Caeser and Otto's Deadly Xmas (2012)

   

Produced, Written, Edited & Directed by: Dave Campfield 

Starring:

Dave Campfield  .... Caesar
Paul Chomicki .... Otto 
.... Demian
Ken MacFarlane .... Jerry 
.... Allison 
Scott Aguilar  .... Fred Denovio
Avi K. Garg .... Drew
Samantha Barrios .... Roberta Jenkins
Neil Leeds .... Neil
Dawn Burdue .... Babs
Robin Ritter .... Doctor Helen
Shawn C. Phillips .... Shawn
Mike Johansen .... Dr. Feel 


Brinke Stevens .... Sashi
Linnea Quigley .... Donna Blackstone
Lloyd Kaufman .... Grandpa Denovio
Debbie Rochon .... Kara 
Joe Estevez .... Joe
Felissa Rose .... Demian's Wife 
Robert Z'Dar .... Himself

Release Dates: Fright Night Film Festival: June 30, 2012; Horrific Film Fest: September 2, 2012; HorrorHound Weekend: September 7, 2012; Terror Film Festival: October 19, 2013; Zedfest Film Festival: November 8, 2013

 

Rating:

 

Caesar Denovio (Dave Campfield) and his half brother Otto Denovio (Paul Chomicki) take on duties as Santa and his elf as well as them involved by doing a CHristmas horror flick. But a fellow store Santa (Deron Miller) develops a vendetta against them and is killing their people one by one since he has a disturbing past, and he soon turns these people into a list of Xmas-inspired victims!

 

There's a prologue on a situation that takes place centuries ago in which this looked half decent on someone being hung and then some nice opening credits of the movie which looked mildly entertaining to watch and then it goes into stupid situations with Caesar and Otto along with pointless flashbacks as well looking hokey as this looked like a plain unfunny stupid comedy.
In the story Caeser's agent Donna Blackstone calls him up telling him they want a Santa Claus for a film shoot and he is disturbed by this but none of this looked dark or serious as well as looking utterly pointless to watch this moment unravel.
After the cheesy and trashy situations within what's happening so far there is an interesting horror moment when the killer santa Demian strangles Drew till he passes out and he wakes up in a dark type of room with candles along with some gruesome surroundings and then nice shots on Demian pacing and talking to him holding an axe and ready to do something tortureous to him which had a nice dark feel even if the lines were campily spoken which is one of the pointers in the story that saves this clunker from bombing. However when Drew escapes he has a hard time hitchhiking to get hep after what happens to him which then brought on the stupid moments into the story once again.
More lame brained moments that I didn't understand is when Otto is speaking to someone in her car and he tries to shake one of her kids' hand and accidentally hits them as this really looked lame brained to watch more so than in a Troma Team style of fashion.
Okay timing when a casting director Jerry with his sidekick Roberta are watching on how people react by trying to speak like Santa as it looked sharp but at the same time moronically slapstick like.
Caeser goes into a flashback moment with his crazy Grandpa Denovio telling him what Santa does to naughty children when of course Caeser himself was a little boy but yet it's the full grown adult cast member playing this role with lame special effects to make him look smaller as I was having a difficult time with this scene wondering or not this is a horror as well as a comedy but other situations make up for it to be categorised as the same type of genre. 
Caeser has a nightmare sequence when a killer Santa comes in his room with a chainsaw as the settings looked dead on but then he wakes up and realises he's in a dream again but with stupid moments happening which spoils the fun from the beginning of this scene.
But yet a good still moment with a discussion between Demian towards Caeser acting serious and intimidating but then was laughing later on which leaves a nice mysterious touch during this situation bringing on a mysterious horror moment.
The mild horror comes in again when Ceaser and another fellow has a dispute with Donna as there's trashy writing on this using stupid comedy and then when they leave Demian dressed as Santa comes in and talks to her and sees a pair of a deer head with antler trophy and discussing on a movie with a slaying happening during this scene which made me think that this maniac will do her in like in the film which looked okay but just okay. Not dark or serious but a comedic horror style.
More of the confusing comedy rolls in when there's a TV show on Dr. Feel having celecrity Joe Estevez talking to him and there's a near gay moment as I rolled my eyes thinking that this moment was a complete waste of effort and time. 
The campy fun settles in when the filmmakers shoot their horror film involving Caeser with his actress in a forest as I found this enjoyable to watch. 
The comedy involving Demian seemed decent when he's at home discussing with his wife on what he is doing which was done in a fair style and seemed to fit nicely into the story. 
Damien gets dark again phoning a 911 emergency line warning that he is about to do something sinful which brought on the horror once again and this was another moment that saved the flick from bombing. 
There's even a good creepy shot on him staring at a vehicle driving away which adds more horror chemistry so while watching all of this it just passes being categorised as a horror too so far.
Then a phony moment when Sashi is going to be sacrificed and she calls for help which tried to add in comedy and horror alltogether but it wasn't funny at all.
Caesar and Otto run away from police cars chasing after them which you could tell was a cheaply done green screen as well as hiding in a couple of trash cans and the police look around with some lame comedic speakng coming from these officers which made me roll my eyes once again. 
Demian gets more serious as to why he is doing what he's doing kidnapping Allison while he is driving in his vehicle explaining the things that he does which is another ok horror effort but once again the comedy doesn't work at all and there's flashback sequences with Mother Superior whacking him with a belt as well as showing him later on playing in CKY. This llooked interesting I must say but not at all serious or funny either.
A fun cheesy special effects though as to how Demian accidentally destroys himself and the remains of him which is another pointer for a horror story as well as the comedy used in it. Then his brother comes in to see what happened with goofy discussions from Caeser and Otto telling him will he take his place like in a sequel to the film this one spoofed on which I got a kick out of hearing them say. 
Near the end of the movie Caeser and Otto are trapped in the Church of Satan realising who the cult members are which is another nice pointer for a horror story although it showed slapstick moments with these people as well as good shots and reveals of others as this also saved the film from bombing.
Bottom line is that this flick was a parody of Silent Night Deadly Night so I was expecting a plain comedy but it is a horror too in a Troma Team style sort of fashion without the ton of grossness. Think of Toxic Avenger or Terror Firmer for example. It's hard to see the horror but it's there. So like those one's this is a horror but just passes as being categorised as such. It's a bad film and weakly inspired too. Has odd fun touches like mentioned but a total waste of time. Seems like the makers were watching Abbot and Costello Meets Frankenstein and tried to do something like that.

The acting is poorly done and over the top which was the idea for comedy acting but I wasn't laughing at all. Dave Campfield (Caeser) was very stiff in his performance and tries to be a natural ham but fails in order to be that way. There are times he catches your attention when he does something aggressive and it mildly shines off but isn't much of a character actor by any means whatsoever.
Paul Chomicki Otto) however brought on a nice charm to his part of the story adding some nice spunk and represented himself well onto the camera. He wasn't a terrific performer in any way but could do the job as best as he can. Had the right appeal when he represented himself onto the camera.
(Demian) seemed to know his craft fairly well as a demented killer in which he has a good sterness to his speaking and was better by doing that than acting kookie for the comedy in his role. Offered a nice expressionless and aggressive features too. He wasn't a terrific character actor but seemed fairly passable in many spots at the same time. 
Ken MacFarlane Jerry) seemed well energised in his role as a casting director in which he adds a great hype to what he is talking about and seemed to study his role pretty well. He brought out alot of pizzaz to whatever he was doing here. 
Scott Aguilar (Fred Denovio) adds a nice gruffness to his attitude coming across as somewhat arrogant by what he does along with offering a nice sarcasm to his part too. Seemed to be a fairly passable character actor and one of the best performers in this piece. Had the perfect middle aged looks too and added nice timing to whatever he did. 
Samantha Barrios (Roberta Jenkins) shows off alot of outgoing characteristics as wel as adding spunk and enthusiasm along with a believeable bubbly attitude. Had the nice beautiful looks and appeal too. Does well with her speaking and really getting into a discussion.

Now for the cameos of b-film celebrities: 
Brinke Stevens (Sashi) really couldn't get into her role at all. At first she seemed to breeze through okay but when she calls for help she lacks energy and enthusiasm and it shows big time. She was never a great character actress to begin with though.
Linnea Quigley (Donna Blackstone) plays a kookie agent and seemed quite silly in her performance but I've seen her do worst. At times was okay with her stern speaking in certain parts of her performance. But yet when she tries to be funny she fails in order to do so which is mainly the writing but didn't seem to show alot of effort at the same time.
Lloyd Kaufman (Grandpa Denovio) was a little too much playing someone disturbed but again he was always hyped by what he was talking about. I didn't enjoy him in this one though but again this is just my opinion.
Debbie Rochon (Kara) was sharp in her presence and speaking as a 911 operator. She seemed to nail her part in a great fashion but she always did a good job within whatever I saw her in.
Felissa Rose (Demian's Wife) often got on my nerves with her performance in most shows but seems okay with her comedic performance as someone whom is odd. I have to admit she represented herself quite well.

A woman is barebreasted standing near a curtain while getting dressed

Arms chopped off. 
Throat is cut with a machette. 
Leg chopped off.
Body impaled on deer antlers.  
Mangled bloody corpses are revealed. 
Body is burnt to a crisp. 

I have to admit that the scoring for this flick is very professional sounding in which there's effective hissing and screeching sounds for the comedic terrors that happens which for sure gives it a horror feel as well as creepy Xmas music tone playing too done in great style for certain moments as well. It for sure caught my attention and was put together by Joseph Bauerand Kevin MacLeod.