More cheapie direct-to-video slasher craziness next in 2015’s All Through the House from director Todd Nunes. This is another straightforward dumb but effective killer-dressed-as-Santa tale that has a little more bite than most slasher films, mainly down to Nunes’ determination to make the kills as savage and wince-worthy as possible. This one feels like Halloween if Michael Myers chose Christmas as the ideal holiday for his murder spree.
The gore is a lot more graphic and gnarly than most of the yuletide horrors I’ve watched and the effects are suitably convincing and messed up, with lashings of the red stuff all over the place. The psycho Santa is leaving a trail of murdered women and castrated (!) men all over town as he makes his way to an old house, the site of some unspeakable horror from years ago.
The script is suitably boneheaded and the acting pretty substandard, but hats off to the make-up and effects guys as the grisly kills make this worthwhile, if you have the nerve for it. One scene really preys on our fears of being totally naked and defenceless as a poor bugger comes face-to-face with the killer right after sex – coming at them with the gardening shears! Yikes!
This is by far the most willfully Christmassy-looking horror I’ve seen so far too, with coloured lights and decorations absolutely everywhere, like someone just went mental with the budget at Home Depot. I mean, who puts up Christmas lights in the attic?
It's a bit confusing too, as the plot sees our three main girls spend the night at a neighbour’s house because she needs help decorating – despite the fact that the house is already completely covered in twinkly lights. It’s a lazy excuse to get three hot slasher-fodder chicks into a creepy, mannequin-filled house of horrors.
The film’s original in that the killer’s modus operandi includes a preoccupation with chopping off dudes’ willies, so that’s something. However, I definitely don’t need to see close-ups of said dismembered little lads. No need!
This, as you’d expect, features a whole bunch of unnecessary nudity as standard, but there’s also some bad taste body horror and disturbing revelations about transgenderism that really mess with my head and leave an impression.
It’s of that moronic breed of chillers where, being chased, a girl will stop every few yards to check if the killer is – yup – still chasing her, but the film’s awesome practical effects, brisk pacing and genuinely shocking twist keep things compelling and watchable. It’s down and dirty and will likely conjure up a few nightmares, though likely mostly for dudes. Shudder….
Comments