Horror Movie Review: The Naughty List of Mr. Scrooge (2024)

Is this the moment that festive horror films officially ‘jump the shark’? The moment when all other absurdities bow down in the face of such a ridiculous idea, that it’s impossible to ever take one of these films seriously again. I’m being hyperbolic, of course, after all, I’ve seen a film about a festive shark. I’ve seen Christmas elves be worshiped by Nazis. I’ve seen cannibals at Christmas, murderous psycho dressed in Santa suits, a rampaging animatronic Santa, vampires, witches, demons, and murderous toys. Hell, I’ve even seen the second Black Christmas remake *shudder*.

However, I had not seen a killer take on the metaphorical and literal role of Ebenezer Scrooge. You know, the lead character from Charles Dickens’ iconic tale, A Christmas Carol. Not only donning a mask and outfit, but upon being revealed, claiming that their killing spree came about because they had missed out on the chance to play the part of Scrooge in a school production following a suicide.

Missing out on this part drove the person insane, to the point that they now believe they are Ebenezer Scrooge and all those responsible for the missed chance years before must die.

It is utterly absurd, but I absolutely love it. The final ten minutes, with the killer reveal and the lengthy explanation of motivations, just about saves this film. Which, up to that point, had been a serviceable, but uninspired slasher horror film. Written and directed by Jake Helgren, the film stars Skye Coyne, Colin Koth, Kim Whalen, Liz Fenning, Adam Bucci, Ali Zahiri, and Coél Mahal.

The story sees a group of college friends reuniting at an isolated chalet at Christmas years after they went their separate ways, and years after one of their group died in an apparent suicide during their production of A Christmas Carol. It should be a chance to reconnect, a chance to reminisce, and a chance to pay respects to their lost friend, except time hasn’t healed wounds and recriminations run rampant. It turns out that not everyone knows the full details of what happened all those years before.

Someone does though, and they’re taking on the form of Ebenezer Scrooge to punish the naughty.

Or something like that. The ‘why’ of it all is so insane, it’s hard to concentrate on anything else. Not that anything else really matters. We have killer, an isolated location, a ton of victims/suspects, and that’s all any slasher film needs. That means characters are left to be defined by one trait and nothing more. It does make it impossible to care about anyone, but considering the story, it really doesn’t matter.

Of course, this blasé attitude does mean we don’t get career best performances here though. Hearty efforts here and there, but the under-reacting to horrific sights and really awkward line delivery harms performances. The final line in the film, lifted from A Christmas Carol directly, is so cringeworthy it’s downright iconic. Something helped by the fact that the actor delivering it, knew how cringy it was.

How about the slashing though? It’s pretty good and we have some solid kills with decent blood and gore. There’s an attempt to tie the kills into the wider narrative and theme them, but not in a notable way.

So, all of this sounds pretty good, right? Well, yes and no. I do think it’s worth a watch, but I’ve not mentioned the film’s biggest issue and it’s the tone. The film veers wildly between trying to be a black comedy and being a serious slasher. The back and forth is jarring, and it won’t win over many, especially as when it’s at its most serious, it’s not that interesting.

So, there you have it. A festive horror that makes Scrooge a slasher villain. Does it get any more ridiculous than The Naughty List of Mr. Scrooge?