[Fantasia International Film Festival]: Unholy Night

There’s nothing quite like a traditional family Christmas, but what happens when uninvited (and previously dead) relatives crash dinner and all hell breaks loose? Having its world premiere at this year's Fantasia International Film Festival, Unholy Night, directed by Michael Gabriele, is a festive fright which explores whether traditions from days of yore should be respected more in modern society.

Gino (played by Marc Bendavid) begrudgingly attends his yearly Italian-Canadian family Christmas celebrations, where he is constantly berated by his parents, and compared to his more successful siblings. After Gino attempts to break a few of the meal’s customs, and the family unfavourably discuss their deceased nonna’s food, nonna rises from her grave, along with a few other elderly relatives, to wreak violent havoc on her disrespectful descendants, forcing Gino to step up and protect his family. 

Christmas can be an extremely difficult time of year, especially plagued with feelings of inferiority once all extended members of the family are brought together for a festive meal, and no one feels this more than hapless protagonist Gino. Unholy Night attempts to recreate the tried and tested Christmas movie plot of “person doesn’t appreciate their family, family is threatened, person finally appreciates their family”, but with a hellish spin. And whilst the film contains a competent premise and the design of the dead brought back to life is more than passable, it just lacks that sickly sweet atmospheric aura that would in turn, really amplify how horrific the experiences of the characters actually are. 

Despite a strong and likable cast, and a humorous post-credits scene, the ending feels ever so slightly rushed and with a lack of any sort of concise explanation, Unholy Night fails to make any sort of mark in the horror genre of festive frights.

2.5 Screams out of 5.