We’re continuing our December of Holiday Horror with five more holiday-themed scare classics. We’ll open on the hilariously low-budget, yet still somehow awesome, “Cadaver Christmas” from 2011, and then have a fancy dinner with the family in “Mercy Christmas” from 2017. Then we’ll stop and go “Black Friday” (2021) shopping. We’ll then travel to France to get a strange German gift in “The Advent Calendar” (2021). Lastly, we’ll do an old classic, the 1951 version of “A Christmas Carol,” aka “Scrooge.”
And, of course, we have five excellent short films for you, although they aren’t particularly holiday-themed.
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Mainstream Films:
2011 A Cadaver Christmas
Directed by Joe Zerull
Written by Daniel Rairdin-Hale, Hanlon Smith-Dorsey, Joe Zerull
Stars Daniel Rairdin-Hale, Hanlon Smith-Dorset, Yoshi Hayashi
Run Time: 1 Hour, 25 Minutes
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
This one embraces a grindhouse look with goofiness and over the top acting, and it works really well. The script is well written. It’s gory and funny, a ride that’s pretty continuously wild. We really liked this one.
Spoilery Synopsis
The news report complains that it’s gonna rain on Christmas; no white Christmas this year. The guy at the bar, Tom, gets all teary-eyed at a cartoon about hippos. Then a janitor comes in, covered in blood, asking about the bathrooms. Eddie the bartender calls Sam the sheriff about the man in the bathroom.
The man comes out of the bathroom and explains that he’s the janitor at the university. As he was cleaning, he noticed blood spots on the floor, which he followed. He was soon attacked by zombies. Sam comes in and yells that there’s a bunch of cadavers in the parking lot going crazy. Credits roll.
The four men go out into the parking lot and fight zombies with a snow shovel. Sam seems to think the janitor is responsible for all this. Sam’s got a “perp” in the backseat, arrested for having sex with a goat. The five men drive to the university, and the janitor does a flashback about calling the police.
The group gets to the university, but the cadavers are all gone, even the ones the janitor already killed. Sam admits that he’s not a cop anymore; another flashback to where he admits to killing his partner, Carol, a K9.
The Perp wanders off and finds a corpse that he likes. He leans in and kisses it; the burned-up corpse is much prettier than Betsy the goat. He soon gets down to business as Tom goes off to take a dump. The janitor changes his uniform and gears up for battle. The Perp’s dead friend comes to life, but the janitor is there to kill it again.
Eddie and Tom run into the zombies and Eddie gets bitten. The perp knows the rules of zombies and says that Eddie’s gonna turn. The janitor then tells everything that led up to this, including Professor Hildencress’s disappearance. The group encounters Kristen, the head of security, and she refuses to call 911 for real but joins their group.
They find the professor's office and read his notes. He was trying to fight a brain disease by using zombie snails. He writes about receiving a new load of cadavers for Christmas. He injects the bodies with his serum. The serum failed; it won’t cure cancer. On the other hand, the dead started to rise up and walk.
Suddenly, Eddie flips out and attacks Kristen, and she turns into a zombie immediately. The janitor impales Eddie with a student desk, and Kristen bites Sam. The janitor breaks the Perp’s leg so the zombies will eat him first.
Tom, Sam, and the janitor run away from the zombies. The janitor and Sam argue over whether to call them zombies or cadavers. Sam wants to leave, but the janitor explains, “I’m a janitor; I never leave a mess uncleaned.”
Tom goes with the janitor, and they are soon battling for their lives against hordes of undead, including Eddie. It’s looking pretty grim, but Sam comes back and saves them at the last minute– at the cost of his own life. Tom drags the unconscious janitor out and sees that he’s been bitten himself. Tom does a whole monologue about the true meaning of Christmas.
The janitor wakes up and Tom starts to wonder about his own infection. We get a zombie-massacre montage as the janitor takes out a horde while Tom plays Santa Claus. The two eventually burn all the bodies in the parking lot.
Tom finally admits that he’s been bitten. He says that this was one of the best Christmases he’s had in a long time. Tom asks the janitor to kill him with the snow shovel, but the janitor says he should have turned by now. Tom’s been drinking his special blend of booze all night, and that must be a cure! Wait– all those burning bodies could have been cured?
Then the police arrive and arrest both of them for their murder spree. We get news reports and police calls as the end credits roll.
Brian’s Commentary
Now THIS is how you make a low-budget film with questionable actors. You lean into the ridiculousness. The gritty, grindhouse look of the film nicely covers what might be poor cinematography, or maybe it’s all intentional. The funny characters and goofy overacting make it all worthwhile, and the actually-very-good script bumps it all up. No one was taking this seriously, and that’s the best part. Kevin said, “They’re doing ‘bad’ right.”
Kevin’s Commentary
It was so bad it was good. Or so good at being bad. Which made for a really entertaining movie.
2017 Mercy Christmas
Directed by Ryan Nelson
Written by Beth Levy Nelson, Ryan Nelson
Stars Steven Hubbell, Cole Gleason, Whitney Nelson
Run Time: 1 Hour, 23 Minutes
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
A super nice and super passive guy has the worst Christmas ever when he falls victim to a family of cannibals. It’s loaded with dark humor and some over-the-top violence, so there’s some good stuff there. Its main weakness is a stretch through the middle where things bog down a bit. But it’s got a heck of a climax. We give it a moderate thumbs up.
Spoilery Synopsis
Michael Briskett invites his boss to a Christmas party. The boss turns him down but assigns him a bunch of reports he needs done by Christmas. The boss’s new assistant Cindy, drops off huge piles of reports for him to sort through.
Catherine, a grouchy bartender, says she doesn’t “do” Christmas. Then someone kills her. Someone kills an old man and a ticket scalper. The killer loads the bodies into the back of his truck.
Cindy comes to Michael’s Christmas party– she’s the only one who shows up. Michael loves Christmas, but no one loves Michael. It’s an awkward “party,” but they have a nice conversation and a nice evening. She invites him to her family’s Christmas party tomorrow night.
Cindy picks up Michael and they get to her parents’ house. Phillip, her ex, is there too, invited by Cindy’s father. They all sit down to eat ribs, and Michael chows down. They all drink an eggnog toast to “home cooking,” just before Andy, Michael’s boss, shows up. He’s Cindy’s brother. Michael then passes out, drugged.
Michael soon wakes up, tied and bound in a dark room. There are others tied up here too, the old man, the bartender, and the ticket scalper are all there as well, not killed, only kidnapped. Bart comes in and kills the old man before dismembering him with an electric knife.
Andrew says they have a problem. Michael is now part of their dinner, but he still needs those reports done by tomorrow. He drags Michael out and tells him to get to work– with electroshock torture. None of the family seem to think there’s anything weird about all this.
Granny comes in, and she wants everyone to stop and go to church. They move Michael back to the basement with the others.
When they get back, Bart and Abe chop up the ticket scalper. They talk about “leg” recipes and basketball as they work. Then they put Michael back to work on the spreadsheets.
Abe says it’s great to have all the kids together and that Christmas is his favorite time of the year. It’s their first since their mother died. Cindy shows us that she doesn’t much care for Phillip anymore.
Bart’s girlfriend, Denise, comes over for dinner, and she’s a cop. We soon see that she’s as vicious as the others. Andy thinks Bart is stupid for bringing her into all this. When it’s time to eat, she’s slow to taste it, but she eventually comes around.
Michael and Katherine, the bartender, talk about the meaning of Christmas and how sad theirs is.
Bart announces that he and Denise are getting married, and this makes Andy crazy. Abe says it’ll be fine, like their mother. Andy then goes to the basement and takes out his frustrations on Michael and Katherine.
Finally, it’s Christmas Day. Denise wakes up and sees Andy holding a knife. Eddie the scalper wakes up, legless now, and gets out of his ropes. He releases Michael, but says that Katherine is dying. Only Michael has any chance of getting out to find help.
Michael ties Eddie to his back and crawls out. Cindy and Denise come in and talk about preparing dinner. The prisoner duo run into one delay after another as they try to make it to the front door.
Denise has to leave for work, and Eddie beats her to death in the car. Michael thinks about Katherine and decides to go back inside to fight. Eddie, strapped to Michael’s back, has no real choice in the matter.
Andy goes downstairs to finish his spreadsheets. Eddie beats up Granny with an iron. Abe gets beaten with a lawn ornament hanger. Michael lets loose; he is not sorry anymore! Andy, Bart, and Cindy come in, dragging Katherine behind them, and soon, it’s three-on-three: Bart vs Eddie, Cindy vs Katherine, and Michael vs Andy. The bad guys, and Andy, get what’s coming to him.
Michael picks up Katherine and carries her outside. Michael says he was hoping for a white Christmas in Southern California. Some carolers call the police.
Brian’s Commentary
Michael is pathetic but very nice. He’s extremely passive and wimpy. I’d eat him.
The comedy here is mostly based around how twisted this normal-looking, normal-acting family can get. That and lots of food jokes. The problem here is that it’s all pretty slow-paced in the middle. Michael is not a particularly likable character– he’s just too much of a wimp, crossing the line into caricature.
Kevin’s Commentary
This was pretty good all around. I was rooting for Michael, and I’m glad he made it out in the end. Though he might be a little messed up after going through all that. It’s a movie about the worst Christmas ever inflicted on a harmless guy who loves Christmas.
2021 Black Friday
Directed by Caset Tebo
Written by Andy Greskoviak
Stars Devon Sawa, Ivana Baquero, Ryan Lee, Bruce Campbell
Run Time: 1 Hour, 24 Minutes
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
Being stuck working a bad retail job on Black Friday that starts on Thanksgiving night is bad enough. Adding an alien-spawned zombie invasion just makes things worse. This one is all around good, with a strong cast, entertaining story, and excellent special effects. It’s got a lot of humor mixed with the horror, and we’d recommend it.
Spoilery Synopsis
Some men are in the store on Thanksgiving putting up banners and decorations for Black Friday, and there are already people waiting outside. There’s a crash, and Monty finds a pulsating blob on the floor. It opens up like a facehugger egg, and bad things happen before the credits roll.
Ken takes the two kids to drop them off at their mom’s house, and they don’t like Mom’s new boyfriend. Ken explains that “heroes work on the holidays,” and heads to pick up Chris, who leaves his family and heads to work too. They talk about how depressing it is to leave their families for this crap.
At the “We Luv Toys” store, the shoppers are lined up around the building, and some complain that they don’t feel well. Ken flirts with Marnie as the radio talks about tonight’s meteor shower.
Corporate has said “Black Friday” is racist, so now Anita wants them all to call it “Green Friday” instead. She also threatens to write up Chris for not having his shirt tucked in. Lou the truck driver comes in, needing the bathrooms for an emergency. Jonathan, the manager, gives them all a pep talk over the intercom. Also, there will be no paid breaks tonight. The crew is… unenthusiastic at best. Emmet is Ken’s new “Shadow,” and he’s never worked retail before.
Brian opens the doors and the mob pours in. It’s insane. Chris finds sticky snot all over his cash register, and Marnie notices some of the customers look… off. Some of them are clearly wrong somehow, and they aren’t even sick. Brian tells Chris to clean up a pile of barf on the floor, but it’s not a normal barf. The sick man attacks Chris, and maintenance man Archie gets involved.
Brian and Anita zip-tie Chris to a chair. “This is a citizen’s arrest.” Jonathan wants to know what’s going on. Another of the mutant zombie customers attacks Emmett, and Ken rescues him. Ken wants to know what’s wrong, but Jonathan says it’s just normal Black– er, Green Friday. Brian calls the police and gets sent to voicemail. As Anita and Ken argue, Emmet starts convulsing and something inside him kills Anita as everyone watches.
Jonathan calls Schaumberg, the manager of another store, and her store has been overrun by mutant customers. Jonathan swears it’s all going to blow over. Then Anita gets up and runs them all out of the back room.
The group splits up to assess the situation, and they all run into trouble. There are body parts everywhere, but the “shoppers” seem to be building something. Lou attacks Ken and Jonathan, and Jonathan finally does something.
Jonathan lets it slip that there are not going to be any holiday bonuses this year, and layoffs to follow. Everyone quits. The police arrive, but they drive through the window, releasing the horde outside that wants inside for some reason.
Archie’s a badass, but he runs into some full-on undead zombies, and the blob monster finally gets him. Marnie finds that it's really hard to stop one of the mutant creatures. “I don’t think the night can get any worse,” she says. Then the lights go out.
They all sit around and talk about how bad their jobs are and how long they’ve been here. They’re sad people in thankless jobs, and they all soon devolve into arguments.
Meanwhile, the glowing, pulsing blob has gotten bigger in the nest the creatures have built for it. Emmet, who is one of the dead creatures, stands up and starts mutating as the group watches. It bites Ken, who expects to change soon. He soon figures out that it was Brian who bit him, and he wasn’t infected after all.
Chris and the others get into a semi truck on the loading dock, but Chris has no idea how to drive the truck. They all have to go back inside and up to the roof after a mob of mutants attack the truck. They soon find themselves trapped between fire, mutants, and the blob. Jonathan has finally had enough and jumps down into the horde, ranting all the while.
Inside, Ken battles the evil grandma mutant. It stops fighting to make clicking noises in front of the giant blob. It appears to have absorbed all the humanoid mutants.
Outside, Marnie, Chris, and Brian watch as the blob grows bigger than the store and becomes a giant King-Kong-sized mutant mess. Brian decides to try to talk to it, and that goes about as expected. Ken runs out of the building and joins Chris and Marnie.
Chris impales the thing with a forklift to the eye, but that only enrages it. The entire building collapses as the humans pile into Ken’s car and drive away, with the giant Kaiju rampaging in the background.
Brian’s Commentary
All the way back to “Dawn of the Dead,” zombies have always been about “consumerism,” but this one isn’t even trying to be subtle about it.
It picks on all the retail and corporate jokes and tropes, especially the Black Friday stuff. The characters are all realistic types, from the suck-up assistant manager and “employee of the month” to the old-timers who don’t really do anything. We’ve all worked with these characters before.
The acting for these stereotypical characters is just fine; the monster effects and makeup are great, and the overall concept is fun. It was pretty decent.
And I really want a “Dour Dennis” toy.
Kevin’s Commentary
This was unique enough of a zombie tale with the space alien element to make it interesting. The casting was great, the effects are really good. I had a fun time watching this one.
2021 The Advent Calendar
Directed by Patrick Ridremont
Written by Patrick Ridremont
Stars Eugenie Derouand, Honorine Magnier, Clement Olivieri
Run Time: 1 Hour, 44 Minutes
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
Not long into it, we get the picture that the Advent calendar isn’t just a benign magic object. It’s a trope that wishes can have consequences, and this one spices it up enough to make it very interesting. It’s well done, and like a real Advent calendar the fun is in seeing what the next little gift is going to be as the big finish approaches. We both liked it with Brian rating it good, and Kevin rating it great.
Spoilery Synopsis
A guy flirts with Eva at the pool, and we soon see that she’s in a wheelchair. Then we cut to her recording herself, maybe standing, as she warns us to follow the rules… or die. Credits roll.
Eva goes home and puts out some dinner for her dog. Eventually, she climbs into her dark, dank bedroom and has a flashback to the traffic accident that put her in the chair. It’s December 3rd.
Her boss doesn’t like her and says she costs too much to keep her around, but he doesn't have a lot of choices. She calls her father, but he’s got too much dementia to even remember who she is, and her stepmother is on the wicked side.
Friend Sophia stops in, and she’s very upbeat. She’s brought a present from Germany, a big fancy Advent calendar. On the back, it says, “Dump it and I’ll kill you,” which they both find to be hilarious.
When Eva opens the first door, she pulls out a chocolate. We also see something wake up. The wrapper is printed with a warning. “The calendar contains candy. If you eat one, eat them all, or I’ll kill you.” “Germans are grim,” Sophia adds. Since it’s the third of the month, she opens up three compartments. “To kill hurt, kill what hurt you,” the third day’s note says. The fourth door won’t open early.
At midnight, the box calls for her to open the fourth door. It’s something Biblical about cripples being able to walk, which they both find a little offensive. She doesn’t eat that one. Later when she eats a piece of her father’s favorite candy, she gets a phone call from him– on a disconnected phone.
At work, Eva is told to train her replacement by John, her boss, who is also cutting her hours. Sophia wonders if the calendar had a hallucinogenic candy to make it seem that Eva’s father called. She doesn’t know much, since she stole the box.
Sophia takes Eva out to a bar with Boris and Thomas. Thomas is nice, but Boris is a bit of a jerk. Eva likes Thomas, but Sophia “steals” him away at the last minute.
Eva passes out on the way home, and Boris takes advantage of her. When she reacts badly, he literally dumps her out on the street. The “Ich” in the box pops up. When she yells “Drop dead,” a little car rolls out of the advent calendar. As the dog plays with the toy car, bad things happen to the real car.
The next day, Eva hears about Boris’s death and remembers what she yelled. Not only did Boris send her a text after he died, but he left her some money. At midnight, the box wants attention. This time, it’s a candy heart.
At the coffee shop the next day, she drops the candy heart into the drink of a guy she likes. He immediately notices Eva and comes to sit with her; he’s William. They end up staying all day. That night, she waits until midnight eagerly. This time, it’s a little clock that says “10:30.” She eats it.
Somehow Eva misses four days that passed without her being aware of it. John, the boss, really chews her out and then fires her. Again, she wonders if the candy has drugs in it. She tells William all about it.
That night, she silences the machine, so at midnight, it releases a dog treat and lets Marvin the dog out. In the morning, the dog comes home covered in blood. He’s also got boss John's necklace embedded in his mouth. When Eva calls, John’s phone goes to voicemail. Eva figures out that this and the situation with Boris are connected.
On the 12th, she gets another “Arise and Walk” candy like the one earlier that she didn’t eat. This time, she does, along with the first one from a week before. She goes into convulsions and passes out.
She wakes up in the hospital; William is with her. They found her out in the street without her wheelchair, but she doesn’t remember how she got there.
At midnight, the box uses Eva’s sickly roommate to deliver a message. She opens the box and finds a Satanic communion wafer inside. The woman eats it and soon dies. Boris’s investment app continually notifies Eva about how much money her investment has made.
The next day, Eva goes to see her father, and evil Agnes, his wife, is selling the house. She gives the next candy to her father, who eats it and then gives her a big hug. He’s suddenly lucid and asks Eva to help him join her dead mother. He wants to die. He warns her cryptically, “If you want to walk, you’ll have to kill. If you refuse, you’ll be sacrificed.”
Eva gets another “Arise and Walk” but this time, she shows it to William, who is a nurse. She wants him to observe what happens when she eats this one. She falls out of the chair and has a seizure. Afterwards, she can feel him touching her legs. It doesn’t last forever, but they have an entertaining night.
Eva goes to the pool, and William finds Eva’s keys that she dropped in his car. He takes the keys home to her house. He finds the door open, and inside, he finds Eva’s papers outlining what the candies have done, including the one that “charmed” him. He takes the Advent Calendar and throws it into the river. The sky turns purple and “Ich” comes up out of the water and drowns him.
Eva, at the pool, falls back into the water, but when she comes up, she’s in the river– and it’s night. Ich walks up, carrying the calendar. She wakes up again at home. The flirter from the pool is at the door; he’s brought her clothes. She’s… still not interested.
That night, the candy glows, but she still eats it. She sees what happened to William, but from inside the calendar’s point of view.
On the 18th day, the calendar pops out a knife with a picture of her dog on it. Sophie comes home and she finds a trail of blood all over the floor. Eva has killed her dog. Sophie immediately comes to the conclusion that she’s crazy and decides to move in with her now. That night, Sophie opens the box and pockets the candy, something with a phallus on it. She lies and tells Eva it was just gum. We flash back and see that it was Sophie who caused the crash that paralyzed Eva. “I don’t blame her; I don’t want her hurt,” Eva tells herself.
On the 20th, Thomas takes the girls hunting at his cabin. The box pops open and “Ich” isn’t there. Eva says she wants her legs back. “I’m what hurt you,” Sophia admits. Eva warns her to leave or he will kill her. Instead, Sophia gives Thomas the candy from earlier; she thinks it’s a big Viagra pill. Suddenly, the whole house starts to shake and the bedroom door explodes with dead Sophia flying out. Thomas doesn’t last long himself.
Ich comes out, and he wants Eva to eat her candy. She eats it and then walks home, carrying the box with her. She finds out who the previous owner of the Advent Calendar was by opening a hidden compartment that contains a painted canvas and drives to Germany to see him. The painter has been blind for five years, so he couldn’t have painted the canvas she found inside the box. We get flashbacks to the people he killed. He sacrificed his whole family for what he found in the box in exchange for being able to see again, but it’s all reverted and undone now except for the message he left in the calendar for the next owner.
On the 22nd, there’s a doll that resembles Myriam, the woman who replaced her at work. Eva does bad things to the doll, and the woman suffers.
The next night, she gets her father’s candy again, along with a pistol. At her father’s house, evil Agnes opens up gifts, including the Advent Calendar. She puts it in the fire, but Ich doesn’t like that and kills her. Eva gives her father the candy, and he wakes up from dementia. “It’s my turn,” he says. It’s hard, but she shoots him, as he wanted.
On the 23rd, the pool guy shows up and is shocked that Eva’s not paralyzed anymore. “I got over it,” she jokes. She knows it’s only temporary, since these things all are going to revert to the way they were before the calendar, like they did with the painter.
Eva records a message for the next owner of the box, explaining how it all works. Then she does some ballet, which is quite impressive for a paraplegic.
On the 24th, the pool-friend thinks he’s found a loophole in the rules and tells her not to eat the final candy. She doesn’t have to. He throws the box off the roof, and nothing happens. So, she can not eat the candy and stay healed - with everyone dead. Or she can eat it and go back to being paralyzed with everything undone, everyone back alive as they were, and no memory of any of it. The calendar is cruel.
One year later, there’s a man watching Eva’s message that she’s left inside the box. It didn’t end…
Brian’s Commentary
Eva’s had a rough year, and we want her to get better, even when the box does bad things to bad people. Still, we know things are going to escalate and get out of hand, because that’s what kind of movie this is.
We didn’t know how it would end until it did. We didn’t exactly understand the whole “reverting” thing that was kind of thrown in at the last moment, but it made enough sense to get by.
It was good.
Kevin’s Commentary
I thought Eugenie Derouand nailed the role of Eva as a complex individual handed a gift that is both fantastic and terrible. It builds nicely, and horribly, as the days pass and the calendar does more things, and the climax cruelly presents her with an agonizing choice. The direction, writing, and effects all make for a complete package. I really liked this one a lot.
1951 A Christmas Carol
AKA “Scrooge”
Directed by Brian Desmond Hurst
Written by Charles Dickens, Noel Langley
Stars Alastair Sim, Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison
Run Time: 1 Hour, 26 Minutes
Watch it entirely:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
This was a solid rendition of the story. Alastair Sim as Scrooge was believable in the role, and the rest of the cast was very good as well. The special effects are minimal, and limited to 1951 technology, but they get the job done. It’s not exactly horror in the scary sense, but it is a ghost story, with four main ones and a flock of others seen briefly. If you’re looking for a version to see, (there are more than 100 out there) this is a very good one and thought of by many as “the definitive version.”
Spoilery Synopsis
We hear that old Marley was dead for seven years. His partner, Mr. Scrooge, runs the business. It’s Christmas, but Scrooge says that’s “a humbug” and leaves.
Outside, a man asks for more time to pay back the money Scrooge loaned him. On the walk to his office, he runs off some children singing carols. A charity man comes to the office, wanting money for the poor, but Scrooge says they should just send the poor to the workhouse or prison. He refuses to donate anything to charity.
Scrooge’s nephew Fred comes in and wishes his uncle a merry Christmas. Scrooge doesn’t approve of his nephew’s wife, but he’s invited to dinner anyway. Fred is nice, and he wishes the Cratchit family a merry Christmas on the way out. Bob Cratchit is Scrooge’s underpaid clerk.
We cut to Tim Cratchit and his mother, in town to buy a goose. Tim walks with a crutch. She complains that Bob’s boss makes him work so late on Christmas Eve. If Scrooge had his way, they’d all work through Christmas.
On the way home Scrooge sees dead-Marley’s face in the door knocker but goes inside anyway. He’s creeped out, but he locks the door and sits with his gruel in front of the fireplace. He starts to hear scary noises before he sees the ghost of Jacob Marley. The ghost drags around heavy boxes that are chained to him. Scrooge thinks maybe he’s just got indigestion or something. Marley explains that he wears the chains he forged in life; he made his own curse. He also points out that it’s not too late for Scrooge to turn his life around and avoid the same fate; he will be visited by three spirits tonight.
At one a.m., Scrooge wakes up to see an old man in white in his room. He says he’s the Spirit of Christmas Past, and he knows all about Scrooge’s younger days. Scrooge sees his boyhood school; young Scrooge is inside and Fan, his sister, comes in to take him home for Christmas. Scrooge’s father has changed his mind, and now Scrooge is allowed to return home. Scrooge’s mother died in childbirth for Scrooge, and his father never forgave him.
The scene changes, and now Scrooge and the spirit are at Fezziwig’s Christmas party. This is where young Scrooge apprenticed, and he remembers being very happy here. They watch as young Scrooge proposes to Alice. Fezziwig believes there are more important things than money. We then cut to Fan on her deathbed. Scrooge and Marley are savvy businessmen who weasel their way into majority ownership.
Time passes and Marley gets sick. Scrooge works all day and goes over to his partner’s house after closing. When he arrives, the undertaker is there waiting. Marley says “We were wrong. Save yourself” just before dying. Scrooge wakes up back in his own bed.
Then a second ghost appears. This one is the Spirit of Christmas Present, and he shows him Bob Cratchit and his family. They all seem happy, even though Tim is a sickly cripple. The Spirit tells Scrooge that the young boy is going to die soon because of lack of medical care, and this distresses Scrooge. They’re poor but happy, and Bob wants to drink a toast to his boss. Mrs. Cratchit has nothing nice to say about the old miser. The ghostly pair pops over to Fred’s house, and Fred’s family hates Scrooge as well. He then sees Alice, who lives in the poorhouse helping the sick and destitute.
The spirit shows him two childlike ghosts, Ignorance and Want. These represent the people Scrooge wanted to send to the workhouse and prisons. The second spirit fades away.
Then it’s time for the Spirit of Things to Come. Scrooge thinks he may be too old to change his ways now. This ghost doesn’t speak at all.
They appear outside the window of the Cratchit house. They aren’t looking so happy now, since Tiny Tim has died. Bob comes home; he’s been to the cemetery where they’re going to bury their son.
Then they pop over to the poorhouse, where the women there talk about stealing from a dead man. They didn’t much like this particular dead man. Old Joe, the “fence” offers a pittance for the loot. Scrooge’s housekeeper even stole the dead man’s blankets out from under his corpse and the curtains from around the bed.
They move to the dead man’s funeral. The men don’t want to attend the funeral unless there’s a free lunch provided. Scrooge asks who died, but the Spirit doesn’t answer. They soon move to the cemetery, where Scrooge sees his own cemetery. Scrooge begs to have the opportunity to change what he sees.
Scrooge wakes up in his bed again. There’s knocking at the door. The maid comes in, and he asks what day it is, and is shocked to hear that it’s still Christmas Day. He’s happy and giddy to the point of goofiness. He sings, dances, and tries to stand on his head, making the housekeeper think he’s lost his mind. He gives her a Christmas bonus and a raise.
Scrooge yells down to a boy on the street and tells him to go to the butcher and order the prize goose. “I’ll send it to Bob Cratchit. It’s twice the size of Tiny Tim.” Tiny Tim believes the goose came from Mr. Scrooge, but no one else does.
Scrooge himself goes to Fred’s party and spends time with his own family. Fred is thrilled, but the others are reluctant. Scrooge apologizes to Fred’s wife for ignoring her all these years. He dances with her, and is nice, and everyone is happy.
Bob Cratchit shows up for work a minute or two late, and Scrooge makes a big production out of it. He gives Bob a raise and says he wants to help Bob’s family. Scrooge has trouble stopping laughing because he’s so happy.
Afterward, Scrooge was always a good man and a good friend. Tiny Tim got well, and didn’t need the crutches anymore.
Brian’s Commentary
It’s well acted for sure, but the special effects are a bit iffy. Still, that’s not the point of the story. This is widely regarded as the best version of the Dickens story, and it is very good. It’s fairly close to the book, and there’s not a lot of fluff here.
Kevin’s Commentary
The acting and direction are great. The effects are the best they could do in 1951, but they help tell the story. I haven’t seen a lot of versions of this, but I understand this follows the original story closely, and it is a good one. If you’re in the mood for an interesting Christmas parable, this is a good one.
Short Films:
2019 Short Film: Special Day
Directed by Teal Greyhavens
Written by Nikolai von Keller
Stars Maya Bowman, Laura Wernette, Caesar James
Run Time: 7:08
Watch it:
What Happens
It’s Emily’s birthday, and her extended family makes a huge deal out of it. “We’re all so proud of you,” says her dad. Everyone in their family has either been successful or gone insane. He attributes their success to a special gift that she’s finally old enough to share.
She was born at 9:03 p.m., and at that same time tonight, she hears “it” outside. There’s a man outside that now she can see. “It’s not a man; just think of it as a new friend.”
Commentary
I don’t see why the family couldn’t have let Emily in on the secret ahead of time. Sure, she wouldn’t have been able to see the man until now, but she’d have been way less freaked out, maybe even eager, if she’s known what to expect.
Once we heard the rules of the Sentinel, it was pretty obvious where this was heading. It’s short, it’s simple, and it’s really well done. There’s not much more to this story that we could logically ask for, but I’d still like to see more!
2024 Short Film: He Sees You: A Winter Solstice Horror
Directed by Zachary Padgett
Written by Zachary Padgett
Stars Zachary Padgett
Run Time: 6:23
Watch it:
What Happens
A man is working on making dinner alone at home. We watch him through the window from the very well-lit patio. He soon goes upstairs and watches a video about the history of Christmas, Saturnalia, and Yule.
Suddenly, the lights go out. He checks out the lamp, and the bulb has been removed. He goes into the kitchen, and the bulbs have been removed there as well. The patio has gone dark; no bulbs. He finds a bulb in a drawer and turns on the light…
Bad idea!
Commentary
I’m not quite sure what the connection of the Yule video has with the monster, but it was included for some reason, so I guess it’s a monster from history. The camera work is good, especially since much of the film is dark, and the quiet music and sound effects add a lot to the mystery of the story.
I don’t think I completely understood the “lore” part of the story, but it’s well done!
2024 Short Film: Naughty Bells of Holy Hells
Directed by “The Helmers”
Written by “The Helmers”
Stars George Sternlicht, Ari Sternlicht, David Sternlicht, Peter Sternlicht
Run Time: 6:25
Watch it:
What Happens
A man brutally murders a snowman and then stomps on presents. He then tackles one of those bell-ringers and beats him to death. There is a “Gossip” and a “Sinner” in medieval stocks wearing pig masks. The politician gets an even worse fate. The Gossip, one of the guys in the stocks, starts to torment the other, the Sinner, in the only way he can in the current situation.
The torturer eventually comes over and releases the Sinner. What’s he going to do for revenge?
Commentary
The Bells! No, not the bells!
It’s well-filmed and shot in an interesting way. It’s nonsensical and surreal. We don’t really know why any of this is happening, but only one of them is having any fun.
I will point out that the credits at the end have the hardest-to-read-font I’ve ever seen. I think maybe there was a director and writer for this, but…. I just can’t. Oh, and there is a scene after the credits.
2024 Short Film: The Goat Monster vs Fat Werewolf
Directed by Shortest Blockbusters
Written by Shortest Blockbusters
Stars Animated
Run Time: 5:00
Watch it:
What Happens
The goatman admires his pregnant wife’s belly as their child roams around nearby. They all soon see that a giant spider is stalking them. If that wasn’t bad enough, there’s a huge werewolf hunting them. The goat man is smart and starts a forest fire before fighting back. The various monsters fight to the death, and it’s all very dramatic.
Commentary
The very first scene immediately made me think “This was done by AI,” but as it progressed, I started to doubt that. The characters are all consistent throughout the various action scenes, and there is a logical plot going on throughout the short film. I suspect this is all regular computer generated imagery, without the AI stuff that we usually trash so heavily.
It looks good, the creature designs are excellent, and there’s even an emotional component to it. It’s all very sharp, and I especially like the scene in the rain at the end.
OK, I admit it, I liked this one.
2024 Short Film: The Unseen
Directed by Xander Ross
Written by Xander Ross
Stars Sophie Stewart, Teddy Jones, Joseph Hunt
Run Time: 5:48
Watch it:
What Happens
A student researches the “Angel of Death” at the library. She wraps that up and then walks home across campus. Even before she leaves, we see that she’s not alone, but outside, she spots a dark man in a plague doctor’s outfit following her.
Until suddenly, he’s in front of her, and he wants to show her a magic trick.
Commentary
It all looks and sounds good, with nice pacing. The creature looks cool without needing any special effects. The girl looks suitably terrified and confused in every scene.
We aren’t quite sure why this is all happening, but it’s fun seeing how it works out.
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