Christmas Slay (2015)

   

Produced, Written & Directed by: Steve Davis

Starring:

... Emma
Dani Thompson .... Beccy
.... Sarah
.... Simon Carter
Charley McDougall .... John

Release Date
: Direct-to-HD: December 10, 2015

 

Rating:

 

A bloodthirsty killer dressed as Santa Claus, Simon Carter (Frank Jakeman) is arrested after killing two parents on Christmas Eve in the Kentish countryside and locked away in a psych ward.
A year later passes and he manages to escape while a bunch of friends reside at the idyllic Mistletoe Lodge nestled within the beautiful snowy mountains of the Scottish Highlands over the holiday season and Simon himself decides to go on a fun killing spree at the lodge.

 

We spot a beginning with the maniac Simon Carter dressed in a Santa suit stalking a married couple as this looked a bit off while we watch as this moment was terribly slow. Also when he goes in for the kill the moments looked incredibly lacking and it doesn't look intense as it was intended to be. Plus when he does away with the killings the camera is very off since the makers didn't have a budget for any slashing effects. However these moments can still be fun to watch if you're in the mood for an amateurish film. Plus we spot a little girl thinking he's Santa and hands her a knife which of course steals heavily off of a scene that was used in the controversial cult classic Silent Night Deadly Night.
Sloppy conversations between two officers discussing on what happened in their car as this looked cheesy but at the same time seemed to work into the story.
Things were sloppy when the police arrested Simon as if he easily gave in and things weren't powerful enough and things didn't seem to make sense at all when there was the odd struggling which wasn't well oraganised at all.
Then we have rushed discussions with the three friends Emma, Becky and Sarah driving to the cabin as this seemed hard to watch and a little annoying but at the same time could be fun to watch if you were in the mood for it. Then there's a moment with a strange looking hitchhiker going nuts when he tries to stop their vehicle as this looked a little too much.
There's a laughable moment with Simon in a room with another patient on some furniture acting crazy with his puppet as this was supposed to make you think that this patient is a nutcase but it's way too comedic.
Things almost look impressive when Simon kills someone with an axe to get out of the asylum but due to a lack of a budget there's no graphic effects so we just all imagine but some slasher fans might find it amusing when he licks the blood off the axe.
We do have the odd moments with the main character Emma being upset talking about some history involving her boyfriend which seemed to pull in dramatically well.
Also we have moments with Simon escaping from the insane asylum and then coming in and spying on the girls at the resort as it almost looks impressive as well as him coming in for the attack as it almost delivers but when he terrorises seems to go into an awful slope.
Also we see a stoner in the film with an unlit joint in his mouth in which he's supposed to be smoking it as this seemed to be all pretend.
Also we spot many moments on him killing people but it's caught off camera once again for budgetery reasons so again we all have to imagine on what had happened and seeing the results later on with stupid looking slayings on things that aren't possible tools as killing devices including this maniac choking someone to death with a tinselrope or stabbing someone in the head with a candy cane. Yeah right!!!
There's a scene with the crazy hitchhiker chasing after one of the girls and then we spot what's supposed to be a dead body but it looks like someone sleeping as it looked that amateurishly done as well as vengeful moments involving Emma as this looked over the top as well as what's supposed to be an ending leaving a door for a sequel.
Bottom line is that this flick had real terrible audio as it was totally airy plus didn't carry much of a plot and it was rushed and didn't go anywhere at all. It was a hard story to follow. Had the odd fun moments but at the same time didn't save the piece from bombing at all. Best to avoid this garbage as the slashings even sucked and carried a no budget.

The acting is pretty bad for the most part and rushed but I will try my best to review some that may stick out in my mind.... Let's see here.... Well the lead actress Emma) however seemed to do not too badly in her role offering a nice seriousness to whenever she had to be this way as well as doing an okay job by getting into an energetic conversation. Plus seemed to do not too badly whenever she gets upset thinking about what her boyfriend did as she knew on how to go into an upsetting deep thought. Yet when her adrenaline gets up for the terror striking and her screaming it's a little over the top. Also when she swings down an axe trying to kill someone she is very off by doing so. Plus when she is going crazy in a ward near the end of her performance was also too over the top.
Dani Thompson (Beccy) seemed to show off a good lifelike attitude in which she adds some spunk into her role and was highly energetic with her talking as well as knowing on how to get into a conversation. But yet her fearful attitude seems a little off as she just couldn't pull it off very well which is one of my only criticisms.
Frank Jakeman
Simon Carter) almost had the masculine appeal to play a killer in the suit and does present himself menacing at first but then when he gets into everything else he is so off that right away you think to yourself that he needs serious acting lessons. He just can't come off intimidating at all and was very wooden within everything that he did. No gold star for this fellow at all and his menacing expressions were very laughable but in a bad way.
Charley McDougall
(John) was also awfully wooden playing a stoner type in which he couldn't get into his role the way you'd expect him to. He didn't even have the right loks or appeal you could tell he played the type of role as it seemed that he was forced in order to portray this role. Even when he tried to be energised when the terror happens he can't do the trick at all.

A nude body on a model is exposed on a calendar.
Female employee at a psych ward is about to take a shower and her butt is exposed and later on her breasts when she puts a shirt on afterwards.

The gore looks terribly amateurish and nothing grooss out like....
A knife is stabbed on top of someone's head
Axe is stabbed in the back and looking bloodied
Candy cane stabbed in someone's forehead
Objects is stabbed in another persons head
Odd amateurish bloody stabbings

The music was terribly annoying with the echoey sounds as well as the makers trying too hard to make it an effective horror flick but yet just doesn't cut out right and seemed pretty out of synch. We hear hissing sounds and ehoey piano playing which got on my nerves but there's the odd deep sounds involving the killer which seemed to work in well briefly.