Silent Night - (Really) Bad Santa

This film is severely low brow, kind of dumb and we've totally seen everything it has to offer (albeit better). Yet - for some reason - I really enjoyed it.

Think `Scream,' but with a Santa going around bumping off the townsfolk in various (Christmas-related) grisly ways then you're half way there. No, it's not as good as 'Scream' (or even any of its sequels), but, if you're looking for a violent slasher flick to pass the time (and not require too many brain cells for) then this one fits the bill.

You don't really need to know much about the plot.  This time round our killer is a (plastic-masked) Santa Claus impersonator.  Who is he?  You'll have to guess (and no, I didn't guess correct, but then I've never managed to predict who the killer was in a single 'Scream' film).  Why is this Father Christmas on a murderous rampage?  Again, you'll have to find out (and it's quite a wait!).  You can probably fill in the rest yourself. Maybe it also helps to watch it around Christmas time. Seeing Santa roast perfect strangers with a flamethrower makes a pleasant change from those awful, sickly-sweet John Lewis commercials currently infesting the screens.

Some people have complained about the killing of a child in the film, so, if you're squeamish and find that sort of thing unwatchable, you might want to steer clear.  The kills are reasonably well thought out and gruesome, but you may have to suspend your disbelief in some places.  The main one being when the murderous Santa chases a naked woman through a town on Christmas Eve - and NO ONE sees this taking place!  Yes, I know it's set in a small American town, but at least someone must have noticed this!

Jamie King is the female star who plays a traumatised cop tasked with tracking the killer down and solving the mystery.  She's quite good - certainly not your average 'brainless bimbo' you often get in slasher films.  She's aided by older police chief Macolm McDowell, who deliciously overacts all the way through it and speaks almost entirely in 'action movie cliches' (don't complain - he's doing it on purpose - this is kind of tongue-in-cheek, after all!).  So, if you're in the mood for a decent Christmas slasher film, then you can definitely pour yourself a glass (or four) of Baileys, sit down to watch this and deck the halls with burned-up bodies!

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that