At a vacation winter lake house, seven high school seniors are attacked by a madman out for revenge.
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This seasonal slasher has a group of friends stay at a cabin in the woods for the holidays. Little do they know a killer is lurking in the forest waiting to kill them off one by one.Dismembering Christmas brings nothing new to the genre but does somethings well. The snowy setting and Christmas decorations along with the characters clothes all make this feel very Christmassy, really making the seasonal slasher work. Another plus for the film is some of the hand-held camera work. In particular the drinking scene is very well done with the camera swooping around the whole group as they enjoy themselves. Another scene where one of the characters is trying to sneak passed the killer and the camera hides along with our protagonist giving us a little peek of the killer is well done.The acting is real hit and miss. To be fair most of the cast do a good job with one or two exceptions. But the bad ones are bad. The dialogue is okay, I've definitely heard worse. The sound though is an abomination, Spiking and dropping sometimes during the same scene it's really off putting. The kills are okay a couple off screen but the ones you do see are pretty good a done with practical effects. The editing is all over the place sometimes it really ruins the flow of a scene. The biggest mistake for me comes in the final scene of the movie when the final girl finally gets the baddie. This moment has the worst sound and the worst editing. Also the blood should be spraying from the bottom of the shot instead it's coming from the side, you can even see a black tube spraying the blood at the actresses face. I can't believe how shambolic this last scene is and that's what the movie ends on.Dismembering Christmas isn't a terrible film. It does somethings really well but fails on other respects and it's this that's most disappointing. It could easily have been a much better movie if more care had been taking with some aspects.
I really wanted to like this film, and while I didn't hate it, I think I said, "WTF?!?" at least 20 times. If I hadn't rented it and was watching it for a horror movie challenge, there is a good chance I would have turned it off, due to the really bad sound in some places, especially at the beginning. When they were crunching through the snow and talking, I couldn't even understand what they were saying. I had the TV's sound up really high so I could usually hear them, but then was continually turning it down.Then there was the editing in spots. There were more spots then this, but I'm trying to keep this review short. Two of the women are down by the lake, and Mark is coming down the stairs, then he's just instantly by their side.Emma all of a sudden freaks out for no reason (she doesn't yet know there's a killer on the loose). She's staring at us, slowly backing up to the wall. But there is nothing/no one there. Then she wakes up and is laying on the floor right next to the fire place with her head on rock. (Was she drugged and I didn't notice?)The step-dad at the beginning looks to be around the same age as the kids. And the way he was putting the presents under the tree shoving them under with the ribbon on the bottom. Petty of me, perhaps, but it was done in such a way that it really stood out.And some of the shots were played out way too long, like when the step-dad was decorating with the tinsel on the counter. And when they are tromping up the stairs, instead of focusing on the feet forever, at least give us a butt shot!Some of the actors did a pretty good job, like Mark and Katie. And Justin reminded me looks wise, of a cross between Jensen Ackles and Matthew Lillard, so that was nice. Plus the naked butt shot was appreciated.But where where the boobs?? It's a slasher film! When Katie was in the bathroom getting ready to take a bath, this would have been a perfect opportunity.If I were to watch this again, it would be as a drinking game with a group of friends. We would drink every time one of us said, "WTF?!?"; because we couldn't hear what they were saying, the story line stumbled due to editing, or some rando shows up even though they are supposed to be in the middle of nowhere, and it is way too cold to just be wandering around the woods in Wisconsin.
I have been so excited about this movie coming out, so to my excitement I get to watch and review this movie before it comes on DVD where I will also be buying the DVD. I love supporting independent films, and aspiring filmmakers and their cast and crew. Dismembering Christmas lived up to all my expectations and more.This film was directed by Austin Bosley who is known for survival Of The Dumbest as acting, director and writer. Written by Kevin Sommerfield and Steve Goltz. Kevin who I have got to know through him on facebook and researching him on the internet, I know that he is inspired by Wes Craven and his horror films, he loves 80s slashers, owning up to 5000 (?) DVDs. I know that Dismembering Christmas is set as a 80s slasher. If you are comparing Dismembering Christmas to Scream or Wes Cravens other slasher horrors I would say its up to same standards and considering Dismembering Christmas is a low budget, independent horror. Its high class indeed. Steve Goltz the other writer, he and Kevin are both involved in the same horror films Teddy and Popularity Killer. Teddy was the first "Entry Into Terror" (as quoted on IMDb). Again Steve was also inspired by by the horror sub-genre slashers, being Friday The 13th and I know What You Did Last Summer. Lets hope there will be a lot more horrors from them both. The cast includes Nina Kova, Leah Wiseman, Danielle Doetsch, Johnathon Krautkramer, (who was also in Don't Go To The Reunion) Shannon McInnis, Jennifer Lenius, Austin Bosley, Scott Seagren and Marla Van Lanen. Most of these actors are new to the acting scene (Less than 5 years). With Marla, Leah and Danielle being in many horror films and earning the rights to be on my Wall Of Horrors. When I started watching this film I noticed was the sound tracks. There was a lot of music depending on how the film went. It was brilliant. The music fitted very well with the film, characters and everything that was happening. Also the start where "Slasher Studios" came on screen and the sound effects there, it amused me. I haven't seen many Christmas horror films but it felt very 80s style when I compared it with other cabins/houses in the middle of no where and the mysterious happenings. Im loving how there are no cliques, no blond bimbos who run up the stairs with a banana instead of out the door with a knife or something. I noticed they all meshed well together as "friends and family". You can tell which ones are family too, there is a way they look, and mess around together that makes it perfect because this is how me and my sister talk to each other and messes around. The best part (which is the thing that I have to stop myself giving away), is the creativity of the murder weapons and how they are used. This movie is only just over 70 minutes long, there could have been a lot more action to make it go longer. But nonetheless I enjoyed this film very much and will watch many more times. Overall it was amazing, if you like fast paced, intense and creative Christmas horror I recommend this one you will NOT be disappointed.
Dismembering Christmas is in my opinion Slasher Studios best project. Although I am a fan of their previous work I think this film goes above and beyond anything they have done before. The film is just overall a lot sharper looking and is very well filmed. Austin Bosley does an amazing job directing this. It was nice to see Steve Goltz return with a writing credit to this film along side Slasher Studios co- creator Kevin Sommerfield. The film was delightfully awesome! The tone was a lot more present in this film and although there was less gore than previous SS features, when there was gore it was done extremely well. The cast done fantastically. Lead by Nina Cova and Leah Wiseman and with a few Slasher Studios Favourites thrown in for the fans this film will go down as Slasher Studios break through film. Although Don't Go To The Reunion was a personal favourite of mine I feel on the wider scale of thinsg this will will be the studios break out hit!