RED CHRISTMAS (2017) ****

Neo-Ozploitation has been kind of hit and miss for me.  I can’t say I’ve enjoyed much of it from Wolf Creek on down to the recent Patrick remake.  Craig Anderson’s Red Christmas proves that Ozploitation is alive and well.  Not only that, it’s one of the best Australian horror films ever made.

Twenty years after a horrific incident at an abortion clinic, Diane (Dee Wallace, who also produced) prepares for a nice Christmas with her family.  A dark shrouded figure named Cletus (the awesomely named Sam “Bazooka” Campbell) arrives unexpectedly at the house.  In the spirit of Christmas, Diane feels charitable and opens her home to the bandaged vagrant.  When he reads a letter that offends her, she kicks him out.  Before long, Cletus is picking off the family members one by one with his trusty ax.

Red Christmas would pair well on a double feature with Inside as they are both pregnancy-themed Christmas horror movies.  It also has a bit of a You’re Next vibe as the gaggle of constantly bickering characters are quite amusing.  What makes it unique is that they feel more like real quirky people instead of characters trapped in a horror flick.  

The offbeat tone helps propel the film.  It starts out almost like a Troma movie before becoming a Lifetime Original with shades of the slasher genre thrown in there.  That is to say it never goes where you’d expect it to.  It’s simultaneously fun, disgusting, and heartbreaking, which is quite a feat.  All this could’ve wound up being in extremely poor taste, but the cast really sells it.

Red Christmas is anchored by the fierce and funny performance by Wallace.  This is probably her best role since Cujo.  Like that film, she must protect her family at any cost from a menace in a claustrophobic setting.  It’s Gerard Orwyer who steals the show as her son who has Down syndrome and is obsessed with Shakespeare.  He’s hilarious, has genuine screen presence, and I hope to see a lot more of him in the near future.  

Then there’s Campbell as the killer, Cletus.  Even though he looks like a leper version of Mumm-Ra from Thundercats and chops victims up with the best of them, Campbell brings a tender vulnerability to the role that’s unexpectedly touching.  You can’t help but feel sorry for him.  I for one hope he returns for a sequel mighty soon.

The editing gets a little wonky near the end (it looks like they either ran out of time or money), but the finale is truly devastating.  I haven’t even gotten to the showstopping murder set pieces (which I won’t go into as I wouldn’t dream of spoiling them).  I have a feeling this might find its way into my Christmas Horror marathon come December 25^th.