pughspencer

Christmas Evil has a tone of its own. At times its this bizzare psychological thriller on a man wanting to become Saint Nick and spreading the joy of giving to kids. Then at times it feels like a mild slasher with a few grizzly killings along the way. It even feels like a black comedy at times with some morbidly funny moments. Harry decending into a real life Santa Claus I think couldve been executed a bit better as there's no reason to feel sympathy when Harry starts killing people as the film never seems to have a breaking point for his change. Still Christmas Evil is worth a watch if you want something different in your stocking this holiday season. Brandon Maggart does an excellent job in the role & the cinematography is pretty stellar. Nothing like most of the more schlock heavy slashers coming out from that time.

This Original Classic pre-dates John Carpenter's Halloween and introduces many film tropes that have become Staples in the slasher genre. Sure plenty of slashers were made before this like the many Italian giallos films, but black christmas was the one to really kickstart the genre. John Carpenter even said this movie was what influenced him to do Halloween.

The killer Billy is never seen, other than a silhouette in one scene, and his phone calls are disturbing. I believe you could go insane if you listen to them long enough. It's uses of POV camera techniques gives an eeriee & horrifying perspective into Billy's bloodthirsty lurking. The film especially has things you wouldn't see common in 1974 films such a strong vulgar language & the main character considering getting an abortion. It's an excellent horror film to be observed even if its premise is now basic. Good characters and a chilling holiday atmosphere.

With a long history of different adaptations of Charles Addam's classic characters Wednesday is no doubt the most ambitious. Sent to a Supernatural Academy for outcasts like herself, Wednesday Addams must uncover a strange series of murders happening on the campus.

At first I was a bit puzzled about a character that sticks out of the normal environment going to a school where she blends right in cuz it would make situations less funny and not letting the character stand out. But to my surprise everything for the most part works tremendously with its excellent production & set design, colorful cast of supporting characters, and of course Jenna Ortega as our lead weirdo. Ortega was born to play this modern interpretation of Wednesday Addams. Channeling that same dark energy Christina Ricci brought in the '90s films while also making it her own, Ortega delivers plenty of morbid humor as well as showing much wit into solving this grizzly case. As expected Wednesday doesn't show much emotion for her situations but the moments she does they generally do hit hard. Emma Myers lights up every scene as Wednesday's roommate Enid while Joy Sunday as Bianca gets plenty to do then what one could expect from the usual bully tropes. There's tons of easter eggs throughout that'll make Addam's Family enthusiast like myself smile manically.

There are a few things that keep the show from hitting gold status. While the murder mystery is pretty engaging the whole way through I was able to predict who it was going to be before the end. It's probably never a good idea to make your characters overly nice cuz that makes it too obvious. While I appreciate the show for getting an actor that resembles a more comic accurate Gomez Addams, Luis Guzmán just doesn't have that energy or sharp charisma seen in previous performances nor does he share barely any chemistry with Catherine Zeta-Jones's Morticia. Fred Armisen as Uncle Fester also doesn't make for a very good portrayal of the character. There's also this love triangle with Wednesday and two other students at the academy who are dull as dishwater.

Despite these shortcomings Wednesday is a solid effort nevertheless. It shouldn't be anyone's first time discovering The Addams Family but definitely a refreshing take for the formula. Without its aesthetic and excellent performances it would just be another standard teen drama.