The holidays are typically a season of joyous celebration and time spent with loved ones. This is not the case in director Shane Wallace‘s stoner comedy A Very Flattened Christmas. Move over Frosty the Snowman, here comes an evil reindeer who is crushing the holiday spirit and leaving dead bodies in its tracks. The film is an obvious deviation from any traditional Christmas movie and confidently expresses its unique sense of dark humor through a solid b-horror visual style.

Madcap Holiday Horror

‘Tis the season for death in this unconventional holiday thriller. Set in a rural part of America, a group of friends and co-workers at a local roadkill collection company encounter one animal they cannot rein in, and that is a camo pant-wearing, vengeful reindeer with an instinct to kill. The film opens with tension already rising between the employees, specifically Max (Key Tawn Toothman) and Rick (Jesse Bailey). Their banter escalates, but despite the foul energy it brings to the group, everyone seems to look forward to the annual company Christmas party. However, the life of a roadkill removal serviceman never stops. When duty calls to pick up animal remains on the highway, one employee agrees to squeeze in the quick trip before the party. Little did she know that a killer reindeer was waiting for her, hiding in plain sight, and ready to attack.

Dead bodies are mysteriously starting to pop up everywhere, leaving the roadkill crew in shock. Who–or what–is doing this? And why? What follows is a type of “Final Destination: Stoner Christmas” adventure that points the finger at some unsuspecting suspects.

An Unconventional Genre Film That Flips Christmas Spirit on its Head

A Very Flattened Christmas doesn’t attempt to be anything other than campy and silly, and that’s what makes it such a fun watch. Director Shane Wallace doesn’t try too hard to pretend the killer reindeer isn’t just a man in a poorly constructed reindeer mask, and that is hilarious. The performances are exaggerated and theatrical, leaning into self-satirizing and genre. It plays as if the gang from Scooby Doo were all grown up stoners (not just Shaggy). The colorful cast all have their moments to shine, with Key Tawn Toothman acting as the film’s more sensible character.

Takeaway

If you’re looking for an unconventional horror film that finds itself on the naughty list, A Very Flattened Christmas may be for you. It contains nudity, gore, violence, and many references to getting stoned. It’s also a fever dream that has a demented reindeer playing a church organ, so there’s that. And I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that this film has major cult potential.