19 reviews
Well this is not related to the Covid-19 pandemic, the social distancing and the Quarantine. No this is about the calendar doors that have horror shorts inside. Now all kidding aside, we get a mixed bag (no pun intended) of presents here. Some of the shorts are really good, others not so much. The best thing is, that they are quite short overall.
This is a german production and anthologies always find an audience. There are way better ones outside this, though if you do watch this, stay for the extra story during the end credits. There's a bonus one can get behind with - especially if you don't mind the blood and violence included in most of these
This is a german production and anthologies always find an audience. There are way better ones outside this, though if you do watch this, stay for the extra story during the end credits. There's a bonus one can get behind with - especially if you don't mind the blood and violence included in most of these
I came across this movie and thought well I love horror movies and Christmas so this should be interesting. Needless to say I was in for a wide ride. First off this is a bunch of multiple short clips and that there are different languages spoke in here. Even if you don't speak those languages you won't be left out on what is going on. With all the different short stories my favorite has to be the second one but I can't spoil it by explaining it. The entire movie I spent saying what in the world is happening now. One animated short story really messed me up by the amount of weirdness that was going on. Now as for recommending this movie.....maybe. If you were drunk or smoked something then this movie is definitely something for you. If your sober I don't recommend it especially if you have child. Just to wrap this up by saying I don't regret seeing this movie one bit but I probably won't watch it again.
- nmiller-19962
- Nov 24, 2020
- Permalink
Acknowledging "Deathcember's" low-budget background, I still thought it's going to be a somewhat of a hit with me. Its closest relative, "The ABC's of Death" franchise, although always a violently shaken mixed bag, has been quite fine by me. And I love seasonal horror movies very much. However, "DeathCember" ultimately had a little more charcoal than gifts.
24 short films from 24 directors internationally, all horror, all tied to Christmas one way or another, smaller or bigger. A present wrapped in a rather enormous runtime of 2 hours and 25 minutes. A couple known directors include Lucky McKee ("May", "The Woman"), Polyanna McIntosh ("Darlin'"), Ruggero Deodato ("Cannibal Holocaust") and Julian Richards ("The Last Horror Movie"). The rest I had never heard of before. A few familiar faces from the horror world glimpse through too, including Barbara Crampton, Matt Mercer and AJ Bowen.
It really is a very mixed bag, and unfortunately for the pacing, to me it felt like it used up most of its big, flashy fireworks before halfway through. Out of the 24, there were about 6 that I'd say I liked and really enjoyed, 10 more sliding up and down on the line between "alright" and "mehh", and the rest were simply misses for me. There was at least one short that had absolutely nothing to do with Christmas, winter, or any element of this season. But, there is gore, there is violence, there is sci-fi, there is silent cinema, a western, criminal schemes, cannibals, killer deer, all kinds of mischievous ghouls and, of course, santas. And more. There is fun to be had, if you keep in mind that, on many levels, a lot of them are hard not to describe as cheap.
I'm quite sure I'll never re-watch it, but I'm glad I watched it, because it would torture me further sitting on the watchlist. Anthologies always win me. If you are a true seasonal horror maniac and brave, too, then check this out. It's on Amazon Prime. My rating: 4/10.
24 short films from 24 directors internationally, all horror, all tied to Christmas one way or another, smaller or bigger. A present wrapped in a rather enormous runtime of 2 hours and 25 minutes. A couple known directors include Lucky McKee ("May", "The Woman"), Polyanna McIntosh ("Darlin'"), Ruggero Deodato ("Cannibal Holocaust") and Julian Richards ("The Last Horror Movie"). The rest I had never heard of before. A few familiar faces from the horror world glimpse through too, including Barbara Crampton, Matt Mercer and AJ Bowen.
It really is a very mixed bag, and unfortunately for the pacing, to me it felt like it used up most of its big, flashy fireworks before halfway through. Out of the 24, there were about 6 that I'd say I liked and really enjoyed, 10 more sliding up and down on the line between "alright" and "mehh", and the rest were simply misses for me. There was at least one short that had absolutely nothing to do with Christmas, winter, or any element of this season. But, there is gore, there is violence, there is sci-fi, there is silent cinema, a western, criminal schemes, cannibals, killer deer, all kinds of mischievous ghouls and, of course, santas. And more. There is fun to be had, if you keep in mind that, on many levels, a lot of them are hard not to describe as cheap.
I'm quite sure I'll never re-watch it, but I'm glad I watched it, because it would torture me further sitting on the watchlist. Anthologies always win me. If you are a true seasonal horror maniac and brave, too, then check this out. It's on Amazon Prime. My rating: 4/10.
- TwistedContent
- Dec 20, 2022
- Permalink
This movie is a lame try at making an anthology. The stories are short, fine enough, but they are boring, stupid and lame. Nothing more than a b-movie crap, trying to make a cheap spin off better anthologys. Avoid
Oh, I grew to strongly dislike this fast! The only short I really liked was the one with Tiffany Shepis as a very angry Christmas shopper who had a rather brutal violent punch up with an employee who was only doing his job, I love Shepis she's really cool and a bit of an unsung modern scream queen, she's been in a lot of indie horror gems for a lot of years and she was awesome in this, it was a surprisingly bloody and over the top crazy little slugfest, and I thought it stole the show by a mile! Apart from that though it was just painfully boring for me and I was angry yawning and looking at the clock and everything, and some of the shorts didn't even remotely fit into a Christmas theme and were there just to fill out the time, by the end this screaming barnacle of an anthology made me want to weep, and if flies right out of your head almost as soon as you've seen it, I wouldn't recommend it! Absolutely pitiful zero effort excuse for an anthology, just twenty four too many mediocre-to-terrible short horror films sloppily taped together like so much shoddy wrapping paper around an unwanted gift that ultimately contains nothing. You can shove this one back up your stocking!!
- Foreverisacastironmess123
- Dec 28, 2020
- Permalink
Well, I didn't really know what I was in for when I sat down to watch the 2019 movie titled "Deathcember". But I sat down to watch it and gave it a chance.
First of all, it should be said that "Deathcember" is 24 short segments based more or less around a Christmas theme, some more than others. And while that was interesting enough in concept, it didn't really translate all that well to the screen for many of the segments.
I managed to sit through 17 segments, before I just gave up. I was by no means entertained by what transpired on the screen. Sure, some segments were better than others, but the overall feel to this was not one of overly enjoyment. There simply were just way too many bland or pointless segments that were dragging the ones that were interesting down.
In "Deathcember" you will find segments of all manners, types and contents. And I am sure that there is even a segment that will offend people in the audience, the one with the claymation - or whatever it is called. I found it to be funny, but the contents of that segment can so very easily offend a lot of people.
Something that was impressive about "Deathcember", though, was the fact that they actually had segments spanning wide and far across the continents, so there is a chance that there might just be something suitable for you among the 24 segments.
At one point I thought I briefly saw Barbara Crampton in a segment, but I thought it was just someone looking a lot like her. But it was actually her, and I was really surprised that she showed up in something like "Deathcember". I had to check here on IMDb to see if it was her or not.
"Deathcember" is hardly a horror anthology classic in the likes of "Creepshow" or "Tales from the Crypt". Nor was it something that I will ever be attempting to sit through again, nor even return to watch the few remaining segments.
My rating of "Deathcember" lands on a more than generous three out of ten stars.
First of all, it should be said that "Deathcember" is 24 short segments based more or less around a Christmas theme, some more than others. And while that was interesting enough in concept, it didn't really translate all that well to the screen for many of the segments.
I managed to sit through 17 segments, before I just gave up. I was by no means entertained by what transpired on the screen. Sure, some segments were better than others, but the overall feel to this was not one of overly enjoyment. There simply were just way too many bland or pointless segments that were dragging the ones that were interesting down.
In "Deathcember" you will find segments of all manners, types and contents. And I am sure that there is even a segment that will offend people in the audience, the one with the claymation - or whatever it is called. I found it to be funny, but the contents of that segment can so very easily offend a lot of people.
Something that was impressive about "Deathcember", though, was the fact that they actually had segments spanning wide and far across the continents, so there is a chance that there might just be something suitable for you among the 24 segments.
At one point I thought I briefly saw Barbara Crampton in a segment, but I thought it was just someone looking a lot like her. But it was actually her, and I was really surprised that she showed up in something like "Deathcember". I had to check here on IMDb to see if it was her or not.
"Deathcember" is hardly a horror anthology classic in the likes of "Creepshow" or "Tales from the Crypt". Nor was it something that I will ever be attempting to sit through again, nor even return to watch the few remaining segments.
My rating of "Deathcember" lands on a more than generous three out of ten stars.
- paul_haakonsen
- Dec 4, 2020
- Permalink
I like anthology horror. I like holiday horror. Many anthology movies suffer from being either too short if they're good or too boring if they're long. 26 very short horror stories, some are genuinely entertaining, some are just "good-bad" enough to laugh at... These stories are much shorter than usual in the genre, which manages makes it all bearable. The good stories are artistically efficient and whimsical with some fun twists and turns. The not-so-good stories are mercifully quick to get through.
26 international horror stories that are short and sweet... Not a bad a deal. Pick and choose. Enjoy. It's literally like a box of chocolates.
26 international horror stories that are short and sweet... Not a bad a deal. Pick and choose. Enjoy. It's literally like a box of chocolates.
The problem with anthologies is that naturally you'll get some better than others. Some had cool concepts that would have been better if they got a bit more time for you to get into them. Others were painfully bad.
The overall production value seemed decent enough too, it wasn't amazing. But I've seen much worse, and it was more polished than an amateur effort.
I did enjoy the animation inbetween to tie them together. But I think it might have been better to maybe have 12 days of Christmas, rather than 24, and let the best of ideas get explored more.
The overall production value seemed decent enough too, it wasn't amazing. But I've seen much worse, and it was more polished than an amateur effort.
I did enjoy the animation inbetween to tie them together. But I think it might have been better to maybe have 12 days of Christmas, rather than 24, and let the best of ideas get explored more.
- cescfabulous
- Jun 8, 2021
- Permalink
This was seriously just lazy. Any tie to christmas was usually tentative at best. I ended up turning it off part way through because it was just a total waste of time and energy. Thank god the budgets were low on these productions because the people behind them would have been a waste to throw more resources behind.
Honestly this anthology is pathetic. What happened to the spark of creativity that made the schlock of previous decades seem so much more enjoyable?
There are just so many better offerings out there, so many more films worth spending an hour and a half watching, why on earth would you waste your life watching this?
Honestly this anthology is pathetic. What happened to the spark of creativity that made the schlock of previous decades seem so much more enjoyable?
There are just so many better offerings out there, so many more films worth spending an hour and a half watching, why on earth would you waste your life watching this?
- wesleyvanauken
- Dec 25, 2022
- Permalink
Sure, it may not be an 8 to most people, but this is a really well done, sometimes spooky anthology. There are people making negative reviews because they were insulted my a segment or two. That should be all the reason you need to watch it.
- derykronksolid
- Dec 1, 2021
- Permalink
Deathcember (2019) is a movie I recently watched on Tubi and is set up like an advent calendar with 24 short films that run in total about 2 hours and 25 minutes. There are 24 international directors that deliver holiday themed short horror films with cool Christmas animations between each episode.
This movie starts off with a great episode starting off with the a Christmas shoppingnin a store themed episode. There's some clever stories like the robbery story, funny episodes like the one with deers and a snake episode that will make your skin crawl. The animation between episodes is very well done and there's way more gore and great kill scenes in this than I expected.
Overall this is a bit of an underrated film that's a joy for fans of horror short films. I'd score this a solid 6.5/10 and strongly recommend seeing it once.
This movie starts off with a great episode starting off with the a Christmas shoppingnin a store themed episode. There's some clever stories like the robbery story, funny episodes like the one with deers and a snake episode that will make your skin crawl. The animation between episodes is very well done and there's way more gore and great kill scenes in this than I expected.
Overall this is a bit of an underrated film that's a joy for fans of horror short films. I'd score this a solid 6.5/10 and strongly recommend seeing it once.
- kevin_robbins
- Dec 19, 2021
- Permalink
What a let down this was, stupid storyline and even worse actors, and the scene with the Chinese girl in it playing someone who was about to get contaminated and was in isolation was the director having premonitions of what was to come or what?
- cannondenise
- Dec 5, 2020
- Permalink
Here is the problem with anthology films. Some people just try harder than others and the ones that don't try make the ones that do look bad.
If you want something that's entertaining, gripping and full of great actors and acripts then this is not the place to be.
If you want something that's entertaining, gripping and full of great actors and acripts then this is not the place to be.
- Dodge-Zombie
- Jun 11, 2022
- Permalink
This is the first review I've ever written and to tell you the truth, I've mainly registered here to do so. Because I've seen the film at a festival earlier this year and I liked it very much, and now I hear it's being released VoD and wanted to see what others are saying... and I'm honestly SHOCKED!! at the low ratings and all the negativity going around here. Did you people watch the same film?? Can't be true. Because Deathcember really is bags of fun, I think. So, I rate it 10/10. Is it worth a 10? Nah, of course not, only The Godfather is. But it's a very solid 8/10. So why do I rate it 10/10? Because I want to be a counterweight to all those shamefully low ratings. And because I really admire the film for what it is and the filmmakers for what they've achieved here. Come on, so many films by so many different people all delivering on gleefully dark Christmas Horror fun, never ever boring or tiresome, like an ABCS of Christmas horror. I've never seen anything like it. Yeah sure, some of the episodes are a bit of a letdown, but seriously the vast majority is really cool modern horror with a lot of surprisingly original ideas. The Mexian one with the carol singers is downright epic. And so many more that had me laughing, screaming, groaning... loved it. I'd say, ignore the downvoters and check it out for yourself. And thank you for reading this!
Wow.... I loved this film. The negative reviews are typically from Catholics taking offense To the fact that they have a REAL issue in their church.... not the movie's fault, guys. This is low budget, b-movie, horror gore FUN!!!
- deryk-powerlift
- Dec 17, 2021
- Permalink
This is a first ever as far as I am aware: an advent calendar or christmas-themed anthology of genre shorts, involving ideas from many different countries. 24 films that are each very different from one another but are connected through an overall animation that ties it all together. All in all, I found most of them highly enjoyable and I laughed more than I was shocked or scared. When I checked my watch after the credits were through, I was puzzled that so much time had passed.
- sonja_sinz
- Apr 9, 2020
- Permalink
I really enjoyed the fresh perspective of this movie. It's definitely not something I've seen before in the horror genre. Loved the idea of a Christmas advent calendar. My favorite short was "Family Matters" by Steve De Roover. A fresh and creepy concept on meeting the parents. Great special effects.
- krischellelee
- Jan 7, 2021
- Permalink
I saw it today at a Festival in Germany. It was very entertaining, and i enjoyed it !
- manofsteel-01315
- Jan 17, 2020
- Permalink