Holidays-2016
Director Anthony Scott Burns, Miscellaneous
Starring Jocelin Donohue, Sophie Traub, Seth Green
Scott’s Review #460
Reviewed August 7, 2016
Grade: A-
While perusing my Netflix streaming new release options, I stumbled upon an intriguing choice with an interesting premise.
Eight horror vignettes are all set in a holiday theme named Holidays (2016). The description of the stories harkens back to the days of the beloved Showtime Masters of Horrors series (2005-2007) that featured macabre horror shorts.
Not all eight offerings are spectacular, but the ones that stand out are dynamic, if not creepy.
Set in chronological order, Holidays begins with a story centered on Valentine’s Day- a clear homage to the horror classic Carrie (1976).
A taunted female teenager nicknamed “Maxi-Pad” by her cruel nemesis is encouraged to dive into the high school pool by her male coach to retrieve a brick, presumably to conquer her fear of swimming or water.
The coach, who Maxi is in love with, requires a heart transplant, so Maxi goes to morbid lengths to assist him and exact revenge on her tormentor.
In Father’s Day, a young female teacher receives a mysterious cassette tape from her long-estranged father, leading her on an adventure in an abandoned area to locate her father, wonderfully voiced by actor Michael Gross.
The audiotape’s voice tones and static sound add to the intrigue and suspense of the story.
Along with the Valentine’s Day story, the Christmas and New Year’s Eve segments are my favorites, as each is exceptional and creative.
On Christmas Eve, a young father (Seth Green) attempts to buy his son the last virtual reality device, but when he leaves a stranger to die to obtain it, he becomes haunted by the device.
On New Year’s Eve, a male serial killer looks for his next victim, a lonely woman desperate for an online date, but once they return to her house for sex, who becomes the hunter, and who becomes the victim?
Other holidays featured in stories that are either too bizarre to make perfect sense or less compelling but still worth mentioning are St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, and Halloween.
I adore this film’s clever holiday theme. I wonder which holiday will come next and how it will be incorporated into the story. It is terrific fun.
Specifically, the Christmas story reminds me of a classic Twilight Zone episode in which the main character betrays an unknown stranger for personal gain, which leads to guilt and conflict.
A few of the stories focus on the traditions of the featured holidays, like the legendary snakes of St. Patrick’s Day or the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday, as a frightened young girl becomes terrified of the folklore involved.
This is incorporated with the legend of the Easter bunny delivering candy, as the confused girl cannot separate fairy tales from reality. This makes me wonder if the director’s point was to question the silliness of religion if one dissects it enough.
Other themes are revenge, as in the Halloween and Valentine’s Day episodes. Both feature bullying in one way or another, each getting their due in the end.
I wish more anthologies like Holidays (2016) were made, as watching this feature was a fascinating, late-night joy.