Kids discover a wounded bank robber at the bottom of a deep pit in a wilderness where they bike ride and decide to negotiate with her..they will send down a rope and pull her out if she forks over the two million she stole. Things get really complicated, to put it mildly.The only really identifiable trait regarding Christmas is that the severely malnourished and suffering robber is wearing a Santa costume, used when she held up the bank. Maru Valdivielso is Rebeca, the woman whose leg is broke, she's being starved by the kids, and after several days is deteriorating mentally and physically. By the end, she's half-crazed and in pursuit of those brats who have failed to help her, carrying an ax, prepared to inflict some serious bodily harm. Lots of pop culture references, including one kid named Tito(Pau Poch)who adores The Karate Kid(..including references to "V", zombie movies, Dynasty, Freddy Krueger, specific toys of the 80's(..it's set in '85)among other things). The main culprits behind holding Rebeca hostage are Peti(Roger Babia)and Eugenio(Daniel Casadellà), willing to deprive her of food and any creature comforts in order to attain the money in her possession..even if it means starving her to death. And, that's what is interesting about "The Christmas Tale"..you become sympathetic with Rebeca's plight for we must endure seeing her wasting away both psychologically, as her body responds negatively to the harsh conditions. Her face is ripe with cuts and sores, we get a long look at her badly damaged leg, and when she attempts to climb out of the pit a rotted finger nail gives way. It becomes quite an unpleasant sight to behold. In a funny turn of events, one can almost root for her to splatter the kids all over the place with the chopping ax for their treatment of her. The only kids who wish to get Rebeca out of the pit are Moni(Ivana Baquero)and her little boyfriend Koldo(Christian Casas), but as part of the pack, the others hold influence until it's all but too late. Thrown in for fun, there's a possible act of voodoo which might bring Rebeca back from the dead to get revenge. The finale is rather exciting, as the kids run for their lives with Rebeca following them into a theme park. Not as grisly as it could've been, but what Rebeca goes through is rather unsettling. Eugenio and Peti's inhumane behavior is rather troubling. From the director of REC, Paco Plaza. Part of the popular Spanish "6 Films to Keep You Awake" series.

You may remember Ivana Baquero as the cute 12-year-old Ofelia in Pan's Labyrinth. She took home a shelf full of awards, including a Goya. She's 15 now, and still cute. She is among a group of teens that find a thief (Maru Valdivielso) dressed as Santa down a hole, and they torture her to get the money she stole.Paco Plaza ({Rec}, Romasanta) directs this fascinating film. He is assisted by Luis Berdejo as the screenwriter. Berdejo also penned {REC}.The teens watch Zombie Invasion on TV and decide to perform the ritual on the thief. It works, and they are running for their lives as she comes after them with an ax. They remember the techniques in Zombie Invasion to kill the zombie, but it was Karate Kid that did the job.Valdivielso (Romasanta) was excellent as the thief/zombie. All of the kids were super. It was an enjoyable horror film.

I'm glad I caught this movie at 3:00 a.m. on Sky's "The Film Zone". I'm a huge fan of Spanish Horror and I decided to give it a chance. Although this movie isn't 100% Horror, it has a vibe of creepiness mixed with a regular children's adventure flick.The display of cruelty is always present and towards the end of the movie, when the "old mean woman" escapes from the hole (literally), things get darker and even with a feeling of a late 80's slasher. While the "torture" scenes are not very graphic or even violent, you feel disturbed with the children's behavior. Then the good gore comes when the kids try to get rid off the woman well, by killing her and doing horrible things to her eyes and head. You need to watch it.I recommend this movie only for those who are into the typical "cat and the mouse" plot, and for those who can take children being mean and horrible with a grown-up who even if stole and made something wrong, didn't deserve to be punished like that! In my opinion. But revenge, sweet revenge always happens even for these children.The atmosphere is always dark and unsettling but not only because of the female villain, but because of the sad and cold settings. No Merry Christmas for everyone.EERIE DETAIL TO CONSIDER: We can only see adults' feet and torso but not their faces. This detail may have been taken from Mexican chiller "Veveno para las Hadas". Brrrrr.

In 1985, in a coastal town in Spain, the friends Koldo (Christian Casas), Peti (Roger Babia), Tito (Pau Poch), Eugenio (Daniel Casadellà) and Moni (Ivana Baquero) stumble with a woman dressed like Santa Claus trapped in a hole in the woods. While to boys go to the police station to ask for help, the others find a rope to take the woman out of the hole. However, the boys find in the police station that the woman is the dangerous thief Rebeca Expósito (Maru Valdivielso), who has just stolen two million pesetas from a bank and is wanted. The group decides to leave the woman in the hole without any food to force her to give the robbed money to them. Meanwhile, Peti and Eugenio that are fans of the movie "Zombie Invasion", decide to make a voodoo ceremony with Rebecca to transform her into a zombie. When Rebecca escapes from her imprisonment, she uses an axe to chase the evil boys."Cuento de Navidad" is a one of the best episodes that I have seen of the great Spanish series "Películas Para No Dormir". The director Paco Plaza has an extraordinary effort to make such good movie working with five kids and one outstanding actress, Maru Valdivielso. The result is an original and very dark film, blending black humor and horror with cruelties and no innocence of the abusive teenagers that show no merci while torturing a "mean woman". My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Delinqüentes Diabólicos" ("Evil Delinquents")