It’s a smorgasbord of four flicks to add to the complete holiday horror page, so let’s get right into them.
PUMPKINHOLE (2022)
When I told my hubby I was watching Pumpkinhole, he said, “You already did that on your book cover”. Okay, maybe he didn’t remember the name of my book is Wet Screams, but the cover art has definitely made a lasting impression on him…due to awe or embarrassment. I’m not sure which.
Anyway, there is no literal “pumpkinhole” in the movie, although the main character does mention going into the pumpkinhole once. No, I didn’t understand what it meant, but it was hot hearing him say it.
This is more trauma porn than horror, but there are definitely some haunting visuals and sequences, and even flashes of gore. Also, Halloween is crucial to the plot and adds to the very moody, gloomy tone and atmosphere of the film.
It’s actually a tragic story about a broken man suffering from the trauma of having run over a trick or treater a year ago while drunk and then choosing not to report it. But I felt like the film goes deeper than that and is more like an allegory about failing to achieve what you wanted in life, even if it was just the simple yearning for a wife and child.
Our main man’s existence is sad and lonely. He kind of stalks the grieving mother of the child he killed out of guilt, which gets very uncomfortable and awkward. He is plagued by visions and nightmares. He sees a lone pumpkin floating around wherever he goes, he is haunted by the dead trick or treater, and even Halloween candy infiltrates his delusions.
He tries in various ways to face his demons as Halloween draws near once again, including confession at church, a tarot reading, and attempts at supporting the grieving mother.
There’s a flashback to the night of the accident, and it sort of doesn’t make sense. He struck the little trick or treater with his vehicle in a desolate tunnel. Why was a little boy in costume in a tunnel at night on Halloween? Or did that incident even really happen, or is it part of an alternate reality that mirrors the longing for and loss of something our main man never had?
Regardless, the tunnel scene is quite disturbing and comes full circle in a dark twist at the end of the movie. Like I said, it’s not totally horror. However, it’s conclusion is totally horrific.
ELF IN THE HOOD (2024)
This 75-minute killer doll flick gives off a major Full Moon films vibe circa the turn of the millennium. It’s Christmas Eve, and there are plenty of holiday lights at the house in which the events take place, but the killer elf doll is not a dedicated Christmas elf. Blah. It’s just a foul-mouthed, possessed doll from the ghetto that likes to drop the n word. Leprechaun had more fun in the hood than this little twerp.
The highlight here is really the super nasty, practical effects gore during kill scenes. The story is kind of abysmal.
A couple struggling to make ends meet scores a doll that is apparently worth some money. When they bring it to the home of a woman who wants to buy it, they are all targeted by the doll after it comes to life.
The buyer tells a backstory about the demon in the doll, which is called Ju-Ju. The actress playing the buyer seems to stumble over almost every single line of dialogue, often pausing as if trying to remember the next word. I’ve never seen anything like it. I’m still not sure if it was accidental or an acting choice.
Plenty of other people pass through the plot just so the doll can drop some one-liners and deliver some dastardly death scenes, but the doll itself is totally uninspired and forgettable. It also appears to be CGIed into shots, so it looks like it’s just floating there. Not exactly a standout (or stand up) killer doll.
The film really starts to drag when the main characters make a plan to stop the doll and then begin hunting it through the house, and the final scene is accompanied by goofy, whimsical music—very Full Moon.
ADVENT (2024)
The director of Werewolf Santa is back with more Christmas horror. This time he takes on Krampus…sort of.
I really like the premise of this movie and the folklore backstory that goes with it, which is told mostly through interspersed clips of an “expert” on the subject who is sitting in atmospheric horror lighting as he’s interviewed.
The main story is about a young woman who lost her mother, is living with her alcoholic father, and has a YouTube channel on which she and a friend tackle urban legends and paranormal phenomenon—Bloody Mary, Ouija boards, etc.
She becomes obsessed with a Krampus advent calendar. She purchases one, and she and her friend begin filming their experience as they open one door on the tree-shaped calendar each day leading up to Christmas.
Behind each door is a challenge, and the goal is to do the challenge each day to eventually summon Krampus on Christmas Day. At first, the challenges are fairly simple, such as circling the Christmas tree backwards or mailing a bunch of envelopes to Krampus. Much of the running time is filled with these challenges, which the friends film around the house.
Halfway through this 75-minute movie, the challenges turn dark, which is when things get creepy. You would think when the main girl reaches a challenge in which she has to kill an animal she’d call it quits. For the sake of the movie, she doesn’t—she’s probably kind of possessed by the paranormal experience at this point. For our sake, we don’t see animal murder. It’s a blocked shot of her injecting a hamster.
The movie has some eerie moments, like one where there’s a woman’s head just poking around a corner while drunken dad is in Blair Witch position, and another involving an under the bed scare. Also, the escalation of the challenges adds some good tension, but in the end, do not expect to see Krampus. This is essentially a low budget found footage film with a rather tidy, offscreen climax.
HEART EYES (2025)
This is the biggie in the bunch—made it to theaters, stars horror hunks Mason Gooding and Devon Sawa, plus Olivia Holt of Totally Killer, and features a soundtrack of familiar pop hits, including Lonestar’s “Amazed”, “Please Don’t Go” by KC & the Sunshine Band, and The Supremes’ classic “You Can’t Hurry Love”.
She’s all of us right now…
It also happens to be the perfect balance of horror comedy, horror romance, and slasher, with some really fresh takes on the genre. Plus, Heart Eyes has an awesome mask and is a vicious killer.
After a gruesome opening sequence at a vineyard that starts things strong with four kills, we meet our main characters.
Olivia works at a jewelry business that is suffering losses because of the Valentine’s killer Heart Eyes, who appears to be targeting loving couples. Mason’s character is brought in to help do damage control. When he and Olivia join up for a work dinner, things quickly spiral out of control.
The pair is interrupted by Heart Eyes. They end up spending the rest of the movie being chased by the killer in various locations—drive-in theater, police station, a church—leaving a whole trail of dead bodies along the way.
The humor is perfectly understated, the chemistry between the leads is fire, Mason Gooding is more adorable than ever, Heart Eyes knows how to execute a kill, and the drive-in massacre sequence rocks. The big denouement even makes a statement about what constitutes a romantic relationship. Heart Eyes is a welcome addition to the yearly marathon of Valentine’s Day horror movies.
