13 SLAYS TILL XMAS Review – The Only Film Horror Fans Will Need To Watch This Festive Season
There aren’t too many Christmas-themed anthology horror films, and the newly released 13 Slays Till Xmas might just be one of the best entries the subgenre has to offer, and we mean that with all sincerity.
The premise for for the anthology is that a small group of acquaintances meet in a bar on Christmas Eve to tell frightening Christmas stories, without realising that they might all be in for a nasty surprise. This wraparound footage was directed by P.J. Starks, who you may know as the creator of the Volumes of Blood franchise. Starks played a key role in helping to bring 13 Slays Till Xmas together, and he also wrote two other segments and helped to bring all the other filmmakers onboard. And he clearly did a good job, because 13 Slays Till X-Mas is the only film horror fans will need to watch this festive season.
One particular standout segment involves a gay couple opening their Christmas gifts and warmly thanking one another for being so thoughtful, before their conversation turns into something more sinister. It’s always refreshing to see more representations of the LGBT community in the horror genre, and it’s also worth mentioning that the nasty twist at the end of this segment was something which very few viewers would have predicted. Similarly, there was also another LGBT-themed segment in the film which involved a lesbian couple and a killer doll, and it also ended in a way you won’t forget.
On the other hand, another segment which leaves a lasting impact focused on an ageing radio presenter called Dean Castle (brilliantly played by Wes Bartlett) who was none too pleased to learn that he is being replaced by a younger and, in his opinion, less talented newcomer. After being taunted by malicious callers, Castle finally decides to take matters into his own hands to ensure that he won’t be replaced, but his desperation to keep his job pushes him past the point of no return.
While there were too many segments to be fully described in detail throughout this review, some of the other stories involved a robbery which goes horribly wrong, a young girl more concerned with her new phone than with helping her critically injured brother (no doubt a metaphor for the dangers of rampant consumerism), a kid who learns the hard way not to stay up past his bedtime on Christmas Eve, and a literal angel of death. There was also a story involving a man who might be Santa Clause and a killer reindeer, and that brief description pretty much tells you everything you need to know. This segment was a little more lighthearted than most of the others, and it really made you feel the Christmas cheer.
It’s not hard to tell that 13 Slays Till Xmas was clearly created by people with a lifelong passion for horror, because the entire film was littered with references and homages to the genre. We see everything from signs for Carpenter Street and the Fulci and Bava Radio Group, to S. Cunningham name tags on hospital staff, and even beers called Bates Brew and Dawn of the Red. Horror fans will have fun spotting all the little homages, and naturally, there were also plenty of memorable and inventive kills, with one particular involving a broken glass bottle being shoved into a dude’s manhood. This may be a Christmas movie, but The Muppet Christmas Carol it ain’t.
While some of the segments were no doubt more memorable than others, 13 Slays Till Xmas was still a great addition to the ever growing list of more sinister films based around the Yuletide season. Some very talented figures in the indie horror community clearly wanted to create something which would go down in history as being one of the finest Christmas-themed horror movies, and they no doubt succeeded in that regard. It will probably become a tradition among horror fans to watch this every Christmas, because the film combined the best elements of both the horror genre and the festive season in a way which deserves to be celebrated. And it’s also worth watching for some of the kills alone. After all, where else are you gonna see a guy being eaten by a giant moose?
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13 SLAYS TILL XMAS
Summary
When it comes to Christmas-themed horror films, 13 Slays Till Xmas is one of the finest films the subgenre has to offer, so it should be essential viewing for horror fans this festive season.
