Red Christmas (2016)

A mother must protect her family on Christmas Day from a demented stranger who is hell-bent on tearing them apart.

Director:

Craig Anderson

Writer:

Craig Anderson

Stars:

Dee Wallace, Geoff Morrell, Sarah Bishop

2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Dee Wallace	...	Diane
Geoff Morrell	...	Joe
Sarah Bishop	...	Suzy
David Collins	...	Peter
Atlas Adams	...	Protestor
Bjorn Stewart	...	Scott
Gerard O'Dwyer	...	Jerry (as Gerard Odwyer)
Sam Campbell	...	Cletus
Janis McGavin	...	Ginny
Anthony Jensen	...	Farmer
Deelia Meriel	...	Hope
Alistair Bates	...	Bomber
Robert Anderson	...	Sheriff

Storyline

It's Christmas in Australia as Diane, played by the Dee Wallace, brings together her estranged family for a chaotic holiday gathering. A 20 year old decision literally comes back to haunt her when the ghost of Christmas past comes knocking at her door and is invited inside the family estate. Festivities quickly turn blood red, when the stranger is revealed to be Cletus, Diane's aborted fetus, all grown up, very much alive and ready to terrorize his long lost mother. Diane must face her past and explain the hideous truth that is trying to kill them all, especially to Jerry, her Down Syndrome son, before it's too late.

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Plot Keywords:

abortion | christmas horror | christmas | cult | violence | 

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Taglines:

This Christmas, the only thing under the tree is terror.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Sheriff is played by Director Craig Anderson's father.

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Goofs

[All goofs for this title are spoilers.]

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Connections

Featured in Dee Wallace Speaks! (2017)

User Reviews

Featuring Cletus the aborted fetus.

Red Christmas features a memorable character in the form of Cletus: rescued as a fetus from an abortion bin and raised to adulthood by a pro-life priest, he hides his deformed appearance under bandages and a big cloak, and goes in search of his mother, Diane (Dee Wallace), looking for some maternal love. But when mom rejects him (again), he picks up an axe and takes revenge by hacking his way through her dysfunctional family.

Like the elephant man, only uglier, Cletus is a sympathetic character driven to kill when all he wants is a motherly hug and some loving words; this makes him a rather unique movie maniac, but one deserving of a much better film. Writer/director Craig Anderson might have created an impressive killer, but he doesn't do the slobbering freak justice, his film suffering from a weak script and dreadful dialogue, crappy acting, horrible lighting (unnatural green, red and blue colours) and duff direction. Dee Wallace used to be a Hollywood A-lister, and it's a real shame to see her appearing in such rubbish, but she's only got herself to blame: she is the producer of the film, after all.

As for the whole Christmas setting, it is purely incidental, having no real bearing on the plot: Cletus could have turned up on Shrove Tuesday and it wouldn't have made much difference (except that the title wouldn't work so well and Anderson's garish lighting scheme would feel even more out of place).

3.5/10, rounded up to 4 for the scene where a guy has his head pushed onto some kind of spinning device (it was hard to make out exactly what it was) and his eyeballs turn to mush and burst out of the sockets.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site USA Web Site

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 August 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Red Christmas

Filming Locations:

Southern Highlands, NSW, Australia

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$280, 27 August 2017

Gross USA:

$2,255

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,255

Company Credits

Production Co:

Red Christmas

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1