It is Christmas Eve and Angela (Rachel Nichols), a young and beautiful business woman working in Manhattan, NY, is ready to head to her family's house for the holidays She soon realizes that her car isn't working and had to ask the parking attendant, Thomas (Wes Bentley), for some help. Unfortunately, nothing seems to be going her way. She is trapped inside the parking garage with and by Thomas who has a sick obsession with her. His violent, psychotic behavior terrifies her, and this Christmas Eve becomes a fight to escape with her life.
P2 is slow building and nail-biting, suspenseful, horror/ thriller. This sometimes overlooked movie really ranks among the best of the Christmas horror movies. Though simple in its structure and nature, it succeed thanks to tense directing and excellent acting.
Co-writer and director Franck Khalfoun slowly but surely builds on the tension. The movie increasingly keeps you on the edge, as it builds to the exciting and rousing climax. The use of the holiday of Christmas is great because it adds to making her ordeal of being trapped by him alone very real and believable. This is upped by choosing the parking garage as the setting of the film, which can be by their very nature desolate and creepy. That being said, we New Yorkers will wonder why she drives to work and not takes public transportation. In fact, this movie reaffirms my desire to never drive to the city!
While, there is not a huge body count, it is very violent and bloody. The first kill in particular is gruesome and realistic looking, thank to the excellent make-up FX. The movie's gruesome violence helps to raise the stakes and me it more shocking and white-knuckle experience.
Besides the nerve-shredding directing and excellent setting, the other true highlight is the acting. For the most part, the movie is a two person movie. And, you need excellent acting for this to truly work. Thank goodness then that both Wes Bentley and Rachel Nichols deliver this in droves. Bently is terrifying and creepy as fuck. On the drop of the dime he can realistically go from sweet to dangerously angry and threatening. But, even when he is being "nice" there remains an air of total creepiness. It's my favorite role of his.
Just like the role of Angela is my favorite of Rachel Nichols. In fact, she is one of my favorite final girls ever. Nichols plays her so believably and strongly that we cheer her on. She is vulnerable with the right amount of toughness; a good person caught in nightmarish situation. Of course, Nichols is absolutely gorgeous. I recently added the to this site's Horror Crushes, as she is most certainly a horror crush of anyone who sees this movie. And, let's call a spade a spade, she has some of the greatest cleavage that you will ever see in a horror flick. Both Nichols and Bentley pay so well of each other and have a great protagonist/ antagonist relationship that really drives the movie to the stratosphere.
P2 is a Christmas holiday season viewing tradition of mine for good reason. I've loved this movie since I first saw it as a blind buy when it first hit DVD. Suspenseful, violent, and with two superlative leads; it's a movie that deserves to be seated next to other holiday fear classics. If you have never seen it, you need to change that right fuckin now! And, if you have watched this nerve-shredder, watch it again. You need to make P2 part of your holiday viewing traditions as well. In all P2 holds an excellent level of holiday fear and tension.
It's been a while since I added a babe to the Horror Crushes section of this site. With this being Christmas season and all, I figured I would add a babe from a Christmas horror movie. So, with that in mind let us induct the gorgeous Rachel Nichols. You can consider this an early Christmas present from me to you!
Rachel Nichols was born on January 8, 1980 in Augusta, Main, though she began her modeling career here in New York City, while attending Columbia University. I first developed a crush on her thanks to her role on Alias, which began in 2005. That same year she appeared in her first horror movie, the remake of The Amityville Horror.
The movie, itself, is a pretty decent remake of the original. Admit ably that movie isn't great, but it's pretty good. It is up for debate as to which of these two is the better film. I prefer the original, but not by that much and totally get those who like the remake more. Anyway, one of her costars here is one of this site's earliest inductions into Horror Crushes: Melissa George (see pic above)! Anyway, Nichols plays a naughty and sexy as fuck babysitter.
She's pretty good, I suppose, though she isn't given much to do other than play a stereotypical bad teenage chick. The son in the movie develops a crush on her, and that is understandable as hell. Now, I never had a babysitter, in my life. But, if they all look like Nichols, I sure as hell would've loved to have one! I would have been the happiest kid on God's green earth! I mean look at that stomach! That's what I call perfect!
Her next horror flick is one of her best roles and best flicks that she's been in: P2. A nail-biting and suspenseful horror thriller, Rachel plays Angela Bridges a young businesswoman who has a parking attendant, Thomas (Wes Bentley) trap her in a Manhattan building's parking garage on Christmas Eve. The movie has excellent acting from both performers and really ranks among the best of Christmas horror movies.
I would talk more about the movie, but you guys seem to be loving my recent Christmas horror flick reviews, so I think I will work on doing a review for this one. Anyways, like I said she is perfectly cast in the role, giving a good range of emotions. She also looks quite perfect, herself. Her cleavage might be one of the greatest in horror movie history.
Her next horror flick is the genre bending and vicious, Raze (which I reviewed sometime back). She has a rather small but pivotal role. Her fight with lead actress Zoe Bell really sets the tone for this overlooked exploitation flick. Nichols is quite good in her role, and looks, of course, quite good, as well.
Being that I watch P2 every year during the holiday season Rachel Nichols holds a very special place in my heart. Beautiful, sexy, and a great actress, I actually think she is sometimes overlooked. Anyway the point is that she rightfully deserves her inclusion as a Horror Crush!
Title: All Through the House Writer/ Director: Todd Nunes Cast: Ashley Mary Nunes, Jessica Cameron, Melynda Kiring, Natalie Montera, Lito Velasco Year: 2015 Min: 88
Rachel (the lovely Ashley Mary Nunes) has come home for the holidays during her college break. But, there are two mysteries that she and the rest of the neighborhood doesn't know the answers to, still to this very day. Those are: what happened to her mother and what happened to the little girl, Jamie, that was Rachel's neighbor. In the meantime, Jamie's mother, Gia (Melynda Kiring) is trying to put up the last of her Christmas decorations in and around her house. Rachel tells her that she will give her a helping hand to do just that. She gets her two pretty friends to accompany and help her out. Gia it ends up being, is going on a "date" leaving the girls alone in the admit ably creepy house. The thing is a scary and psychotic guy dressed in a Santa outfit that is heading to that exact house and has been racking up the body count on his way there, with the three of the girls being next.
I am a sucker for a good Christmas horror flick, and All Through the House is just that. In fact, it ranks with the best of the lot. A bloody slasher, it is a great throwback to the sub-genre's heyday. It's fun and gory and is sure to become part of your annual Christmas horror viewing habits.
The movie moves at a quick pace, leaving little quite moments during it's 88 minute duration. From beginning to end, it just flat-out rocks. In fact, it really takes very little time to set-up, as drop dead gorgeous scream queen and horror filmmaker Jessica Cameron (below) gets offed early on. Jessica has quickly become one of my favorite scream queens in the genre. And as such, it was great to see her in this movie. Although her role is short, her death scene is one of the movies most shocking scenes. The pull no punches aspect of this kill sets up the tone of the rest movie, as not only is super gory and explicit but also accompanied some admit ably funny tinges of humor.
writer/ director Todd Nunes has a great use of Christmas imagery in way that is super-creepy. Gia's house is filled with some of the scariest shit, I have ever seen used for Christmas decor! His use of Christmas colors and lighting adds a nice and stylish look to the movie. He also delivers a kick ass and suspenseful climax, as the film really hits on all cylinders during the last 15 or 20 min or so.
The gore FX that are a big draw of the film. These bloody kills would NEVER get an R-rating. Our killer Santa has an affinity for using garden sheers to end the life of his victims. This causes some gruesomely realistic splatter that includes: breast stabbings, graphic (and funny!) castrations (yes plural!), stabbings, sheers to the head, eye gouging, and more. Another wonderful special effect is the movie's beautiful female cast. So, that it hits all that is needed for a destined to be loved slasher.
The acting of the cast ranges from adequate to quite good. Ashley Mary Nunes (below) and Kiring really shine in their roles. Nunes, who is an absolute stunner, makes for a great and tough final girl. She is put through the ringer and really delivers in her role. Kiring is simply great as the unhinged Gia. She is given a lot to do and a chance to give different emotional levels, which she handles with much zest.
As with most slashers, it does fall under most of the trademarks and beats of that type of movie. However, it's done in such a fun manner and flair that it works. You can tell and feel that it is being done by someone who has a real love for slashers and does it out of his love of them, and not cause he is some unoriginal hack.
Try not think to much about our killer though, who seems to pop in front of victims at each and every turn, even when it makes no real logical sense. Maybe he is actually Nightcrawler from the X-Men? In a lesser movie it would totally sink it further (Friday the 13th Part VII: Jason Takes Manhattan anyone?), here it is done in the context of such an enjoyable film that I just shrugged it off and enjoyed the movie, itself. Also, the killer, himself, looks creepy as fuck. You gotta love that mask he is wearing being accompanied by the Santa suit. It's just a fucking great look for him!
All Through the House is a great time to be had. It's fun, super bloody, filled with pretty girls, and has a real love for the subgenre(s), as in both slashers and Christmas horror movies. Moving at a breakneck pace and leading to kick ass climax, it is destined to be a cult favorite. Make sure this Christmas season it joins your viewings of Black Christmas, Silent Night, Deadly Night, Gremlins, and the rest of the holiday horror flicks you watch. And, I predict that it will continue to do so in years to come.
Title: Krampus Director: Michael Dougherty Writers: Todd Casey, Michael Dougherty, Zach Shields Cast: Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Alison Tolman, Conchata Farrell, Emjay Anthony Year: 2015 Min: 98
Between a fight at school and, most of all, his dysfunctional family, little Max (Emjay Anthony) is very disillusioned by the holidays. What he doesn't know is his actions and feelings unleashes the Christmas demon known as Krampus. Krampus punishes those who disrespect Christmas. He and his family are trapped inside their house, while Krampus and his minions take them away one by one.
Director/ co-writer, Michael Dougherty, who made the modern Halloween classic Trick 'R' Treat, brings the same level of greatness to the Christmas horror film that he did on that one. The result is a film that is supremely fun and thoroughly enjoyable. The structure of the film is one of its' strongest points. As it
progresses it only gets better and better, until it reaches it's
exciting climax and highly satisfactory ending. It's subversion of
Christmas imagery into a funhouse nightmare only adds to its' charm.
As with his aforementioned horror anthology this movie has a warning about happens when you don't respect the holiday that the film revolves around. There is even loving tributes to other Christmas movies like Joe Dante's classic Gremlins (in my opinion the best Christmas horror movie, ever) and possibly even Die Hard 2: Die Harder (if you can catch this one let me know!). For once the PG-13 doesn't hamper the film, something I actually feared would occur in this movie. Humans are taken away, but the monsters do die suitably gory deaths, which since they happen to teddy bears and such don't warrant the fury of the MPAA.
The mix of practical FX and CGI is excellent. The creatures all look cool and wonderfully creepy. It's as if someone took bits and pieces of ideas earlier seen in Full Moon, and made a better movie with them. The killer gingerbread men are a sight to behold. The humor and the horror mix quite well, being funny and still maintaining an sense of threat and tension, throughout its' running time.
The cast is all wonderful. While, I have heard minor complaints that many of the characters are unlikable, I think those who say that miss the point. I think many of them are suppose to be so, after all that is why they are being punished. Regardless, the are sympathetic characters that we care about, mostly the boy's mom, dad, sister, and grandma, the later of whom knows what is happening.
Krampus is the single most fun horror film that has received a major release this year. It leaves you feeling good and wholly satisfied. What's even more shocking is that ranks among the very best of Christmas horror movies. With this and Trick 'R' Treat not only does Dougherty define himself as one of the best horror directors, but one of the finest masters of holiday themed movies.
Title: Contemporary Krampus: A Modern Look at an Ancient Legend
Curated by: Mike Drake
For what is the first time ever this beautiful book, named Contemporary Krampus, compiles more than fifty different artists from across the globe as they take on their interpretation of the legendary and most infamous of all Christmas characters: Krampus! The artists and their styles are all very diverse. They range from the renown and well known like Angus Oblong (whose piece you can see to the left of paragraph below) to more up and coming artists like Minjoon Kim. Contemporary Krampus is filled with amazing and beautiful art of all types: drawn,
painted, or computer crafted, as well as dolls, candles, and more. Each peice has been hand picked by Mike Drake a curator of curious and fascinate things and huge Krampus aficionado.
It's a gorgeous book to just look at, which you will want to over and over again. Each piece (or pieces in some cases) is accompanied by the artists bios. Some minor typos in said bios aside, this is a cool and must have book for those with an interest in Krampus (who has become my favorite Christmas character), the darker side of the holidays, and/ or anyone with an interest in horror/ dark culture in legends and such.
With a ever rising interest in this mythical character, sometimes called the Anti-Santa or Satan's Little Helper (especially with an upcoming horror movie from the director of the masterful Trick 'R' Treat, Michael Doughtery) now is the perfect time to own this amazing softcover, coffee-table sized book.
And, I am giving you a chance to win a copy!!
NOTE: CONTEST OPEN ONLY TO THE CONTINENTAL US ONLY! NOT OTHER COUNTRIES, ALASKA, or HAWAII. SORRY!
All you need to do is leave me a comment below along with your email answering me this question: What holiday movie do you wish Krampus could crossover into and why? Contest runs now till Nov.23. So, get to it and best of luck!
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