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A neon-framed toyshop window contains an empty red plinth, toy train and blocks. A cassette lies on the snowy pavement beside a quiet blue street.
A dim paper toyshop window holds a rocking horse, kite, toy train and stacked blocks beneath a small amber lamp on a snowy night.

Essential Christmas · 2022

Christmas Bloody Christmas

38/100Festive FactorWhy it scores 38 ↓
Not BBFC rated87 min
Comedy · Horror

Joe Begos wanted to make a killer-robot film and put it in a Santa suit, and his glee is all over the screen.

On Shudder on Prime Video · extra subscription →
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Explore this film 8 sections

The CineClaus Christmas score

Festive Factor

A different kind of Christmas.

Two paper elves inspect a snowy teal toyshop model with an empty red display plinth, toy train, blocks and a cassette on its pavement.

A little magic in the making.

Five ingredients make the Festive Factor.
Open an ingredient to find out more.

Christmas in the storyChristmas drives it, but another occasion could stand in.20/30

What we ask: Take Christmas out. Does the plot survive? Worth up to 30 of the 100 points.

A world dressed for ChristmasVisibly Christmas for about half.10/20

What we ask: How much of the running time is visibly Christmas? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

The little seasonal details3 of the 10 kinds of Christmas icon we count turn up on screen.5/15

What we ask: How many kinds of Christmas icon turn up on screen: trees, lights, snow, carols and the rest? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

A Christmas heartHow far the ending rests on goodwill, family and belief: not at all.0/20

What we ask: Does the ending depend on what Christmas means: goodwill, family, redemption, belief? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

A returning traditionNiche at Christmas (under 25,000).3/15

What we ask: Is it actually watched at Christmas in the UK? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

21/100

Cosiness Rating Rating

Chilly in tone. Genuinely frightening. An unsettled ending.

How we score →
What do these scores mean?

Festive Factor measures how Christmassy a film is. Five ingredients add up to 100: story (30), setting (20), seasonal details (15), emotional heart (20) and returning tradition (15).

Cosiness is a separate score for warmth of tone, sense of safety, visual comfort, a reassuring ending and how easily you can settle into it.

How the Festive Factor works →
Your next film night

Where to watch

United KingdomChecked

Shudder on Prime Video

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Prime Video

Rent or buy
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Christmas Bloody Christmas · Rental and purchase cost extra, separately from membership.

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Streaming changes constantly and we cannot promise it is still right - check the service before you settle in. Streaming availability information provided by Streaming Availability API by Movie of the Night (opens in a new tab).

The story

About Christmas Bloody Christmas

On Christmas Eve a record-shop owner and her colleague set out for a night of drinking and arguing about music in their small snowbound town. Meanwhile an animatronic Santa on display at a toy shop, built from recycled military hardware, reverts to its old programming and starts killing everyone in its path, and she has to fight her way to Christmas morning.

The CineClaus verdict

Joe Begos wanted to make a killer-robot film and put it in a Santa suit, and his glee is all over the screen.

The opening stretch is a loose, sweary hangout between record-shop colleagues on Christmas Eve, and it is better than it needs to be. Then the animatronic switches on and the rest becomes a long, very bloody chase through grainy neon streets.

Abraham Benrubi makes a lumbering, unsettling machine. Little festive feeling survives the night. Made for a late crowd who cheer at splatter and like their slashers loud and scuzzy.

The family desk

Can the kids watch?

Not BBFC rated

Our take: adults only, really: the kills are gleefully gory, the language is foul from start to finish and no UK certificate has been confirmed.

Content advice & accessibility
Not BBFC rated
The BBFC has no classification for this film, so it has no UK certificate. Our age guidance above is editorial, not an official rating.
The people behind the film

Cast and crew

The faces in front of the camera, and the people who brought the story to life.

Main cast

In billing order
Riley Dandyas Tori Tooms
Sam Delichas Robbie Reynolds
Jonah Ray Rodriguesas Jay
Dora Madisonas Lahna
Abraham Benrubias Santa Claus

Behind the camera

Directed by
Joe Begos
Writing & production credits
Writer
Joe Begos
Step into the story

Filming locations

The real places behind Christmas Bloody Christmas. Choose one to explore.

Find it on the mapPlacerville, California

© OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in a new tab)

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2 places from Christmas Bloody Christmas

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Location sources

Placerville, California · Rue Morgue interview (opens in a new tab)

Los Angeles, California · en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)

Map pins mark the place, not a camera position or a route. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), including any pin positions read from OpenStreetMap.

A little more Christmas Bloody Christmas

Film facts &
behind the scenes

For the fans who stay after the credits.

On set

A rejected remake pitch became a robot slasher

Joe Begos first pitched a remake of Silent Night, Deadly Night. The rights holders passed because it strayed too far from the original, so he turned it into an original script that was financed as its own film.

Read the story

Source: Rue Morgue interview ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Movie magic

Snow had to be trucked in

There was no budget for falling snow, so Begos hunted for a cold town near Los Angeles where brought-in snow would stay put. After scouting about thirty California towns he settled on Placerville.

Read the story
On your next watchThe settled snow on the ground in every outdoor scene.

Source: Rue Morgue interview ↗ (opens in a new tab)

On set

Abraham Benrubi got the call over a stunt performer

Begos wanted a bigger frame than a stunt performer could offer, and padding did not suit a robot. He remembered Abraham Benrubi from earlier films and rang him. Benrubi took the eight-week, dialogue-free job and played it with his eyes and body.

Read the story

Source: Rue Morgue interview ↗ (opens in a new tab)

And at a glance

Releases and certificates
: In cinemas (US). Limited cinema release, with the Shudder streaming premiere the same day.
Sources & a note on these facts

Each production story is linked to its source, in our own words. Ending details stay behind a spoiler reveal.

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Collections, stories & Christmas memories

Elsewhere on CineClaus

More places to find Christmas Bloody Christmas, and a few good reasons to keep exploring.

In this collection

Ho Ho Horror: the best Christmas horror films

Christmas Bloody Christmas is in this collection

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Read a little further

Collection

The best Christmas films for adults

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Collection

The best Santa Claus films

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Stay for another story.All collections · The Christmas Edit