Turns out "Santa Claus" is really a corruption of "Satan's Claws", 'cause Big D absolutely craves sacrificed chilluns on Xmas night. But only ones from this particular town I guess, where a plucky reporter is trying to expose the locals' rather shocking holiday traditions. So sort of like if Wicker Man were horrible and about Christmas.

Based on a book which I'm going to play devil's advocate and say is probably way better, this is another of the great host of cheap pseudo-movies that Amazon and Netflix like to pile up so it looks like they have tons of stuff you can watch. But like I always say, I hate to rubbish independent horror and I appreciate weirdos with cameras giving us an alternative to corporate product. Sadly most amateur (and I do not use the word pejoratively) horror movies are absolutely godawful. Godawful in a more honest and endearing way than big slick studio pablum, but godawful nonetheless.

Today's movie is a full two hour grindmill of fairly excruciating dialogue and forced character development. We learn all about the mom having cancer and the reporter being a lousy sister, and once in a while ghosts or something will mess with her covers and it just won't end. I think the movie means well though and there are much greater sins than merely being dull. One scene in the spooky woods at night wasn't too bad?
I really don't hate the movie. I just hate watching it.

I can say it's occasionally refreshing to see performers in a movie who look like actual people of the world. Any of them could be your grocery clerk or waitress, the sort of folks Hollywood doesn't even let stand in a crowd scene. And since I was out of things to type about the movie before I started I'd like to take this opportunity to say can we please stop rubbishing shot-on-video. Everyone says pay up for film because digital doesn't have that gauzy sheen, but yeah neither does the world. People who think it looks cheap need film filtered glasses I guess because the sharp, harsh cold world I see every day with my actual eyeballs looks pretty much like digital video. Not saying I don't like the rich film look; real is most certainly not always better, but sometimes it is and I'd rather filmmakers use the money they'd save to put more dead teenagers in front of the camera or hire Debbie Rochon.