My War on Christmas continues with yet another holiday-theme horror movie. This time, it’s Mrs. Claus [2018]. Directed and written by Troy Escamilla and starring Brinke Stevens, this slasher flick is a solid B production with a lot going for it. Here’s the summary from the Internet Movie Database:
A group of college students attending a Christmas party at a sorority house that has a sinister past are stalked by a bloodthirsty killer disguised as Mrs. Claus.
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
Ten years ago, a sorority member’s vicious hazing of a new member let to that new member killing the girl and then hanging herself. Today, the sister of the murdered sorority member has joined that same sorority and is living across the hall from the room in which her sister was murdered. Bad choices, anyone?
On the eve of the sorority’s Christmas party, Angela [Mel Heflin] gets an e-mail from a “Mrs. Claus” promising vengeance on her and the sorority. We’ll later learn Mrs. Werner, mother [Helene Udy] of the girl who hanged herself, has harassed Angela and her family on occasion. There had been at least one restraining order against her in the past, though Angela considers her mostly harmless. In what I thought was a nice touch, after the first girl is brutally killed this time around and before we “meet” Mrs. Werner, the movie gives us other suspects. I named four possibilities, though, one by one, three of those were eliminated. Seriously eliminated. The fourth, a Santa collecting donations for sick children, appeared once and was never seen again.
Another thing I liked about this slasher film is that, outside of Angela’s late sister and Mrs. Werner, the college students lining up to die are all fairly likeable. They are far from perfect, but they are not bad kids at all. So, when they are murdered, there is a certain sadness.
Campus cop Julie Cornell [Brinke Stevens] investigates the seeming disappearance of the first new victim. The killer manages to hide all the bodies and clean up the crime scenes, so the college kids don’t really know what’s going on until it’s too late. This might be a typical slasher film, but, for the most part, it’s smart about the basics.
Another nice touch. For the most part, the victims are dispatched with holiday-themed items. Not as well done are the copious amounts of blood that flow from wounds like water from a garden hose. That the camera dwells on the flow makes for some tedious post-slaying scenes. Whatever the “blood” was made of, it does look delicious.
You know the way movies like this go. One by one, the college kids are killed. Angela, her boyfriend Kyle [Billy Brannigan] and campus cop Cornell are the only ones left when the killer is revealed to be the last remaining suspect. Except...
Mrs. Santa pulls off a twist I didn’t see coming and follows that with another twist I didn’t see coming. The battle between Angela and the twist I didn’t see coming is exciting. However, that final battle is marred by a nonsensical “one year later” scene. I mean, I have my theory as to the what and why of that scene, but it still made for a lousy ending to the movie.
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
I enjoyed Mrs. Claus, which was originally titled Stirring. I was not impressed by the look of the masked killer or the lack of any real reason, beyond the e-mail near the start of the movie, for calling said killer “Mrs. Claus”.
I probably don’t have to mention how much I absolutely adore Brinke Stevens and her lovely Bettie Page bangs. Should I ever get myself into the movie-making business, I’d love to work with her.
Mrs. Claus runs a tight 86 minutes. The IMDb gives it a user rating of 4.2, which I think is on the low side. It’s a perfectly spiffy Christmas slasher film. It’s not a classic, but I don’t regret the time I spent watching or writing about it.
Come back tomorrow for more ho-ho-horror.
© 2018 Tony Isabella
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
Ten years ago, a sorority member’s vicious hazing of a new member let to that new member killing the girl and then hanging herself. Today, the sister of the murdered sorority member has joined that same sorority and is living across the hall from the room in which her sister was murdered. Bad choices, anyone?
On the eve of the sorority’s Christmas party, Angela [Mel Heflin] gets an e-mail from a “Mrs. Claus” promising vengeance on her and the sorority. We’ll later learn Mrs. Werner, mother [Helene Udy] of the girl who hanged herself, has harassed Angela and her family on occasion. There had been at least one restraining order against her in the past, though Angela considers her mostly harmless. In what I thought was a nice touch, after the first girl is brutally killed this time around and before we “meet” Mrs. Werner, the movie gives us other suspects. I named four possibilities, though, one by one, three of those were eliminated. Seriously eliminated. The fourth, a Santa collecting donations for sick children, appeared once and was never seen again.
Another thing I liked about this slasher film is that, outside of Angela’s late sister and Mrs. Werner, the college students lining up to die are all fairly likeable. They are far from perfect, but they are not bad kids at all. So, when they are murdered, there is a certain sadness.
Campus cop Julie Cornell [Brinke Stevens] investigates the seeming disappearance of the first new victim. The killer manages to hide all the bodies and clean up the crime scenes, so the college kids don’t really know what’s going on until it’s too late. This might be a typical slasher film, but, for the most part, it’s smart about the basics.
Another nice touch. For the most part, the victims are dispatched with holiday-themed items. Not as well done are the copious amounts of blood that flow from wounds like water from a garden hose. That the camera dwells on the flow makes for some tedious post-slaying scenes. Whatever the “blood” was made of, it does look delicious.
You know the way movies like this go. One by one, the college kids are killed. Angela, her boyfriend Kyle [Billy Brannigan] and campus cop Cornell are the only ones left when the killer is revealed to be the last remaining suspect. Except...
Mrs. Santa pulls off a twist I didn’t see coming and follows that with another twist I didn’t see coming. The battle between Angela and the twist I didn’t see coming is exciting. However, that final battle is marred by a nonsensical “one year later” scene. I mean, I have my theory as to the what and why of that scene, but it still made for a lousy ending to the movie.
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
I enjoyed Mrs. Claus, which was originally titled Stirring. I was not impressed by the look of the masked killer or the lack of any real reason, beyond the e-mail near the start of the movie, for calling said killer “Mrs. Claus”.
I probably don’t have to mention how much I absolutely adore Brinke Stevens and her lovely Bettie Page bangs. Should I ever get myself into the movie-making business, I’d love to work with her.
Mrs. Claus runs a tight 86 minutes. The IMDb gives it a user rating of 4.2, which I think is on the low side. It’s a perfectly spiffy Christmas slasher film. It’s not a classic, but I don’t regret the time I spent watching or writing about it.
Come back tomorrow for more ho-ho-horror.
© 2018 Tony Isabella
No comments:
Post a Comment