PopHorror Let's Get Scared
While the origins of Christmas in July vary from place to place based on temperature and ideology, horror fans don’t get a lot of physical Christmas-based horror in the summer months to sink their teeth into. Enter Curtains For Christmas, the latest horror-comedy from Silver Spotlight Films. Let’s take a look at this movie and see if it gives audiences a chill in the sweltering heat.
Curtains For Christmas is written by Aleen Isley (Head Case 2023) and Steve Rudzinski (CarousHELL 3 2023, read our review here) and directed by Rudzinski. It stars Isley as Holly, a Christmas loving eccentric who wishes to make her Hallmark holiday hopes a reality, by any means necessary. Michael Varrati (Happy Horror Days 2020) plays a giant costumed rat that sounds like South Park‘s Mr. Garrison, who is a literal representation of Holly’s deranged mind. Rudzinski plays Jay, the fun loving, Christmas-connected love interest for the warped Holly.
Rudzinski is known for his over the top, self-referential comedic style, and there’s plenty of that in Curtains For Christmas. The entire film plays like a love letter to the holiday, with Holly serving as a Krampus-esque gatekeeper of its traditions. We get a Home Alone “Wet Bandits” homage, as well as references to previous Silver Spotlight Films work, like CarousHELL and the Meowy holiday series (featuring the adorable Ratzinski clan).
Holly wants to impress Jay, so she captures and cajoles a fake family to complete her perfect yuletide date. But when things go wrong, bodies begin to pile up in very detailed and entertaining ways. The gore is what puts the horror into this horror-comedy, and the Christmas oriented kills are a masterclass from Cody Ruch (The Conduit 2018). The lighting and detuned scores are holiday themed, and the detail in the deaths are wonderfully complete.
The casting in Curtains For Christmas is spot on and features a myriad of talented actors from the horror indie film scene. The characters are given clear motivations and some of the actors serve as a more grounded reality for the spectacular things going on around them.
Curtains For Christmas may be Rudzinski’s most linear and balanced film. It premieres live at Grossfest in Pittsburgh on Saturday August 3 and is physically for sale at SilverSpotlightFilms.com. It will be available digitally on SteveBuster.com on August 1.
