Your Christmas Movies! Whatcha' Watchin' this Christmas season?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Don't Open Till Christmas (1984)

A British slasher that ties in nicely with the sex films of the seventies craze that by now were on their last legs as well as the slasher genre that was sweeping across the US. So in essence what we have is Halloween (1978) with a lovely British smutty edge to it.

In a way this is the British answer to Silent Night Deadly Night from the same year, except for me this is better.The film generates some decent suspense and director / star Edward Purdom keeps things ticking along very nicely. For a start there is a kill every few minutes, 14 in all i think so the pace has no time to drop or the viewer become jaded before the next bit of hack n' slash spits blood across the screen. The murders are graphic - a spear through the mouth, a cleaver across the face, disembowelment, castrations and so on - and when there's no murder then there's sleaze or in UK starlet Pat Astley's case both as she's graphically attacked in the street wearing nothing but a red Santa gown.

The whole thing has a grubby atmosphere to it whether it be Soho sex booths or the fact that Alan Lake co-stars (He was a regular in David Sullivan's smut film era) so together with the Santa murders there's a real sense of unease created throughout.

A Christmas classic round these parts up there with the Home Alone's and Christmas Vacations when it comes to required December viewing.

[Demoncrat]

How I love this one. Many many highlights. Digging it out!!!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

How I love this one. Many many highlights. Digging it out!!!

I always like that the heroine of the film is Belinda Mayne. Soon to be playing Delta, a green skinned Chimeron queen at a Welsh holiday camp in the fifties.

[MrBarlow]

Batman Returns. 1992.

Batman battles it with the mysterious Penguin who has aligned himself with business man Max Shrek who's former employee has taken on the persona of Cat Woman.

30 years old and still going strong, back then the make up for Penguin was done decently an a bit scary for Danny Devito but yet he managed to pull it off. Christopher Walken as the shrude businessman suits him as he seems to have his own agenda for his new found friend to be Mayor. Michelle Pfeiffer as Selina Kyle was a good choice as she does look nice in the outfit, Michael Keaton returns as Bruce Wayne/Batman and brings more wit and sarcasm to his role.

Always remember McDonald's doing the promotion for this and had a lot of stuff to give away with their meals, yet some representative saw the film and pulled out due to the violence, there was nothing mentioned about the main actress in leather looking like a dominatrix and using her whip well, or the Ice Princess in a almost something nearly wearing out of Tim Burton managed to create a light Gothic toned film mixed with Winter that sets the tone of the film just nicely for a snowy night tonight.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Secret Santa (2016)

The dysfunctional but wealthy Pope family's Christmas dinner get together goes awry when somebody puts a truth serum in the punch causing everyone to tell the absolute truth. The usual silent judgments go out the window and there's a hell of a lot of back stabbing to be done.

This was my second viewing of this Christmas treat and i absolutely loved it second time round. It's a vicious black comedy with some juicy highly inappropriate dialogue performed by an excellent if unknown (To me) cast in a cauldron of family frustrations and hatred toward one another. Each and everyone is despicable yet scarily relatable.

The violence is extreme at times, occasionally let down by CGI blood, but on the whole this is a fantastic pull no punches Christmas gem full of brutality, gore and laughs.

[MrBarlow]

Rare Exports. 2010.

Set in the hills/mountains in Finland, this does not have a big cast of main actors but very eerily suspenseful, Santa is not wearing the big red suit of jolly but some kind of demonic force who has plans for naughty kids. The elves are not wearing any fun colourful clothes...or any clothing but that matter but certainly creepy.

Even though it's set in Finland, there is some English speaking dialogue mixed with Finnish speaking and subtitles, the acting is brilliant between father and son Rauno and Pietari played by real father and son Jorma and Onni Tommila. There is some humour mixed in that doesn't change the tone of the film asking for 85 thousand and someone saying That ain't enough, certainly worth a watch.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

Rare Exports. 2010.

Set in the hills/mountains in Finland, this does not have a big cast of main actors but very eerily suspenseful, Santa is not wearing the big red suit of jolly but some kind of demonic force who has plans for naughty kids. The elves are not wearing any fun colourful clothes...or any clothing but that matter but certainly creepy.

Even though it's set in Finland, there is some English speaking dialogue mixed with Finnish speaking and subtitles, the acting is brilliant between father and son Rauno and Pietari played by real father and son Jorma and Onni Tommila. There is some humour mixed in that doesn't change the tone of the film asking for 85 thousand and someone saying That ain't enough, certainly worth a watch.

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Your Christmas head space is clearly in the same void as mine. I was thinking about this tonight. I'd planned on Batman Returns last night until you scuppered it by watching it the same day. Can't keep reviewing the same stuff.

[MrBarlow]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Your Christmas head space is clearly in the same void as mine. I was thinking about this tonight. I'd planned on Batman Returns last night until you scuppered it by watching it the same day. Can't keep reviewing the same stuff.

Great minds think a like, just give you a heads up, i'm planning a Silent Night Deadly Night tonight

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

Great minds think a like, just give you a heads up, i'm planning a Silent Night Deadly Night tonight

Haha! I wasn't. Our minds clearly separated now then.

[nicholasrope]

Silent Night, Deadly Night

A boy witnesses his Parents being Murdered on Christmas and after leaving a Orphanage and getting a job at a Toy Story, his memories come back after he becomes the Store Santa. Some nice kills and a nice running time in a Film that has some similarities with Halloween (Nun instead of Psychiatrist trying to stop him)

Santa Clause 3: Escape Clause

Tim Allen is back and things aren't going well this time, so Jack Frost (Martin Short) takes advantage and his able to take his place as Santa. Whilst Santa, he changes everything about Christmas until Allen is able to reclaim being Santa Claus. Whilst this is the weaker of the series, it's still enjoyable.

Love Actually

A series of stories that interact with each other with Bill Nighy being Aging Rock Star doing a Novelty Xmas Single and Kris Marshall travelling to America to meet Girls being the best stories.