My quick rating – 5.1/10. Christmas Bloody Christmas wastes no time introducing us to two characters so aggressively annoying that you may find yourself rooting for them to be the first names crossed off Santa’s list. Riley Dandy and Sam Delich take control of the opening act, delivering a barrage of banter that clearly wants to channel Clerks. The sad thing is, this is not exactly an apt comparison. Rather than solid dialogue and plot, we’re treated to this ridiculous F-bomb diatribe that is completely gratuitous and intended strictly for shock value. The conversation goes on for far too long, and once it finally comes to an end, they again proceed down the inevitable path to the bedroom.

Along the way, the film introduces a few disposable extras and, more importantly, its robo-Santa centerpiece. Television commercials conveniently establish that these robotic Kringles are armed and have already been recalled due to malfunctions, which is about as subtle as a brick through a shop window. That setup exists solely to fast-track us into slasher territory once our two leads commit the ultimate horror sin by having sex inside the store where the Santa is housed. The robot activates, declares them “naughty,” and the killing spree begins.

At that point, I was fully on board. After enduring the overlong intro, I expected the movie to reward my patience with a lean, mean, gore-soaked holiday slasher. Instead, the film starts to wobble. The action becomes uneven, and the mayhem never quite reaches the level of intensity it promises. That said, for its budget, Christmas Bloody Christmas looks pretty solid. The practical effects are the real highlight here, delivering some satisfying brutality that helps keep things afloat even when the pacing falters.

Then we hit the final fifteen minutes, and that’s where everything goes sideways. The film abruptly abandons its slasher identity and transforms into a full-blown killer robot movie. The shift is so extreme that it sent me to Twitter to ask writer-director Joe Begos whether this was meant to be an homage or a straight-up lift from Hardware (he never replied). The resemblance isn’t subtle – it borrows the visual style, the robot’s specific flaw, and even the music. Homage or not, the result feels like the movie completely loses confidence in its own premise right at the finish line.

Up until that turn, Christmas Bloody Christmas plays like an above-average slasher with a gimmick you almost forget is even robotic. In placing the focus of the climax on that part of the story, the movie undermines everything else it was doing right and finishes on a note that’s more borrowed than earned. If you’re looking for something a bit of a bloody Christmas fix, this might hit the spot, but it’s probably a one-and-done. The tonal imbalance and the lack of reward in terms of the story aren’t exactly encouraging of a return visit. As always, use that information as you will.