Mercy Christmas

"Mercy Christmas" (2017, Ryan Nelson, No Mercy Pictures, Other Paw Films) is a festive holiday cannibal film.

Santa brought me this film for Christmas this year. Thanks, Santa.

Michael Briskett (Steven Hubbell) receives an invite to Christmas dinner from the office cutie, Cindy (Casey O'Keefe), and thinks he's won a watch. But after arriving at her family home, he discovers that he might not like what's on the menu...

The DVD box is littered with positive reviews and comments about the gore level of the film. While the film is a purposefully cheesy, low budget piece and does not deliver quite the level of gore I was hoping for, it is pretty funny and hosts some performances which were far superior than I went in expecting as well as a few recognisable faces. The sense of humour keeps the film going despite the cat being out of the bag fairly early in the plot, but the 83 minute run time also does not outstay its welcome.

Our family of religious, social climbing cannibals are both caricaturistic and delightfully reprehensible and, once the chaos ensues, we are treated to some funny fight scenes and physical humour with a definite festive slant. I never knew that fairy lights could be so practical. Our small band of victims/heroes aren't developed very much given the run time but definitely keep the audience on side and deliver a few good comedy moments also.

While it's nothing groundbreaking, "Mercy Christmas" provides that lighthearted black humour someone like me tends to enjoy around this time of year and will most likely enter my annual viewing rotation.

[Image: Other Paw Productions, et al]

Hani

Jack Frost

"Jack Frost" (1996, Michael Cooney, Moonstone Entertainment) is a festive horror comedy from America.

Surprisingly entertaining and laugh-out-loud cheesy this film has fast moved up my shelf and may not live with the other 'Christmas only' films.

Low budget, tacky and with some hilarious flaws (the main one being the severe lack of real snow! And also being able to catch glimpses of the actor under the costume during one particular scene), this film hits all the right notes with me for a Christmas slasher:

• It's short (only 84 minutes)
• It's got a lot of cheesy kill scenes
• It's chalk full of bad puns and wooden acting 
• Quite a lot of good low budget gore
• It has a bloody ludicrous storyline
• The killer is a snowman in a brilliantly bad snowman costume!

On his way to execution, serial killer Jack Frost (Scott MacDonald) suffers a freak accident and is contaminated with some questionable hazardous material. He then, of course, turns into an abominable snowman and quickly resumes his killing spree.

Jack brutally goes around town killing, maiming and raping - yes, there's some snowman rape - the locals of Snowmanton (And yes, that is the name of the town). Who can stop this chilly madman?

It's a good thing local sheriff Tiler (Christopher Allport) and FBI Agents Manners (Stephen Mendell) and Stone (Rob LaBelle) are on the case . Watch for Manners' hilariously unconvincing beard stubble!

So, all in all, this film is pretty good in that wonderfully cheesy low budget way. With everything from Shannon Elizabeth's winter strip-tease to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas", to the disturbing snowman guts this film hits the button in an entertaining way. Not worth a lot of your money, however, I managed to score a copy from a charity shop for £1.50. Bargain!

Also, I enjoyed the random statements and quotes laced through the credits :)

[Image: Moonstone Entertainment]

Hani