Santa Isn't Real (2023)

There has been a disappointing lack of killer Santa movies this year. The past few years have brough us  an abundance of the things, as well as other cinammon-spiced horrors. That's why I ended up checking out Santa Isn't Real, a film that begins with a young woman being attacked so viciously by Santa that she ends up in a coma for about a year.

It's hard to convince people that Santa exists. Nikki (Kaya Coleman) finds it almost impossible to convince her friends that Santa tried to kill her. Everyone believes it was a suicide attempt, but a Christmas get-together with friends should hopefully keep pushing her lowest point further into the past. Things are made a bit more awkward by the fact that Nikki's boyfriend, Nathan (Trey Anderson), has formed a strong connection with Jess (Scarlett Sperduto) while Nikki was in a coma. Meanwhile, Cissy Ly just hopes that everyone can get along and stay focused on keeping Nikki feeling loved and safe through Christmas. Santa has other ideas though.

The second feature film from writer-director Zac Locke, this is a surprisingly effective and interesting film that makes good use of standard slasher movie moments throughout and then throws an entertaining curveball in the third act that raises some great questions while also embracing an ambiguity about just who might be taking care of those deemed to have made it onto the naughty list. 

Coleman is decent in the lead role, not the best, but better than both Anderson and Sperduto. Ly is the best of the main cast members though, and I wish there was a way to keep her involved in more scenes. The film is notably better whenever she's onscreen, but the whole premise of the film revolves around Coleman's character ahead of anyone else. There may only be four leads, but Dana Millican gets to add another medical professional role to her CV and David Mitchum Brown pops up to play a Reverend for a couple of minutes. 

Sadly, while this worked for me, I can't imagine many others enjoying it as much as I did. I was happy to be patient, and happy enough with the infrequent flashes of gore (one bit of eye trauma is especially well done), but I was equally happy with the twisted and playful way the familiar material was presented. It's no absolute gem, but it is more ambitious and surprising than a hundred other features that could have been given this title. Others are unlikely to respond so positively to it, I assume, but I would love to hear from anyone else who was able to look past the obvious limitations to appreciate the substance of the whole thing.

7/10

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