David (Dillon Weishuhn) works at a storage unit facility and invites his girlfriend Sarah (Ashley Campbell) and some friends to his job for an after-hours Christmas party. Little do they know there’s also a killer in a Santa suit roaming the corridors. Since the place is on lockdown until morning, that means the friends will have to do all they can to survive the not-so silent night.
Axemas is only twenty-five minutes long, and makes for some easy, breezy holiday horror viewing. It gets right to the point, with an expedited set-up and a no-nonsense approach. The mazelike corridors of the storage facility make a great location for something like this too. Campbell also proves to be a strong Final Girl, as she is more than capable of going toe to toe with the killer Saint Nick.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed Axemas, I have to say, it all feels a bit too rushed. The kills just sort of happen, and while the murder sequences are appropriately bloody and/or funny (Santa shoves a pole through a pair of lovebirds and quips “Welcome to the North Pole!”), they probably would’ve worked better with more of a suspenseful build-up. While I applaud the desire to get right to the action, it just makes me wonder if there could’ve been a solid seventy-five-minute version of this somewhere in the editing room.
I know, I know. Usually, I am all for shorter running times, but that’s only if the movie is painful or inept. Axemas, on the other hand, offers up a reasonable amount of fun and boasts some unexpected directorial touches. (There’s a solid split-screen sequence.) This is one of the rare occasions where a holiday slasher left me wanting more, but in a good way. Luckily for me, there’s a sequel, so I guess I know what I’ll be reviewing next.
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