Caesar and Otto's Deadly X-Mas

Director - Dave Campfield (Casesar and Otto's Summer Camp Massacre)
Starring - Dave Campfield (Escape from Kings Park), Paul Chomicki (Caesar and Otto Meet Dracula's Lawyer), and Deron Miller (Crazy Fat Ethel)
Release Date - 2013
Genre - Horror/Comedy
Tagline - "Tis the season to be screaming"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     You really have to love how ballsy slasher films are.  No day is sacred when it comes to slashers and any holiday is susceptible to bloody carnage.  Slashers are known for the many themes used in them over the years but my favorite is the holiday themed ones.  Slashers have invaded our birthdays, April Fool's Day, New Years Day, Halloween, graduation day, and even one of the holiest days of them all, Christmas.  Slashers have left a bloody footprint on the Christmas holiday with films like Black Christmas, Silent Night, Deadly Night, and Don't Open Till Christmas.   All those films are classics that I watch every holiday season.  Sadly, I feel there is just not enough Christmas slashers out their.  I can easily name about 10 more but that is not enough.  Cue in Wild Eye Releasing's newest film Caesar and Otto's Deadly Xmas.  I recently received word from MVD that Wild Eye would be releasing this flick and I had to see it.  I reached out to my good friends at Wild Eye and they were nice enough to send me a copy.  Thank you for that!

     The film follows clean-cut Caesar (Campfield) and his poor hygienic brother Otto (Chomicki) as they seek employment.  Caesar is a struggling actor and Otto is just struggling.  The two seek out an open position to play a traveling Santa which is a gig that has Caesar torn.  He wants to use this job as acting experience but a childhood incident involving a man dressed as Santa wielding a chainsaw has scared him for life.  The two reluctantly get the job and work with another traveling Santa named Demian (Miller of CKY fame).  However, Demian just seems a little off and rightly so.  Demian has been killing people and when he gets his hands on a list Caesar put together he starts to murder them.  When Demian completes the list he calls the police and claims to be Caesar in order to set him up.  Luckily, Caesar has made friends inside the police department who call and warn him sending him and his brother down a dark path full of cults and conspiracy. 
     Slashers are known for being campy and cliched but most were known for being serious and completely void of humor.  However, some slashers did pop up that were parodies of themselves and the sub-genre all together.  The best known example of this is the slasher parody Student Bodies.  This film took the standard slasher formula and completely mocked it resulting in one funny film.  Sadly, slasher parodies are rare but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that C and O's Deadly X-mas was not actually a slasher comedy but a parody of sorts. The film does not parody holiday slashers or slashers as a whole but two particular holiday slashers.  The slashers, Silent Night Deadly Night and Silent Night Deadly Night 2, parodies for the most part.  This film makes the evident after Caesar and Otto's characters are introduced.  I read reviews that people said the film paid homage to both films but I can easily argue that it was a parody more than an homage.  Both films revolved around a killer that was wronged on Christmas and years later repeats the word "naughty" as they slaughter just like Demian does in this film.  The film also uses the "garbage day" gag in a hilarious manner reminiscent of SNDN 2 but purposely mistaking the date.  Also, the film relived Linnea Quigley's death scene from SNDN which was funny to see in this film but not on the same level of awesome as her original death.  The acting in this film is actually on the bad side even with the horror legends this film boasts.  Quigley, Brinke Stevens, Felissa Rose, and Debbie Rochon are all known in the horror community and I was looking forward to seeing them in this film but they did not give the performances one would come to expect from such names.  However, I was really surprised by director/actor Dave Campfield and his portrayal of Caesar.  He created one fun character that reminded me a lot of Moe Howard and has the longevity to last an entire series of films.  After watching this I will now look for the rest of his films.  The story is something told not once, but twice, but with a whole new spin on it.  Those of you that have seen SNDN and it's sequel know that SNDN 2 is the same damn film with the exception of the garbage day segment.  However, this film turns the carnage up and mixes it with some very simple humor.  The film has some great laughs to a story that most recognize as a very brutal slasher that spawned controversy when released.  Finally, those looking for yuletide bloodshed will find it here.  The film is overflowing with on screen kills and fairly decent special effects.  The film may not shock and aw with amazing special effects but the film does have just enough to pull the deaths off.  Overall, this Christmas slasher has the laughs and bloodshed to take any horror fan through the holiday season.  I recommend this one.