MOTHER KRAMPUS 2: SLAY RIDE Review – You’re On The Naughty List
Starring KateLynn E. Newberry, Tiffani Hilton, Robbie Barnes, Roger Conners, Kris Smith
Written by Roger Conners, Kris Smith, Eddie Lengyel
Directed by Eddie Lengyel
Eddie Lengyel’s Mother Krampus 2: Slay Ride, which is being marketed by distributor ITN as a sort of loose sequel to last year’s 12 Deaths of Christmas, opens with a depiction of a family being slaughtered in their home as they prepare for the holidays. It may be the season to be jolly, but somebody clearly isn’t feeling the Christmas cheer.
Anyway, the basic setup goes like this: Four young Ohio women (one of whom is actually a dude in a wig) are forced to spend their final night of mandatory community service delivering meals to the elderly, although one of the sweet old women they visit just might be the psychotic killer from the opening.
The first act of Mother Krampus 2: Slay Ride, which mainly consisted of comedic set pieces as we got to know the characters, was where the film truly shined. Seeing a drag queen performing an erotic dance in a Santa outfit before a bunch of rowdy homeless men will probably have most viewers in stitches, as will hearing the women singing an out of tune version of “The First Noel”. During these scenes, the leads also unwillingly bond with one another as they shared accounts of how they came to be in their situations, which was actually quite moving.
Once the film arrived at the crazy old lady’s house, it seemed to lose some of its momentum and started to go down the usual slasher route of having the characters being knocked off one by one, although it was still pretty satisfying to see an asshole drug dealer being brutally murdered. The old lady in question is named Dorothea, and when she’s not hacking people to pieces with an axe, she enjoys quoting scripture, because love thy neighbor and all that. Partly because she’s such an unlikely candidate for a slasher villain, and partly because of Kris Smith’s memorable performance, you won’t know whether you’ll want to make conversation with Dorothea or tell her she’s crazy and then run for the hills.
Roger Conners, an up-and-coming actor on the indie horror scene, stars as the titular drag queen, who goes by the name Lady Athena Slay. With a blue wig and an unashamed way with words (“I got in trouble for trying to suck a cop’s dick for cocaine”), he’s certainly not the most modest person in the world, and that made his flamboyant performance all the more enchanting. KateLynn E. Newberry, Tiffani Hilton, and Robbie Barnes were also on top form as the three other probates who just wanted to get the night over and done with so that they can go about their lives.
Whilst it was certainly no masterpiece, Mother Krampus 2: Slay Ride is still one of the better Christmas-themed horror films out there. If you’re tired of Home Alone and The Polar Express, this should prove to be perfectly adequate viewing this holiday season.
Summary
You won’t want to be on this naughty list, but you will want to see Mother Krampus 2: Slay Ride when it releases in October.
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