Review by Peter Syslo
THE CHRISTMAS TALE (2005 Spain ) is another movie in the 6 FILMS TO KEEP YOU AWAKE collection; these films are basically Spain ’s version of the “Masters of Horror” series. I remember seeing this DVD collection last year, in a store, and I really didn’t give it a second glance. As it happens, I watched THE BABY’S ROOM, recently, and I learned that it was part of the 6 FILMS. So, I decided to pick up the DVDs and check out the rest of Spain’s offerings - and I am glad that I did, because this is turning out to be the best money I’ve spent on DVDs in a while (aside from the money I spent on MIDNIGHT MOVIE – great flick). I do hate to say it, ladies and gents, but France and Spain are currently kicking our American asses, in the horror genre. However, I am confident that we will only try harder and start coming up with some fresh and interesting material; American horror is too big to fail!
THE CHRISTMAS TALE is directed by Paco Plaza and is written by Luis Berdejo. The film stars Maru Valdivielso, Christian Casas, Roger Babia, Pau Poch, Daniel Casadella, Ivana Baquero, and Elsa Pataky.
The film is about a group of kids (they seem about 11-12 years old) who find a woman stuck at the bottom of a large hole, in the woods. She is dressed like Santa Claus and she tells the kids that she was delivering toys to a nearby home (this takes place around Christmas time). They decide to help her out of the hole, but a couple of the kids find out that the woman is really a thief who is in possession of 2 million dollars. The kids then decide not to help her and they leave her there until she is ready to tell them were the money is. The woman finally tells the location of the money, but she dies before the kids can get her out of the hole. As a side note, a few of the kids were watching a zombie film on TV and it turns out that they performed a voodoo ritual in the woods, close to where the woman was held captive, in the hole. Well, when the kids go back to dispose of her body – yep, the body is no longer there! Did the woman turn into a zombie, is she still alive, or is it just one big joke? You have to watch and see for yourself.
THE CHRISTMAS TALE was a pretty good film. I was a bit hesitant at first, because I am kind of turned off by these ensemble-kid-cast films. Honestly, I hate THE GOONIES at this point in my life and I haven’t even watched THE MONSTER SQUAD since it came out on DVD (though, I do like that film). What I am saying is that an annoying kid can make or break a movie. Thankfully, the kids in THE CHRISTMAS TALE were only slightly annoying and in a sense, they were more like annoying adults. One of my favorite things about the film is that the “kid collective” was just as scheming and deviant as a group of adults would be, if they encountered the same situation. These kids (some of them) were very bad kids who blackmailed a woman into giving them 2 million dollars, leaving her to die. It was very interesting because the lines were blurred as to who was good and who was bad. I have heard that European audiences like seeing that good/bad ambiguity in their characters. This film had that ambiguity and it made the film better than it would be, if the kids were just portrayed as happy-go-lucky, innocent little mischief-makers.
I thought that the film was especially crafty in the way that it handled the zombie element (or supposed zombie element – I won’t give it away). I am still guessing a little bit as to what really happened but I think that that is a positive dose of ambiguity, as well. This is another thing that I like about foreign cinema, in general: the foreign filmmakers don’t spoon-feed an audience and they are not afraid to provoke thought. The zombie element was set up well, in the beginning of the movie; the film opens with a scene from a “B” zombie flick (which actually looked pretty entertaining, in and of itself) and you catch a few scenes of it throughout the film. It all builds towards the end, when THE CHRISTMAS TALE turns into a zombie/slasher film. This part follows all of the sub-genre rules and it is really nothing new, but it is still enjoyable and has that feel of being an homage to the sub-genres it represents. To top it all off, the effects are great and somewhat gory, everyone’s acting is very convincing (Valdivielso is great as the woman/thief/zombie), and the story does have the flavor of a dark fairy tale.
Gnawing through the flesh: THE CHRISTMAS TALE is a pretty interesting nod to several film sub-genres. It was a little bit predictable and it wasn’t all that original, in places, but it was woven together well and I did like the ambiguity. If you are a viewer like me, you will take relief in the fact that the kids don’t ruin the film. They represent a small sampling of the general public and they are not the wholesome, sugar-plum blah-blah-blahs that you would expect (yeah man, kids can be evil too). In short, if you want a familiar-feeling film that is a little easier to watch than all of the torture-type stuff, this would be a good choice. It has enough thought, action, and blood to satisfy true horror fans and it is still accessible for the person who is not a horror junkie. I give THE CHRISTMAS TALE a 7/10.