others to service yourself. It all heats up to some gruesome ends, the effects work on the monsters is stellar, it's an inventive creature that's scary as hell without looking the least bit cheesy, and though things get pretty bloody, it's never as uncomfortably squeamish as other French horror films have been. I may have preferred a more conclusive resolution, but I still see the merit in how they chose to wrap things up.