Horror Movie Review: Carnage for Christmas (2024)

From director Alice Maio Mackay, who co-wrote the story with Benjamin Pahl Robinson, comes a trans-positive and queer-friendly holiday horror that stars Jeremy Moineau, as Lola, trans woman heading home for Christmas.

She’s a true-crime podcaster and a very well respected one but is nervous heading back to her hometown as she’s not expecting a positive reaction to her transition. She’s tough, she’s sassy, and has a strong network of friends, so she will survive the transphobic comments and judgemental looks.

What she may not survive is the killer that is now slashing their way through the town. One dressed and masked up as Santa Claus and one that appears to be paying homage to the town’s own urban legend of The Toymaker. A story that Lola has her own connection to.

Can she put a stop to the killings, unmask the culprit, and have a good Christmas?

This isn’t my first experience of an Alice Maio Mackay film, as I previously enjoyed elements of the surreal T-Blockers. In the review of that film, I praised MacKay’s artistic vision and acknowledged that the creator had so much talent at such a young age, that they could only ever get better. Case in point, this film. Which isn’t necessarily better than T-Blockers, but has a more coherent story, focused horror elements, and utilises the season very well to make this feel like a festive film. Overall, as far as filmmaking goes, it has all the elements of a horror film that everyone can enjoy.

Except it gets really bogged down in dialogue that often amounts to little more than barbs being fired back and forth. It’s an aspect of the film and its characters that gets tiresome quickly, and really doesn’t help the likability of the characters. Which is a mighty big shame as there is a clear message being said here and it’s a powerful one. A message about the mistreatment of those within the trans community and one that Mackay and the cast do an impressive job of showcasing.

Unfortunately, rather than use this to make the main character of Lola, and those around her, more vulnerable and human, it ends up being used as reasons for the characters to talk about the murders and their investigation. It’s never a nice word to use when describing anyone’s work, but Carnage for Christmas can be quite boring a lot of the time.

Happily, there are positives, and the overall narrative plays out in satisfying fashion. The mystery is solid and the killer reveal, enjoyable.

There’s some blood and gore, not loads, but what we do see is effective. As well as some very inventive animated segments that give a bit more vitality to the whole experience. It’s also, and so importantly, festive. Not quite as garish as I would like it to be, but it still has colour, a killer in a Santa outfit, and some wintery musical tones.

There’s a lot to enjoy here, even if it does get really bogged down in dialogue and over-explaining.