Over winter break, some people like to fill their days with Christmas movie watching. While many prefer sappy Hallmark romance movies, others (like myself) prefer something a bit more thrilling.
It’s tough trying to find a good horror Christmas movie amongst the piles and piles of other genres. So, I watched three scary movies themed around Christmas to try and see if they were worth the time.
The first movie I picked was “Dead End” made in 2003. The movie follows a family as they become lost while driving to a Christmas party. Strange things start happening and members of the family are picked off one by one. The characters were very unlikeable at first, but I warmed up to everyone, except for the dad. With a runtime of one hour and 25 minutes, it runs a little long with how repetitive some scenes can be. The kills are predictable and there aren’t many on-screen. The movie is hilarious though, and the music is amazing.
I give “Dead End” a 6/10.
The next movie I watched was “The Apology.” It was made in 2022 and is one hour and 31 minutes long. Featuring Anna Gunn as the main character Darlene, the viewers follow her as she struggles to cope with the disappearance of her daughter several years ago. On the day before her Christmas party, she receives an unexpected visitor from her past. As she becomes trapped in her own home, she learns what truly happened to her daughter. The movie was grim and covered heavy subjects such as incest, pedophilia and rape. The subjects discussed are intense, but the violence is not. It also contains boring and long, drawn out scenes as an attempt to build tension, but it ultimately fails. Everything is very predictable. However, the ending was satisfying enough to slightly redeem the movie.
I give “The Apology” a 2/10.
The last movie I watched this Christmas season was “Pooka!” This movie released in 2018 is the third movie from the “Into the Dark” series, but it is not necessary to watch the other movies from the anthology to understand it. The movie is one hour and 23 minutes long and after the slow start the pace picks up quickly. Wilson Clowes, a desperate actor, takes a job dressing in a mascot suit for a new toy, released just in time for Christmas. Everything seemed to be going great for him until things quickly went wrong. Going into this movie, I thought the mascot costume was going to be the horror force to beat in the movie. However, this movie discusses how the mind is scarier than any tangible creature. The cinematography and atmosphere were great. I was pretty confused the entire time, but after looking up the ending explained, I finally understood and enjoyed the movie a lot more.
I give “Pooka!” a 7/10.
Overall, I only recommend “Dead End” and “Pooka!” While “The Apology” was interesting, there are way better Christmas horror movies out there. I’m glad I gave these movies a shot, and I encourage everyone to check out these movies for themselves.
