Director – Steve Rudzinski (CarousHELL, Red Christmas)
Starring – Steve Rudzinski, Amie Wrenn (A Meowy Halloween, The Survivors), and Ben Dietels (Slaughter Drive, Everyone Must Die!)
Release Date – 2020
Rating – 3/5
I’ve been with Horror Society almost ten years now. I’ve found myself meeting some amazing filmmakers, actors, producers, and so on due to my involvement with HS. I’m grateful for the opportunities writing for the site has given me but I will always be grateful for the friendships that it’s given me.
When I first started writing for HS I befriended indie filmmaker Steve Rudzinski while he was crowdfunding for his sci-fi action film Super Task Force One. I shared the news of his new project and over the years I’ve watched and reviewed most of his films. I like Rudzinski and his approach to movies because he is not a one trick pony. He makes movies he would want to see and doesn’t just turn out cheap horror flick after horror flick. He’s made sci-fi action flicks, horror, and family friendly animal movies.
Back at the beginning of the pandemic he released two films which were installments in his Meowy series. I watched one and decided to save the other, A Meowy Christmas Vacation, for December becauase…Christmas. With Christmas just a few weeks away it’s the perfect time to check it out. Thanks Steve for sending this one over!
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows idiot cop Wally (Rudzinski) who is sent to the year 2050 where the world is overrun by aliens. Wally joins forces with some rebels where they plan on sending him back to his original time line in hopes of stopping the alien invasion from happening. **Spoiler Alert**
I watch some pretty raunchy and filthy movies throughout a normal week for me. I get in a lot of extreme horror, splatter flicks, and even some vintage sexploitation flicks. I love the trashy side of cinema. However, It’s also nice to watch something that my kids can watch with me. I really like how adaptable Rudzinski is as a filmmaker. He can deliver some serious horror fun and immediately switch gears to give fans something like his Meowy movies. I enjoy this series but A Meowy Christmas Vacation is the weakest of the series. It’s not a bad movie so don’t think that because I enjoyed it. It’s just the bottom of the Meowy movies for me.
The acting in this one is consistent with the previous films. Rudzinski is passionate about these films and created some fun and memorable characters for these films. The cast really gets into their roles and it makes the story flow so much better. There is a few scenes where the cast is a little awkward but it’s fun. Honestly, the characters and the over the top performances reminded me a lot of the kids movies I would rent as a kid on VHS. I really appreciate what he’s doing with this series.
The story for this one is a sequel of sorts to his sci-fi super sentei film Super Task Force One while tying it into his Meowy universe. That is a rather bold move on his part but it works. It gives fans of his something more to notice while expanding the Meowy universe. Which, is the reason, that I didn’t like it as much. It’s a fun sequel but it’s not as simple and straight forward as the previous films. It’s a Meowy movie at heart but doesn’t really feel like one.
Finally, this is not a bloody horror flick like the movies I typically review. It’s a kid friendly adventure flick that has some cheesy visual effects and some make-up effects but that’s the extent of it. Overall, A Meowy Christmas Vacation is a fun film for your family this holiday season. It’s not my favorite Rudzinski film but it’s still well worth your time. You can check it out now on Amazon Prime!
