Director – Adam Raynes (Sweet Satan’s Diaper, Turn Around)
Starring – Ashlynn Hideman (My Name is Sam, Deadly Promises), Jason Potter (Life and Death, Sin Eater), and Carissa Rasmussen
Release Date – 2024
Rating – 3.5/5
I can appreciate almost each and every trend in movie history to some degree. I’m not a fan of found footage but I absolutely respect the hell out of it. The same can be said for romantic comedies, shark films, and social media centered horror films. I may not like them but I respect their place in history. However, the biggest blight to cinema is the Hallmark movies. I absolutely despise these films and to this day I’m still surprised by how many people, my wife included, love these films with the rehashed stories, the cloned cast, and cookie cutter locations.
A few weeks ago I was asked to check out the holiday themed horror short Cookies for Christmas. I agreed to it and then promptly forgot to add it to my watch list. I then moved it up my watch list after I was reminded that I had yet to review it. I’m glad I did because I really enjoyed it.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a busy realtor returning to her small hometown from New York to visit her family when she finds that her mom and dad have been called away last minute to work. She is then greeted by neighbor who is babysitting her younger sister while they are away. The pair are baking cookies for a bake sale when news of a deranged killer escaping custody is announced on the radio in the background. While the child sleeps, the two adults talk about local events when the killer appears in the home. **Spoiler alert**
I knew very little about this short aside from the fact that it was a Hallmark inspired horror short which is a brilliant idea if you ask me. Hell, I hope this short inspires other filmmakers to parody the every growing Hallmark holiday films.
The acting in this one is absolutely amazing. The cast is extremely small but there is no weak links to be had. The cast gets along very well, the dialogue comes across as very natural, and the scenes are very grounded.
The story for this one did remind me a lot of the classic Tales from the Crypt segment …And All Through the House that was later adapted into an episode of the 90s television show. This Christmas tale also features a beautiful woman at home during the holiday while a madman is on the loose. While I did immediately think about that, I still enjoyed it especially with the cliched Hallmark approach to it with small town girl returning home from the big city to find love. It’s funny and works especially as a short.
Finally, the film has some blood and a simple make-up gag that is effective. It’s not the bloodiest or most violent film I’ve seen but I enjoyed it for what it was. Overall, Cookies for Christmas is a solid effort at parodying the abysmal Hallmark films that plague our holidays, I can’t recommend this film enough and I hope that this leads to more filmmakers doing the same. Check it out.
