PopHorror Let's Get Scared
A good Christmas horror anthology is like a glass of eggnog by the fire after a giant family meal. It contains all the nostalgia and warmth of the classic Christmas seasons gone by, full of comfort and flavor. The newest entry into the holiday horror pantheon is Nightmare on 34th Street, a collection of four dark Christmas tales wrapped into one giant-sized present.
Nightmare on 34th Street is written and directed by James Crow (Curse of the Witching Tree 2015). It stars Lucy Pinder (Dangerous Game 2017), Ewen MacIntosh (The Lobster 2015), and Gillian Broderick (Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey 2023). The plot revolves around a man posing as Santa Claus, who breaks into a home and comes face-to-face with a young boy. In close quarters, the faux Santa tells the young boy multiple macabre tales of Christmas catastrophes. The viewers can immediately tell that James Crow loves the horror genre, because a lot of the characters in his stories pay homage to different indie horror flicks throughout the film.
Nightmare on 34th Street spins tales of family deceit, secrets, and parties gone wrong, giving genre fans multiple types of horror to relate to. The most appropriate existing comparison would be A Christmas Horror Story (check out our review here), as both anthologies do a great job of setting the proper ambiance. This movie has a genuine feel of Christmas, not just settling on being a horror film with the ho-ho-holiday shoehorned in. Most of the characters in peril are young children or teenagers, which adds an extra sense of danger to the proceedings.
Most accomplished anthologies need a solid wrapper to tidy up the story, and that’s the place that Nightmare on 34th Street shines most brightly. The Mr. Red character is worn and stodgy but carries enough menace to strike fear into the audience as he spins his tales of death and despair. This part easily becomes the most tense, because you get a genuine sense of fear for the hapless child.
This film debuts on digital platforms on December 6 courtesy of Wild Eye Releasing.
