TheBeardedWonder

Holy cow where to even start with this one. I suppose the very basics of - it's not funny. Like straight up I don't think it even had any jokes. The plot itself is supposed to somehow make you laugh through the entire strained runtime - but it doesn't work. None of it lands or fits the uneven tone of the movie.

So maybe it's a drama. Except no it's not dramatic either. It's just nothing. The setup isn't dramatic either somehow. Somehow it's trying to be a commentary on family infighting, the differences between the members despite being from the same home, the merits of homosexuality, adultery, nature vs nurture, etc.

Absolutely none of it works. The girl we are supposed to feel sorry for and identity wirh as the outsider looking in in this family is just the absolute worst person ever. At once point she literally says 'didn't you wish your son wasn't born gay???' or some such nonsense. She complains the whole time and is the most unrelatable and uptight character in movie history. We are supposed to like her but that's physically impossible.

None of the other characters work either. Diane Keaton is a bitter old lady who doesn't seem to like the majority of her children, another is an angry divorcee, another daughter of hers is just there to cause trouble and be mean to everyone, another is the cliche laid back pot smoking hippie who adds literally nothing, etc.

I can't believe the positive reviews - what were people laughing at exactly??? I tried to watch it again this year and it was somehow even worse the second time...

Title says it all. This was def Charles band and full moons attempt at a southern gothic flick or a Clive barker style one. There's elements of hellraiser, nightbreed, etc but with none of the fun or scares behind it.

Everything looks cheap - because it is. You know what to expect with a full moon flick. Leftover sets from other movies, poor special effects, weird looking creatures, adult entertainment level acting, etc.

But this wasn't even good enough to leave on in the background while you do something else. Just watch Laserblast instead. No, it's nowhere near the same genre or style - but at least it's fun and has one of the best episodes of mst3k around...

Look we know what to expect from types of flicks. Low production quality, rushed shooting schedule, filmed during summer in Canada for cost cutting reasons, songs that you don't recognize but are Xmas related, dollar store decorations to make it the holidays, washed up former actors needing a quick paycheck, etc.

But this didn't even have any effort behind it. Clearly nobody was trying and they were just pushing out a product in time for the holiday as lazily as they could.

It's formulaic which is totally fine as long as it's fun and carefree - but this involves a dead wife, an evil wannabe step mother, and a grieving child who acts more like an adult because the writer doesn't know any actual children.

Yawn. Everything is phoned in - even more then the usual hallmark or lifetime fare. Even for free on Roku it's not worth it - watch another and take a chance on it being at least watchable. Because this isn't really.