Horror Movie Review: A Corpse for Christmas (2023)

Written and directed by Brewce Longo, A Corpse for Christmas is a festive film that surprises in many different ways. Described as a sleazy, sadistic metal fest shot on VHS with a story based on the true crimes of real necrophiles, made to look like a 90’s flick, and set in the Philly heavy metal scene. It sounds awful, it sounds ridiculous, it sounds offensive, and it sounds fun. Which it is, but it’s also not quite any of these things.

Let me explain, I went into this expecting incoherence, ugliness, and more awfulness than even the likes of Nekromantik could manage. I didn’t just expect it, I craved it to some degree. I wanted to be repulsed in all ways, and I was, but not as I expected. You see, A Corpse for Christmas is a decent film with a decent story, decent acting, and decent horror elements.

It’s a film that embraces everything wretched about it, proudly showcasing the city it is set in (Philadelphia), and delighting in sharing so much of the underground metal scene. Which gives us a quality soundtrack from the likes of Devil Master, Acid Witch, The Goddamn Gallows, The Virus, Savage Mystic, Unreal City, Yankee Cuss, and more!

I did not expect to enjoy the story, and I did not expect to want to see where these characters end up (spoilers – covered in blood). Don’t get me wrong, every character is awful in their own way, but they do stand out. Kasper Meltedhair as Izzy is great, a young woman bouncing from man to man, being used as she is desperate for a place to stay, getting involved with a serial killer and necrophiliac, then finding that she has her own taste for blood.

That’s the main bulk of the story, but there’s plenty around it, including live music performances and some really random stuff jammed in, which results in an extended runtime that the film really didn’t need. All of this is showcased in clever VHS style, with tracking issues and dodgy sound to boot.

It all sounds pretty garish, right? Well, that’s the other big surprise that I found with A Corpse for Christmas. It’s not as intense as I expected or as intense as I’d hoped for. As I said at the start, I envisioned an awfulness that would make a nun curse if they saw it. I also said that A Corpse for Christmas does deliver plenty of this (violence, gore, sex, sexualised violence, etc) but shies away from being too extreme. Instead of feeling like a boundary pushing experience, it feels more like a boundary nudging experience, which is disappointing.

What is also disappointing is the fact that it’s not set at Christmas, but after the festive period and the only festive aspects we can enjoy comes from Izzy’s insistence that she get to experience a proper Christmas with her necrophiliac lover. Once he’s done picking up street rappers to murder, comes back from disposing of the bodies, and once he’s done touring with his band, of course. At least the gift giving scene is sweet.

A Corpse for Christmas is way better than it has any right to be. It is messy, it is flawed, and in many circumstances, will be unwatchable to most, but it’s not a bad film. What a surprise!