You can’t say “Christmas” without Creepshow! Shudder is at it again with a new festive addition to their original programming with A Creepshow Holiday Special, directed by the one-and-only SFX master Greg Nicotero and starring familiar faces Anna Camp and Adam Pally. Seasons screamings!
Forget everything you know about werewolves, because there’s a mighty hairy situation going on in town. Robert Weston, at wit’s end, decides to partake in a local support group, “Shapeshifter’s Anonymous.” Robert’s been blacking out and having stomach troubles — pooping out bits and pieces of fabric and other non-food materials. Visiting the group (filled with characters smartly named after horror icons like “Landis” and “Chaney”) starts to calm his nerves a bit after hearing about other therianthropes, but Robert’s thrown off-guard when they mention their ultimate enemy: Kris Kringle himself. What transpires is a comedic Christmas massacre the Crypt Keeper would be proud of.
Leave the kiddos in bed for this one, because Santas are dying left and right. We’ve got blood, gore, and adult jokes in this 45-minute special. Mall Santas hunger for the group’s decapitated heads as they try to rid the world of therianthrope-kind. Little do they know that prophetic Bob the Werewolf (thought to be newcomer Robert), is there to save the day.
A Creepshow Holiday Special is fun and action-packed, never missing an opportunity for a joke or super cool sequence and never skimping out on the horror. It fits right in with the anthology, preserving both the Christmas horror vibe and spirit of the original 80s originals.
Humorous and witty, A Creepshow Holiday Special joins the ranks of other Christmas horror staples like A Christmas Horror Story and Krampus. I found it incredibly enjoyable and left with a smile on my face. My only gripe would be that it felt short — not quite rushed, but definitely short. That said, it’s a holiday special, not a feature-length film. Just be prepared to want more! You’ll leave satisfied seeing a brilliant story play out on a small set, a robotic demon St. Nick, and a group of ragtag shapeshifters including a were-boar and were-tortoise. A Creepshow Holiday Special is everything you didn’t know you needed in a December release.
A Creepshow Holiday Special is available now on Shudder and on the Shudder offering with the AMC+ bundle.
