Christmas Cruelty (2013) (O’HELLIGE JUL!)-Norway’s Gift to the Connoisseurs of Extreme Horror Cinema.

Written by Bryan Fitzgerald (Fitz of Horror)-2017

–Synopsis-“O’Hellige Jul!” follows both a serial killer as he plans for his next kills, and the next set of victims he has set his sights on. As the group of friends we get to know prepare for Christmas in their own way we also follow the killer as he stalks and does his final research for this years Christmas cruelty. In the last act of the movie he invades the home of our group of friends to execute his twisted little plan as foreshadowed in the first act. 

Christmas Cruelty has been on my radar since it’s release in 2013 but since it is a fairly limited Norwegian indie release it has proven hard to come by, unless you want to pay a crazy eBay price. This year, in an effort to increase my ever growing Christmas horror collection I decided put out the extra effort and finally track it down and watch it.

From the demented Norwegian minds of Per-Ingvar Tomren and Magne Steinsvoll, Christmas Cruelty is one I highly recommend that you add to your yearly Christmas rotation. Although not for everyone and definitely not for the squeamish, Christmas Cruelty pulls no punches when it comes to taboo subject matter. Lets just say that Christmas Cruelty deserves to be in the conversation with movies like August Underground and A Serbian Film in terms of gore and straight up not giving a shit how the viewer feels about the violence shown on screen.

 

The opening scene will definitely separate the weak from the strong and if you do continue to watch after that, congratulations you’re a sick motherfucker and you are in for one hell of a payoff treat!

We are introduced to our serial rapist/killer and sociopath antagonist as he has a family tied up and carrying out horrific acts to certain members. As your jaw is left on the ground, we immediately get to meet our care free group of horror movie loving friends as they prepare for Christmas in their own way by drinking loads of liquor, getting stoned, ripping on each other and having an otherwise great time.

The middle portion of the movie is quite the departure from the opening scene but is filled with great dialogue and some genuinely funny moments as well as some more scenes of getting to know our killer, a seemingly regular guy with a 9-5 job that in his free time is plotting to kill people. There is also a very evident element  of  social satire, which comes as no surprise after learning that the directors were heavily influenced by the likes of Quentin Tarantino and the late George A. Romero.

When our characters finally cross paths we get to see how truly mad our Santa suit wearing psychopath really is. He uses multiple instruments of torture to inflict his own brand of Christmas cruelty on our unsuspecting group and takes great pleasure in being very creative with these gruesome acts. It has been a while since I watched a movie that had such a crazy and gut wrenching ending and it even holds up under multiple viewings.

I want to remind everyone that this is a low budget but very well done movie. The gore and practical FX are very well done and they don’t shy away from keeping the camera focused on the carnage. The story is also well put together and keeps you interested in the characters and what happens to them, however cruel it may be.

As of now, Christmas Cruelty is only available on region free DVD and very limited in availability but there are some very interesting behind the scenes stories that still need to be told so hopefully we will be seeing a blu ray release soon.

Check them out on Facebook at Christmas Cruelty where you can also drop a message to find out how to get a signed copy of the movie.

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