Ahhh, the horror spoof. Nobody loves a good horror spoof more than I do. Saturday the 14th, Student Bodies, Young Frankenstein, Scary Movie and Pretty Woman, I love them all. Well, maybe not Pretty Woman, I just love a good Julia Robert's reference as well. I dig the horror spoof and a good rule of thumb as far as I can tell is that the wackier the flick is the better. Along comes The Christmas Season Massacre, an Indie production from Sub Rosa Extreme that gleefully seems to fit the bill. I have to preface by saying that I'm already a fan of Sub Rosa and their extreme line up of hardcore horror flicks. I Spit on Your Corpse I Piss on Your Grave, Ice From the Sun, Scrapbook... some of the best Indie horror I've had the pleasure of sitting through. Now, their stuff is not for everyone mind you...but those in search of a new Indie flavor with a strong stomach and wacky sense of humor, may just find something to dig, deep within these vaults. Christmas Season Massacre is no exception to this rule, it doesn't work all the time, but it's certainly worth the trip for the times that it does.

Our film opens as a young couple drives to a remote spot in a field. It's at this time that the story of Tommy "one shoe" Mcgroo is relayed to us in a quite often hilarious monologue by Eric Stanze (Sub Rosa regular director, actor, producer, writer etc.). Any description I give the back-story will not do the actual presentation of it any justice. You'll have to check it out for yourself. Let's just say it involves a tormented and bullied kid, a stolen shoe, one very dirty sock, a pirate flag and the craziest pirate eye patch you've ever seen. OK, our story progresses as a group of misfits reunite years after high school to try and thwart the evil plans of one Tommy Mcgroo. Needless to say that the gathering of these high school stereotypes only makes Tommy's plans one step easier as they're ultimately knocked off one by one. Knocked off yes, but not until our gang participates in some very bizarre activities. Activities that include but are not limited too the following; a game of strip trivial pursuit (well almost), a sexy shower scene accompanied by a radio cooking show (in one very funny scene that wreaks of Kentucky Fried Movie), a debate about whether or not fish is a meat (you figure it out) and one too many serenades to our tiara wearing prom queen.

If it all sounds a little bit nuts to ya, well you're really not that far off. It's not sophisticated entertainment here folks and it's certainly not going to win over any horror/comedy cinephiles, but it does prove that small ideas can amount to a hell of a good time and quite a bit of talent. The film certainly has it's moments (quite a few actually had us laughing out loud). But you must keep in mind, the flick is downright stupid (this is a good thing mind you). The film runs at just over an hour (about 70 minutes) and this is with an extended closing credits sequence, complete with blooper reel (I loves myself some bloopers!). The investment is minor the payoff is not. I reiterate that this film is not for everyone. If you have a wickedly stupid sense of humor, and enjoy the Indie film flair then Christmas Season Massacre is certainly worth a once over. Everything in this film is over the top, from its crazy comedic stylings to its use of excessive yet comedic gore.

While the filmmakers would lead you to believe that The Christmas Season Massacre is a direct mock of the 80's horror/slasher flicks we've all grown to love and cherish, I saw it as more of a spoof of the horror spoof itself. Kind of like a 90's version of the Sleepaway Camp sequels or like the original Scream (but in a really fun kind of way). From the over the top stereotypical characters to the brilliant theme music that constantly introduces the killer, Christmas Season Massacre screams parody done right. I may be a bit "spoof jaded" to compare the flick to a spoof of a spoof rather than the actual sub genre it spoofs (got that? cause I sure don't). It's just so hard to tell these days and with everything claiming to be a spoof (stop saying spoof!) it goes to show... whatever, I dug the flick, that's all you need to know!

Christmas Season Massacre was shot on DV and is hence presented full frame. Picture quality is quite sharp and is pretty much exactly what one would come to expect from a title of this caliber. The disc is cleanly authored with little to no evidence of artifacting. Audio is presented in a moderate surround mix with much of the action taking place up front. Rears kick in occasionally (like when a hard rockin' tune hits) but ultimately remain quiet throughout. Dialogue remains crisp and there is no distortion to speak of. Solid A/V presentation all around.

Extras include 2 full length feature commentaries, the first with director Jeremy Wallace and the second with actors Jason Christ, Chris Belt and Julie Farrar. Also included is a nifty behind the scenes segment, trailers for 4 other Sub Rosa features on their way to DVD (Including Jeremy's latest feature The Undertow). Next up is a segment entitled "Songs by Mike", which you'll need to see the feature itself to fully understand. Finally, we've got a bonus short film that runs about 40 minutes entitled Frank Wang: The Vengeance. This SOV short (presented in B&W) is a spoof (there's that word spoof again) of action/martial arts films. It's pretty funny itself, and once again, if you have a sick and twisted sense of humor (and an open mind) you'll prob dig it as well.

It's nice to see films like Christmas Season Massacre being released on DVD (in fully loaded special edition form no less). I've always been a fan of the Indie horror or comedy (or both together as one) especially when they're done right. Xmas Season Massacre is a fun flick obviously made by a fun group of individuals. The effort shows and I think that's one of the things I appreciate most in a flick like this.

For more info on this and other Sub Rosa titles, be sure to check out b-movie.com.