So to get the obvious out of the way right at the beginning: this is not a good film. The plot is thin - and mostly delivered via flashback - and the ending is kind of a muddle. Nor is it a sophisticated movie: it's the kind of flick that unabashedly drops a fart joke in the middle of a scene because farts are funny, right?
On the other hand, there's something about this anarchic, unashamedly goofy Xmas-themed slasher film that I can't help but like. Probably a big part of it is that lack of shame. This movie is utterly unrepentant about what it is and equally bereft of any airs or pretensions. From the outrageous stunt-casting of the opening scene to the goofy closing credits, it commits to its premise ("Santa is really an evil Demon who has been magically bound to be good for the last thousand years, but now he is free") wholeheartedly.
Of course, it commits to that premise so wholeheartedly that having revealed it, there's not much I can tell you about the plot, because it's all in that sentence. Santa roams around in his sleigh, murdering people with inventive gusto, while the obvious heroes by virtue of the fact that they survive more than two scenes slowly begin to piece together what is going on.
Said heroes are played pretty well, it must be said. The casting is solid throughout the film. Even the obvious gimmick of casting pro wrestler Bill Goldberg as Santa pans out okay, since he's mainly just called on to look menacing and make deliberately cheesy one-liners.
If you're looking to make your holidays less wholesome, you could do a lot worse.
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