Customer Reviews

Santa's Slay [VHS]

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I only recently had an opportunity to see this rather odd little Christmas film for the first time and I have to admit that despite being a great fan of traditional Christmas stories along the lines of "Miracle on 34th Street", and "White Christmas", I did greatly enjoy this "different", take on dear old Santa Claus. From the ferocious looking cover on the DVD it certainly didn't appear a terribly promising cinematic experience however I found myself feeling equal parts fear, laughter and amazement at what unfolded. Wrestler Bill Goldberg surprisingly makes an inspired casting choice as Old St. Nick as we certainly have never seen him before and his mean looking face, huge bulky body and deep sinister voice really made the character a memorable one. For a low budget production "Santa's Slay", actually manages to have a polished expensive look to it and some of the special effects were actually very well done considering. Turning just about every well loved Christmas tradition on its head the most memorable visual for me in "Santa's Slay", in among the excessive violence and grisly deaths, is the impressive "slay' driven by Santa which is a sinister looking vehicle led not by Reindeer but by a rather menacing Buffalo with big horns that somehow is a most suitable companion for this very angry Santa who would never be mistaken for Edmund Gwenn's "Kris Kringle".

I saw this movie on Spike TV a few days ago. It was awesome and unbelievable seeing Goldberg playing an evil santa claus who kills people. Awesome Movie! Good Job, Goldberg!!

If you love Christmas movies, then this is one for you. It tells the story that Santa is Satan's son who spreads holiday cheer all over the town of Hell Township. (When I say holiday cheer I mean death.) I love when it's Christmas morning and the two kids open their presents. (And get their heads blown off right in front of their entire family.) I highly recommend this great family Christmas classic to everyone! If you love Christmas, Santa, and slashers, you'll love SANTA'S SLAY!!!

David Steiman's "Santa's Slay" staring former pro wrestler Bill Goldberg as the evil santa claus is a very fun & absolutely stupid 100% tongue in cheek sit back with your spiked eggnog & roll your eyes while chuckling new holiday classic. This dvd package comes with plenty of extras & is a must for the film fan in search of worthy christmas horror flicks,wich there are not many of!

I'd like to start off by saying that this movie is pretty bad. It's cheesy as all hell, the acting isn't the greatest, and the story line is rather goofy. However, in the case of this film, when you combine all of that together, you get a movie that's fun to watch and very laughable (whether it be from the jokes or how just plain stupid it is). That is a rarity when it comes to films like this. I have made a point of recommending this film to several of my friends at this point, and they've all really gotten a kick out of it. I foresee myself adding this into my seasonal selection of films to watch, which would go along with 'Scrooged' and 'Christmas Vacation'. Now at least I can mix it up a bit, and not have the same old stuff to watch all the time during the season. Will become a cult classic! :)

Just saw it on Spike TV and was dissapointed that it wont release until 20th of December. I would have loved to give as a gift to co-workers.

This was awesome... 3 scenes I thought were hilarious.

1) Beginning scene where everybody acts obnoxious and Santa comes in and kills them all. (Futurama rip-off?)
2) He walks into a stripper bar and says "ho ho..." and as one of the strippers walks past him he looks at her and says "HO".
3) The flashback history scene done in the Rankin Bass animation style. I was cracking up through that one.

If you're trying to wash the post-Christmas taste of cheap eggnog out of your mouth, and "Gremlins" or even "Bad[der] Santa" isn't potent enough, "Santa's Slay" might be just what the witch doctor ordered.

"Santa's Slay" -- uh -- treats us to a revised origin story of Christmas and Santa Claus, which I won't spoil. It's shown in stop-motion animation, an obvious poke at the Rankin/Bass holiday films.

At 77 minutes, it's no longer than it needs to be, and we have the pleasure of seeing the still-missed Robert Culp in one of his last roles. My only real complaints are that the violence seems nastier than necessary (a matter of opinion, of course) -- with Dave Thomas impaled Kenny-like on a flag pole -- and the foul language is largely gratuitous. The supplemental material is generous for such a film.

If you have the stomach for it, "Santa's Slay" is clever and well-done, better than the cheesy exploitation flick it might have been. Yule probably like it.

I don't know what it is about Christmas and horror, but it's amazing how the two fit together so well. I've enjoyed many a gruesome Christmas-based horror movie in my time, and Santa's Slay definitely makes my list of favorites. No doubt we've all noticed at some point that Santa is spelled with the same letters as Satan. That can't be a coincidence, can it? What do we really know about this Santa guy? We know the man works one frickin' day a year - that can't be on the level. He almost has to run his whole elf-based enterprise as some kind of sweat shop in order to turn out so many toys every year. Nobody in his right mind would live in such an extreme environment as the North Pole unless he has something to hide. During those months without sunlight, the man has to watch every step he makes to avoid stepping in reindeer patties or little elves, and you know he has to get tired of 364 days straight of Mrs. Claus. Oh, he says it's all for the good little boys and girls all over the world, but what if that isn't true? What if Santa actually hates little kids? Can you imagine how much rage such a man would have built up inside after all these years?

In this dark twist on the Santa legend, old St. Nick is actually the son of Satan who lost a bet to an angel. As the loser, he was compelled to spend one thousand years spreading joy to the hearts of boys and girls all over the world. He hated every minute of it, but now those thousand years have passed and Santa is finally free to unleash his true evil nature. Eschewing the traditional eight reindeer for a single evil "helldeer," he guides his sleigh to Hell Township and starts laying the smacketh down all over town. This ain't your traditional fat old Santa; this dude is as big and bad as they come. This is a man who took the world of professional wrestling by storm in the late 1990s, a man I watched lay out Hulk Hogan with his patented Jackhammer finishing move to win the WCW Heavyweight Championship in what has to be my greatest wrestling memory of all time. If you had told me back then that Goldberg would one day play Santa Claus in a movie, I would have questioned your mental capacity. As it turns out, though, the filmmakers couldn't have chosen a better actor for this part. While there is definitely a lot of comedy to enjoy alongside all of the killing in Santa's Slay, Bill Goldberg never goes too far over the top, even when he's dishing out ironic Christmas clichés to his victims (and, of course, he's a natural at throwing people around like ragdolls).

The film gets off to a rousing start, as Santa takes out an entire star-studded, highly dysfunctional family. I can see taking out the likes of Fran Drescher and Chris Kattan - but Rebecca Gayheart? Come on, man! You know this guy's pure evil right from the start. And this little mass slaughter is only the beginning, as Santa basically goes through town killing people in all sorts of ways. It's amazing how many Christmas decorations can be used as implements of death. The only hope of putting an end to his rampage (which, oddly enough given all of the dead bodies stacking up, no one else in town seems to notice) seems to lie with teenaged Nicolas Yuleson (Douglas Smith), his exceedingly cute friend Mary (Emilie de Ravin), and his crazy old grandpa (Robert Culp). It turns out that there's a lot about Grandpa that Nicolas could never have imagined.

With its great mix of murderous mayhem and comedy, Santa's Slay makes for a wickedly entertaining little movie. Some of the sleigh-flying scenes feature some of the worst special effects I've seen in a long time, but those brief moments really take nothing away from all of the things the movie does quite well. The entire cast is great, the funny lines in the script are actually funny, and the pacing is spot on. It does have a rather short runtime of 78 minutes, but it's also the kind of "tell your friends" movie you'll want to watch more than once.

I want to start out by saying that this is not a serious horror movie, this is not a movie that you would want to watch or review if you are going to pick apart every unrealistic aspect of this film. This is a fun and hilarious film about Santa clasue "SATAN" who doesn't want to be nice and give the little kids presents he wants to KILL them. Goldberg was hilarious as Santa and the inventive ways that he kills cracks me up. I love the beginning where he kills all the cameo people. I personally loved this movie and couldn't wait to add it to my collection. If you are open minded and want to have a few laughs buy this film.

As the title implies, SANTA'S SLAY is a slasher movie that is set during the Christmas season. But unlike many Yuletide horror flicks, the murderer in this film isn't some refugee from the nuthouse dressed in Santa garb. No, the killing Kris Kringle in this film is, in fact, ol' St. Nick himself. Turns out that Santa is actually the son of the Devil, and the only reason he's been delivering holiday cheer to millions of children during the past 1000 years or so is because he lost a bet with a Heavenly angel. Well, now the debt is finally paid in full, and this Christmas the not-so-jolly Santa is free to deck the halls with bowels and folly as he spreads a ton o' holiday fear.

Although the film is as hilarious as it is gory, there are two standout scenes that alone make the film worth watching. In the opening scene, James Caan (1990's MISERY), Fran Drescher (television's THE NANNY), Chris Kattan (television's SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE), and Rebecca Gayheart (1998's URBAN LEGEND) cameo as a wealthy but dysfunctional family whose Christmas party is crashed by the now murderous Santa. It is impossible not to laugh as Caan gets shish-kebabed, Drescher is roasted with an open fire before getting her egg nogged, Kattan gets the boot, and Gayheart is beaned with a Yuletide log. And during a scene that reveals the details behind the pivotal bet between Santa and the angel, puppet-like animation turns what would normally be boring exposition into an unforgettably hilarious send-up of those saccharine Rankin/Bass stop-motion holiday programs that annually grace the boob tube.

As the ferocious Father Christmas, hulking pro-football-player-turned-wrestler Bill Goldberg delivers a deliciously over-the-top performance, and the venerable Robert Culp--co-star of the classic seriocomic TV series I SPY--is perfectly cast as Santa's angelic rival. SANTA'S SLAY also co-stars Emilie de Ravin, who is better known for her role as Claire Littleton on TV's LOST; respected character actor Saul Rubinek, appearing here as a Jewish deli owner who learns to believe in Santa Claus...the hard way, of course; and popular Canadian comedy actor Dave Thomas.

The DVD from Lions Gate presents SANTA'S SLAY in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 (enhanced for widescreen TVs), and the digital transfer and 5.1 Surround Sound are excellent. Bonus features include an informative feature-length commentary with the filmmakers, deleted scenes, a short making-of featurette, and a couple of cool Easter Eggs.

Yes, SANTA'S SLAY is frequently corny, sometimes bloody, and often outrageously over the top, but the film is always hilarious and never boring. The clever script avoids the cliches of other holiday horror flicks and never forgets that it's all meant to be played with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Horror fans and movie-watchers with a good sense of humor will not be disappointed.