It's a Wonderful Knife

We saw this as our local theaters "mystery movie" where we get to watch a movie before it comes out for a discount, without knowing what movie we're going to see. It started out as a promising comedy/slasher spin on "It's a Wonderful Life", but as the movie went on it made less and less sense and went from slapstick funny to just dumb. Instead of just an alternative spin on the main characters life, the second half tried to incorporate supernatural elements to explain the ridiculous plot twists but they just didn't work and fell flat. Even at $5 watching this movie just wasn't worth it. I can watch better movies on streaming services at home.

This was cute and pretty basic overall. It felt like it was definitely geared towards a younger audience. It was generally but lightly engaging and nothing spectacular really. I never felt bored but won't remember this 6 months from now most likely. You have definitely seen something that has a similar vibe and plot at some point in your life.

The acting was decent all around for what it was, the picture quality was nice and the pacing was decent. Overall there isn't too much to say about this one . It is definitely something fine to put on around Christmas and it's good enough to have a fun time with, just not a classic by any means. Would recommend.

I really enjoyed the movie. I thought Justin Long was great and the whole concept was pretty cool. Almost like a Freaky Friday or Totally Killer. The cast did decent for what they were working with. The kills weren't original, but the gore and effects were pretty sweet. I'm a huge fan of both Joel McHale and Justin Long. Joel from "The Soup" days, and Justin from Jeepers Creepers and, most recently, Barbarian. I love how versatile Justin Long is. He can play Jess' boyfriend in New Girl and be the biggest dork, then play an evil Mayor in Its a Wonderful Knife and absolutely kill it! If you like cheesy slashers with gore and fun kills, you'll enjoy this.

I've been really enjoying this horror trend lately of a whodunit-slasher with a creative twist. Every one of them I've seen so far has been really enjoyable. So I had high hopes for 'It's a Wonderful Knife'. Sadly this was the first one to get it wrong in my opinion.

I had hoped for a really clever story where the search for the identity of the killer would coincide with the main character doing her alternative universe thing. This was not really the case. It's a very mucky story and it's often unclear what exactly is happening and what character's motives are. It was not the story I wanted to see.

The other big problem was that the characters were not likeable enough. All the other films like this have had really likeable characters, particularly in the lead role, and it is easy to get behind them and follow their journey. That was not the case here.

The film goes for some laughs, but is rarely funny. The killer is kind of menacing, but the characters are so flat and unfleshed out that it sucks a lot of the tension out of the kills. So the film is also rarely scary. None of the characters ever seem to have a proper emotional reaction to things that happen either. All in all the film was a disappointment. 4/10.

I don't normally do reviews but this one had so many bad reviews I felt I should add one on what I think.

. I liked it. I thought it was cute. It had a rather uplifting story about how anyone can make a difference and how important family can be.

It wasn't really a horror movie, it was more about how helping one person can make a difference in their life.

The main character was very likable and the bad guy was somebody you couldn't wait to see killed.

The characters may be may have been over the top, but it made the story interesting watching.

I think it's a good movie for somebody who just wants to watch a Christmas story with a little bit of horror.