Christmas time has come and with it, the season of joy and presents from Santa. But what happens when Santa doesn’t bring gifts but rather death instead? That is the premise of Santa’s Slay, a slasher comedy film starring Bill Goldberg as our evil Santa Claus coming to town to paint it red with blood. It should be noted though, that this is not a straight horror movie, but rather a horror comedy instead. Going into this expecting a pure slasher is a bad idea, because the movie’s humor is entirely intentional and actually works rather well. That is apparent with the opening scene where Santa appears during a family Christmas dinner to begin his killing spree. As a piece of metahumor, the family of upper class WASPs are all played by Jewish actors including James Caan and Fran Drescher. The kills are rather creative, although some of Goldberg’s delivery is a bit rough at first.
What makes Santa’s Slay work is that rather than just being a holiday slasher for the sake of being a slasher, the movie is a parody of Christmas movies set in small town America, a genre of film that has grown even more since the film came out. The protagonist Nicholas Yuleson played by Douglas Smith, delivers lines that come off as intentionally awkward and his interaction with his love interest played by Emilie de Ravin work out better than in most horror films due to said awkwardness. Whereas Friday the 13th started out as a serious film series only for later entries to become so over the top that they had no choice but to be self parody, the premise of Santa’s Slay is inherently a parody and yet it manages to be a fun slasher film. There is even a parody of Rankin Bass movies in a scene where we learn of the origin of Santa being a gift bringer, and it does not feel like the movie is going off the rails at any point.
I would have liked some moments of genuine terror as well, but the comedy is never a detriment to the movie and I feel that Santa’s Slay is up there with great horror comedies like Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil, even if it doesn’t quite match that film’s excellency. From cameos from well known actors and comedians, and an irreverent tone (Move Bitch! Get Out Of The Way! being an actual line said by Santa while behind an old lady in traffic stands out), Santa’s Slay definitely has that it factor that horror comedies need in order to succeed. This is not an award winning film but is not trying to be. It is just trying to be a loving tribute to slasher films while being a parody of cheesy Christmas films at the same time. I recommend checking out this slasher comedy film for a good time this holiday.