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All the Creatures Were Stirring (2018)
Solid Anthology of Holiday Horror
Just when you thought it was safe to celebrate Christmas again, here come the writer/director team David Ian McKendry and Rebekah McKendry with their new anthology holiday horror flick All the Creatures Were Stirring.
Don't let the title and cover art fool you. All The Creatures Were Stirring is NOT a rip-off of Gremlins, or Critters... or Ghoulies for that matter. No, the titular critters in this flick come in the form of performance artists who are putting on a show during the holidays, that is taken in by a couple on their first date. Each of the shorts in this anthology are bookended by the performance artists acting out the events of each tale.
These stories are each very different, and in the interest of avoiding spoilers I'll discuss each of the short tales, but only briefly.
"The Stockings Were Hung" - This story is focused on an office holiday party with a secret Santa from hell. The unfortunate employees are locked in and threatened with death if they don't open their gifts in a timely manner - the gifts themselves could also spell their doom. So will they work together to foil their predator, or will they tare themselves apart trying to survive?
"Dash Away All" - This one is focused on a young father who is picking up a few last minute gifts for the family, on Christmas Eve, when he locks his keys in his car. He soon meets two helpful, attractive, and suspicious women who offer more than this father bargained for as they try to unload a demon that they have been trapped with for years.
"All Through the House" - Simply put, this is a new take on A Christmas Carol, about a young bachelor who is a stick in the mud when it comes to the holidays. He'd rather get wasted and get laid than spend quality time with those who appreciate him the most. But things all change when he's confronted by holiday spirits.
"Arose Such a Clatter" - Here's one PETA would love. After a man runs down a deer on a dark and lonely stretch of road, someone or some thing gets sweet revenge. Without saying too much, the avenger in this story has close ties to Santa, and this time, it's personal.
"In a Twinkling" - Last but not least is a story about a man on Christmas who is surprised by a visit from a friend who wants to share the holiday with him. The only problem here is that he's expecting visitors, from beyond the stars. These unwanted visits are something that he's been dealing with for years and now he runs the risk of his friend learning his intergalactic secret.
The strength of this film is how each tale is creative and fresh even when it doesn't seem so original. The first story, "The Stockings Were Hung" seemed to borrow from the likes of Saw or The Belko Experiment with a contained group of people being forced to kill or be killed. But I think the feeling of being trapped in a social situation with your co-workers often feels to some like being trapped with a gun against your head, especially during the holidays.
This sentiment is also seen in "In a Twinkling" where sitting down with family who are visiting your home, again for the holidays, feeling as if you're held hostage by alien invaders who bring with them their stubborn traditions and unwanted opinions about your lifestyle.
I also give this story props for working against the grain of traditional holiday horror, bypassing the tired "deranged Santa Claus wielding an axe" trope. It isn't everyday that Christmas is invaded with science fiction and aliens. And no, I'm not forgetting Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.
The "Dash Away All" and "Arose Such a Clatter" are the segments that steal the show. If the holiday theme was stripped from these, they could have fit well into ANY modern anthology - "Dash Away All" being my favorite with it's slowly unfolding story. And the demon is pretty awesome too.
The ugly kitten of the litter is "All Through the House" which does little to breath new life into Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Not only that, but it tries a little too hard to make it's main character edgy. In fact, I think the most entertaining part comes in the form of the uptight neighbor who is left scratching his head at our bachelor's new found - post Christmas spirits - behavior.
With that said, I enjoyed All the Creatures Were Stirring quite a bit. There seems to be a new holiday tradition that is watching at least three or four new Christmas themed horror films, all of which are cheaply made, unoriginal, star a Krampus and are a real slogg to get through. And with my expectations set THAT low, All the Creatures Were Stirring blew me away! It is a fun and creative take on the holidays that I fear will be lost in a sea of other lesser films that have been released in recent years. It's definitely worth your time this season.
All the Creatures Were Stirring is currently available on DVD and VOD from the fine people at RLJ Entertainment. I screened it for this review on Shudder. And if you are interested in the other works of the McKendys, they have worked on several short films together and are both involved with the Blumhouse Podcast Network and the Shockwaves Podcast.
Review by Cory Carr of the Slaughter Film Podcast
Schneeflöckchen (2017)
How Meta...
From writer Arend Remmers and director Adolfo Kolmerer comes Snowflake, a twisted tale of murder, revenge and forgiveness that also seems to take an interesting look into German society, and how we can all learn to get along.
Snowflake kicks off with a pair of brothers, Javid and Tan, who unknowingly murder the parents of Elianna - an attractive twenty something year old, who seems to be pretty well off as she has a family bodyguard who she turns to for help in hiring a hit-man to exact her revenge on Javid and Tan. This endeavor doesn't go as smoothly as she hoped as the hit-man, and soon hit-men, turn out to be deranged murderers who she can't reason with, movie obsessed deliverers of cliché one-liners or neo-Nazi fascists who ALL fail to carry out the hit.
Javid and Tan learn about all of Elianna's hit-man dealings from a script found in the backseat of a car they steal. This script, titled "Snowflake", goes into precise detail recounting everything that the brothers do as they do it. The script is about them, or, IS the movie you're watching. Here is where I would include some joke about the film being meta, but this is something that I'll address in a bit.
The brothers then use the script as a guide to staying one step ahead of Elianna's killers.
If any of that wasn't enough to grab your attention, the brothers also meet a blood covered angel, Elianna is referred to her hit-men by God and Hyper Electro Man dished out some superhero vigilante justice to a small army of neo-Nazi goons...are ya still with me?
Several other critics have referenced Quinton Tarantino and his film Pulp Fiction when describing Snowflake. This is largely due to how the film's narrative is, at times, non-linear. It has several stories, or groups of characters, that intertwine as their events unfold. With each pass, more is uncovered about the character's backstory, their motivations and their relationship with one another. This is a great, and not so easy, way to tell a story that organically adds an element of mystery and intrigue.
Upon watching the trailer, I thought to myself; "What IS this?", "How are all these things happening?". And the answer to those questions is that Snowflake is layered with interesting and colorful characters of all walks of life - mostly murderers. I think it's one hell of a creative story and my hat goes off to Remmers and Kolmerer for being able to blend all of the characters and story elements together so well. The acting is tight and there seemed to be real chemistry between the actors.
Not only does the film balance murder and death while also being clever, fun and funny, it also seems to be socially aware. In recent years, Germany has been forced to deal with an "immigration crisis" generated by welcoming over one million migrants and refugees into the country. Since then, there has been much debate whether or not this was a good idea as it's raised many social and security concerns.
I could be reading too much into this, but Snowflake seems to have borrowed from these events slightly. Without giving too much away Javid and Tan's adventure begins as teenagers when their family home was burned down - killing their parents. A sinister act carried out to eliminate blighted properties and their poor minority inhabitants. This seems to echo real life sentiments with rising class tensions and fear of what problems these migrants may bring with them. As a result, there isn't enough elbow room for everyone to get along without their fears getting the better of them, and without them feeling wronged in some way and retaliating.
As depicted in the film, this sends the brothers on a path of destruction and murder as they search for those responsible for their parents death. And this is where I think Snowflake delivers a powerful message about society - how we act, and then react to eachother. As the brothers seek revenge, they senselessly and casually kill Elianna's parents. She in turn seeks revenge and hires hit-men. Here we have a viscous cycle of death, revenge and suffering.
After Javid's run in with an angel, he learns the benefits of patients and forgiveness and tries to prevent he and Tan from becoming the villains in their own story, literally. How Meta (And now we've come full circle folks).
Snowflake became surprisingly enlightened and positive by the end, which wasn't something I expected from a story so fantastical.
I thoroughly enjoyed Snowflake, and I highly recommend checking it out if you get a chance. Of course I wasn't the only one who enjoyed Snowflake, as it won awards for Best Feature Film and/or Best Directing at Cinepocalypse Genre Film Festival, Negative Fest, and Horrible Imaginings Film Festival among others. It was released earlier this month on BLU, DVD & VOD from the fine people of Artsploitation Films.
Review by Cory Carr of the Slaughter Film Podcast