By Becca Johnson - October 24, 2024
As October draws to a close and the inevitability of the festive period looms closer, we enter the perfect time for the Christmas horror film. The sub-genre kicked off this year with Terrifier 3 a couple of weeks back, which injected plenty of gory, festive cheer into spooky season. Hoping to follow suit is A Very Flattened Christmas, directed by Shane Wallace and starring writer and producer Key Tawn Toothman.
Set over the Christmas period at a roadkill collection company, things get bloody as employees are killed off one by one by an evil reindeer dead set on killing them all. Will they figure out who the killer is, or will they all be flattened? Despite boasting some gory sequences, B-movie charm and a fun festive soundtrack, A Very Flattened Christmas suffers due to its cringeworthy dialogue, sub-par storyline and lack of Christmas imagery.
Horror comedies can be a great source of entertainment, especially when set during the festive season. Luckily, A Very Flattened Christmas never takes itself too seriously, aiming to deliver one thing - pure, unadulterated fun. The characters are overly quirky and kooky, the dialogue is corny and there is a lot of silliness within the script, but this is entirely intentional. Often coming across as a parody of other horror movies, it’s a really goofy time. Whether you’re laughing alongside our characters or at them, it undeniably achieves its goal. Enjoyment of this movie will largely depend on how you perceive this style of comedy. It does have a couple of genuine laughs within the script, but most attempts fall flat due to how silly they are. Coming across as utterly cringeworthy and spoofy, this comedy is tailored to a very specific audience.
Though it states so in the title, A Very Flattened Christmas does not have as much festive cheer as one would hope. Despite a little snow here, a couple of lights there and a villain that resembles a reindeer, it really doesn’t lean into its Christmas setting enough aesthetically. Many of the locations aren’t very decked out and are plain to the eye, lacking the colour and style expected to be delivered at this time of year. Though budget limitations may have been at play here, there’s a lot of dark empty space lingering behind our characters that makes the film lack intrigue. That being said, one element that works hard to remind us of the Christmas setting is the sound. The jingling bells that ring whenever our masked killer is near work a treat, and the frequent use of Christmas songs with a twist in the background matches the tone of the movie, and provides much of the Christmas cheer.
The horror on display is a little hit or miss. Many of the kills happen off screen, leaving us only the bloody remnants to discover. Though this provides a decent amount of blood and gore for horror fans to get behind, it’s a shame we don’t get to see the kills play out. Furthermore, it takes quite a while for any true horror to kick in. After an iffy opening sequence, it’s a long time until our masked killer is back wreaking havoc again. Speaking of our masked killer…the design is very sub-par. Created to look like a reindeer but not quite getting there, he isn’t very memorable and doesn’t look as creepy as we’d hope. On paper, the idea is a solid one, but the execution isn’t quite there. It does have its moments, with a couple of gruesome sequences and some fun set pieces, but there isn’t enough horror in here to satiate the need for fans of the genre.
A Very Flattened Christmas is essentially a run-of-the-mill whodunnit slasher, dressed up in a lot of quirks and silly humour to give it some edge. The reveal we’re given may not be entirely predictable, but that doesn’t mean it completely works. The music on display massively aids enjoyment, the few instances of gore are entertaining and some of the jokes may land for a few audience members. However, with lacklustre dialogue, disappointing performances and a lack of festive cheer, A Very Flattened Christmas fails to be memorable.
Incredible that this writing gets green lit. At least check it for typos.... 🤣