Mrs. Claus

Director - Troy Escamilla (Party Night)
Starring - Helene Udy (My Bloody Valentine, The Dead Zone), Brinke Stevens (The Slumber Party Massacre, Slavegirls From Beyond Infinity), and Kaylee Williams (Porkchop 3D, Leaf Blower Massacre II)
Release Date - 2018
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "A creature is stirring"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Christmas is just a few days away and with all the things going on I found myself not in the Christmas spirit.  I love Christmas.  I honestly do.  Hell, I may even like it more than Halloween so this year is a bit strange for me.  To try and get myself in the Christmas spirit I decided to toss in a few Christmas flicks I haven't seen yet.  The first was Santa with Muscles from 1996 starring Hulk Hogan.  This was a forgettable flick that was on the bad side of direct to video.  I decided to follow that up with a Wild Eye slasher.  This time I tossed in Troy Escamilla's Mrs. Claus which was originally titled Stirring.  I want to thank Wild Eye for sending this one over.
    The film begins with a sorority hazing an unstable pledge.  When they go too far the president of the sorority is murdered and the pledge kills herself.  We jump forward several years and the sorority house is tainted by the brutal murder of their former president.  Now one of the pledges is the little sister of the former president who is trying to put her past behind her by following in her sister's footsteps (?).  However, someone else hasn't forgotten that dreadful night.  Donning a mask of an old woman and dressed as Mrs. Claus, they stalk their way through the sorority killing everyone.
     It was just a few weeks ago that I watched Escamilla's other slasher film Party Night.  I'm a sucker for slashers and Party Night had some moments but it is one that I will not be checking out again any time soon.  Mrs. Claus is a little better but does have a few hang ups.  The acting in this one is a little on the low side.  Some of the scenes has some extremely awkward dialogue and uncomfortable interactions between several of the characters.  The acting in this one is far from perfect and left plenty of room for improvement.  The characters work for this type of slasher but inexperience does show in several of the scenes.  The story for this one works for those of us that enjoy simple slashers with crude language and sleazy characters.  Nudity is not rampant in this one but there is some.  Most of the cast is slasher fodder and it works for the very simple and predictable story.  Fans that like to toss in a slasher and enjoy a few cold ones will really enjoy this one.  It's fun but you see the slasher reveal coming from a mile away.  Finally, fans of classic slashers will enjoy the kills we get in this one.  They are bloody, brutal, and the practical effects were surprisingly good.  I was not expecting the caliber of practical effects we were given.  Overall, Mrs. Claus doesn't bring anything new to the sub-genre but it does deliver an entertaining holiday slasher.  I was not a fan of the acting in some of the scenes but when were slashers known for their amazing acting chops?  Check it out now on DVD from Wild Eye Entertainment.