It's amazing how unbelievably boring this movie is! This movie could have easily been 30 mins and it would be damn near perfect! But this movie is the definition of stretched out for runtime and it shows, and trust me you'll feel it as well. Almost nothing happens for about an hour of this movie, and the movie is only an hour and 30 mins. Now let me tell you what's good. The films opening is a great! It lets you know the movies not playing around right from the get go. But after those 3 mins are up you won't see Santa come back to do anything significant till the 50 min mark. But when he does come back he'll be delivering all the goods he promised from the start of the film. And man does he deliver! The only problem is everything in between the deliveries we have these long drawn out music video montages with some of the most annoying, spastic editing you've ever seen on film. And honestly this movie seems to be more of a music video than a movie. And the music is pretty good to be honest, but just doesn't flow with the feel of the film for the most part. Just seems to be there just to be there because they didn't know how to increase the runtime of the film. And if that's not bad enough you get to see Santa do mundane things like go to the bathroom, make coffee, eat a sandwich and even buy a chainsaw which is done in the most drawn out way possible, which must be for runtime purposes as well. Like I said when this movie delivers it delivers, but damn is this one boring, over long movie! It feels like an eternity when you watch it. This movie needs a better editor badly. There's definitely an awesome film here somewhere and they completely dropped the ball! Especially because this film doesn't know wether it wants to be a comedy, music video or messed up horror movie. It should have picked the latter and stuck with it because it was the only thing that actually worked and the only reason people will ever watch this film again!
7 Reviews
The Piece Of Christmas Coal You've Been Warned About
perfectx-7141525 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
A Whole Lot Of Nothing With Grisly Moments
DavyDissonance1 December 2022
Some serial killer is torturing some people in an apartment for some reason. Christmas Cruelty is earth's core level hot garbage. It starts off promising but then for the next 50 or so minutes it tries in such embarrassingly manner to be hip, clever and stylish like a Tarantino movie but it is nothing more than a montage with non stop lousy music and forgettable crappy characters. It does get better, afterwards, with all the mayhem and crap but after trying in desperation to retain my attention span toward this film, it had little impact. Plus, not having much of a story doesn't help either. It boring enough to sedate a heard of rampaging fat women.
Offensive trash
Idpreferyoudead26 February 2023
Every time I think I've seen the worst movie ever made, something else comes along to make me realise no...THIS is the worst movie ever made.
Christmas Cruelty lives up to its name in its opening few minutes while some fat guy rapes a woman in front of her family and then murders the infant with a chainsaw. Then we get an hour of nothingness. They could have chopped about 20 minutes off the runtime if they didn't have montage scenes to the full length of soft rock songs. Nobody needs 3-4 minutes of watching three people get drunk, or some guy at his desk. If you can't give your film a decent plot line or write enough dialogue for a full length film, then make a short. Or maybe that's what the Christmas Cruelty is, that we sat through this waiting for something to happen? Eventually the ending happens and once the depravity is over the credits roll.
This movie was offensive. One character is just non-stop with the misogynistic/ableist dialogue and you can forgive yourself for laughing at it the first time out of shock but it gets old really fast. It also has some of the worst film editing of all time.
If you don't mind a film with no plot and is straight up torture porn and gore, knock yourself out you'll love it!
Christmas Cruelty lives up to its name in its opening few minutes while some fat guy rapes a woman in front of her family and then murders the infant with a chainsaw. Then we get an hour of nothingness. They could have chopped about 20 minutes off the runtime if they didn't have montage scenes to the full length of soft rock songs. Nobody needs 3-4 minutes of watching three people get drunk, or some guy at his desk. If you can't give your film a decent plot line or write enough dialogue for a full length film, then make a short. Or maybe that's what the Christmas Cruelty is, that we sat through this waiting for something to happen? Eventually the ending happens and once the depravity is over the credits roll.
This movie was offensive. One character is just non-stop with the misogynistic/ableist dialogue and you can forgive yourself for laughing at it the first time out of shock but it gets old really fast. It also has some of the worst film editing of all time.
If you don't mind a film with no plot and is straight up torture porn and gore, knock yourself out you'll love it!
Absolutely Nothing Redeemable about this Film.
miabellapg2 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This film has a ridiculous premise, is poorly executed, and is poorly acted as well. No character development to speak of. You are left bewildered and disappointed, with no explanation for anything even at the end. It is revolting, at every step. From the rape, and baby being beheaded, in the first few minutes, to the last moments which end in silly gore and more stupidity. There is nothing redeeming here. It relies on silly shock value, and a baseless, mentally insulting plot. The film is an utter, total waste of time in every respect. I wish I could have my 90 minutes back. Thank goodness it was free!
Have a gory, gory Christmas...
paul_haakonsen3 December 2022
Right, well I stumbled upon the 2013 Norwegian horror movie "O'Hellige Jul" (aka "Christmas Cruelty") here in 2022. And seeing the movie's cover, I immediately picked it up and decided to give it a view. And it being a Norwegian horror movie just made it all the more interesting.
Writers Eline Aasheim, Janne Iren Holseter, Anita Nyhagen, Magne Steinsvoll and Per-Ingvar Tomren put together a very unique and entertaining script and storyline here. The movie starts out rather violently, but then takes a turn for a more strange and somewhat weird storyline. And that had me wondering why this was actually a horror movie. But then directors Per-Ingvar Tomren and Magne Steinsvoll brings the violence back threefold, so stick with the movie, even while the narrative is a bit strange.
It is hard to describe a movie such as "O'Hellige Jul", because it has to be seen and experienced to fully understand. And believe you me, this is definitely a movie that I will warmly recommend for all you gorehounds out there. I've never seen a Norwegian movie this bloody before.
The acting performances in the movie were quite good, despite the fact that the majority of the performers were also either directors and/or writers. Usually that is something I frown upon, but they pulled it off quite nicely here actually.
There is an abundance of violence in "O'Hellige Jul", and it is quite visual and visceral, so the movie may not find an appeal with everyone in the audience, especially not those of delicate demeanor.
My rating of "O'Hellige Jul" lands on a well-deserved six out of ten stars.
Writers Eline Aasheim, Janne Iren Holseter, Anita Nyhagen, Magne Steinsvoll and Per-Ingvar Tomren put together a very unique and entertaining script and storyline here. The movie starts out rather violently, but then takes a turn for a more strange and somewhat weird storyline. And that had me wondering why this was actually a horror movie. But then directors Per-Ingvar Tomren and Magne Steinsvoll brings the violence back threefold, so stick with the movie, even while the narrative is a bit strange.
It is hard to describe a movie such as "O'Hellige Jul", because it has to be seen and experienced to fully understand. And believe you me, this is definitely a movie that I will warmly recommend for all you gorehounds out there. I've never seen a Norwegian movie this bloody before.
The acting performances in the movie were quite good, despite the fact that the majority of the performers were also either directors and/or writers. Usually that is something I frown upon, but they pulled it off quite nicely here actually.
There is an abundance of violence in "O'Hellige Jul", and it is quite visual and visceral, so the movie may not find an appeal with everyone in the audience, especially not those of delicate demeanor.
My rating of "O'Hellige Jul" lands on a well-deserved six out of ten stars.
Memorable but low budget extreme pshyco slasher
AJ_Nel4 February 2023
To the best of my recollection, "O'Heilige Jul" ("Christmas Cruelty!") came out in 2013, i.e., before "Red Christmas" and is thus officially Norway's first Christmas horror movie. That said, the Norwegians have made some bloody decent slasher movies and are well known for having an "anything goes" attitude to making extreme horror (e.g., "Fritt Vilt" and "Dead Snow") "O'Heilige Jul!", though picked up by Unearthed was made on a US$ 220k budget and most of the key film crew, including the two directors (Magne Steinsvoll and Per-Ingvar Tomren) also had principal roles in the film. It thus sits firmly in underground filmmaking, and I tend to be more lenient on films made purely for the love of it and the burning need to "make a movie". Small budget films often must deal with constraints like shooting on inferior equipment, zero special effect houses being contracted and key personnel (e.g. Cinematographers and editors) not being industry professionals. It's clear that "O'Heilige Jul!", suffered amongst other things this exact list of constraints and the directors had to be ingenious in how they approached them. For instance, the anamorphic quality of the film (I assume VHS) was embraced to give the film a dirty, gritty (kinda like Schramm) and home-movie type (e.g. The first couple or minutes of Das Velangen Der Maria D.) atmosphere. Similarly, the obvious difficulties in the cutting room were embraced by exacerbating harsh cutting and cleverly adding some industry editing tropes. The film starts our serial killer Santa terrorising the captive member of a household and though it is brutal and fast paced, it is the foresight to cut away from some scenes which creates an additional layer of horror. The second act very successfully moved into character development placing the oddball dark comedy character development of the main supporting cast in juxtaposition to the calculated and sick character of the psychopathic killer. As an aside, the obsession and interaction with his daughter was written superbly. That said, the pace of the second act is way too slow create a cohesive whole and did not work in the greater movie. The third act is classic, though more extreme, final act psychopath slasher film, but with some well-scripted and -directed dark comedy sprinkled in and a great in-house soundtrack. The gore special effects needed a lot more work but did not destroy the film and at times worked pretty well (esp the knife work). Acting was much better than expected. All and all a very decent no-budget psycho slasher. 7/10.
Santa is coming to visit, HIDE!
Becks_Hush13 September 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Well that was... WOW. O'Hellige Jul! aka Christmas Cruelty is pretty much an apt title for this film especially toward the end. Though I cannot dismiss the beginning which instantly goes for the jugular and is likely one of the most harrowing openings I've seen. Not much is seen except for one key part but just the suggestion and what you do see is enough to have you on edge.
It's partway slasher but also seems in my opinion to be character driven; we're not given just a bunch of random people where we don't connect, no in fact a good portion of the film is us rather cruelly (see!) seeing three friends and a small glimpse into their lives. Which means when things go south of the border you sympathize and care for them and that itself is the real torture.
With what Per-Ingvar Tomren had in term of a budget really isn't evident in my opinion, everything about this seems to show how flawless the direction is.
The golden hue that lingers through the film has a Christmas touch to it and other than a few shaky moments of the camera, it's smooth and therefore the eye isn't take out of the moment.
The humour is bang on and actually there were many moments where I did laugh, not simply because of the jokes between the main three but because it felt natural. Eline, Magne and Per have a beautiful rapport between them despite how they often speak to one another, especially Magne towards Per. Not to forget this but all three actors do a great job, I actually came to care for Per and the plight of what he endures.
The killer is interesting in how normal and unassuming he seems. Tormod Lien who plays serial Santa is the perfect choice I'd argue merely for the intensity of how he plays the role. The sadism he is capable of, it shows in those eyes.. and the confident arrogance of his character, which you see in several scenes, is staggering. He doesn't take any shame in his actions whatsoever so he is a character you love to hate.
With that said Per does something very interesting when it comes to his scenes to set them against the three main characters. And that's to have his scenes specifically with the camera zooming in, out, in, out - focusing on items scattered about. It feels disorienting at first but smartly it shows a fractured mind; a parallel between his sadistic nature and the seemingly normal family man. It's a glimpse into two minds clashing together.
I did love the nods to several other horror films from Jaws to Wolf Creek to The Shining and so forth.. if you're a horror fan and seeing that those who watch this will be, you'll adore the glimpses toward horror that others might not necessarily see.
I apologize for the length however we need, NEED to discuss the gore when it finally does erupt. A cavalcade of blood gushes against the screen, broken limbs, knifes into.. anyway. The practical effects are fantastic and exceptionally well done. And god that soundtrack is EPIC.
So this leads to a question mark of whether I'd recommend it. I'll admit it depends on your taste and if you don't mind a lull between. The beginning establishes a ruthless character, then gives us a bit of time to build up the three characters we will follow, whilst at the same time HE is focusing on them before a climax that doesn't shy away from its intentions.
Mostly though it depends on how you feel toward the main characters, if you can't connect then it might fall flat, if however you can then holy f*ck this is worth the wait!! I loved this, I loved how it uniquely presented the characters and a Santa you DON'T want paying you a visit.
A gem of a film for me and easily one of the most harrowing Christmas ones in helluva long time. I award this 8 snowballs out of 10 😊
It's partway slasher but also seems in my opinion to be character driven; we're not given just a bunch of random people where we don't connect, no in fact a good portion of the film is us rather cruelly (see!) seeing three friends and a small glimpse into their lives. Which means when things go south of the border you sympathize and care for them and that itself is the real torture.
With what Per-Ingvar Tomren had in term of a budget really isn't evident in my opinion, everything about this seems to show how flawless the direction is.
The golden hue that lingers through the film has a Christmas touch to it and other than a few shaky moments of the camera, it's smooth and therefore the eye isn't take out of the moment.
The humour is bang on and actually there were many moments where I did laugh, not simply because of the jokes between the main three but because it felt natural. Eline, Magne and Per have a beautiful rapport between them despite how they often speak to one another, especially Magne towards Per. Not to forget this but all three actors do a great job, I actually came to care for Per and the plight of what he endures.
The killer is interesting in how normal and unassuming he seems. Tormod Lien who plays serial Santa is the perfect choice I'd argue merely for the intensity of how he plays the role. The sadism he is capable of, it shows in those eyes.. and the confident arrogance of his character, which you see in several scenes, is staggering. He doesn't take any shame in his actions whatsoever so he is a character you love to hate.
With that said Per does something very interesting when it comes to his scenes to set them against the three main characters. And that's to have his scenes specifically with the camera zooming in, out, in, out - focusing on items scattered about. It feels disorienting at first but smartly it shows a fractured mind; a parallel between his sadistic nature and the seemingly normal family man. It's a glimpse into two minds clashing together.
I did love the nods to several other horror films from Jaws to Wolf Creek to The Shining and so forth.. if you're a horror fan and seeing that those who watch this will be, you'll adore the glimpses toward horror that others might not necessarily see.
I apologize for the length however we need, NEED to discuss the gore when it finally does erupt. A cavalcade of blood gushes against the screen, broken limbs, knifes into.. anyway. The practical effects are fantastic and exceptionally well done. And god that soundtrack is EPIC.
So this leads to a question mark of whether I'd recommend it. I'll admit it depends on your taste and if you don't mind a lull between. The beginning establishes a ruthless character, then gives us a bit of time to build up the three characters we will follow, whilst at the same time HE is focusing on them before a climax that doesn't shy away from its intentions.
Mostly though it depends on how you feel toward the main characters, if you can't connect then it might fall flat, if however you can then holy f*ck this is worth the wait!! I loved this, I loved how it uniquely presented the characters and a Santa you DON'T want paying you a visit.
A gem of a film for me and easily one of the most harrowing Christmas ones in helluva long time. I award this 8 snowballs out of 10 😊
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