“Holidays” film presents an interesting spin on traditional holidays

By Cara Martinez

Staff Writer

“Holidays” is an American, comedic horror film that puts a spin on traditional holidays by transforming them from cheerful holidays into a series of dark horror stories revolving around murder, violence and mystery. The collection of intriguing short horror stories makes the movie diverse because of the different conflicts and characters.

In each of the films, eight stories tell the tales of a holiday that results in manslaughter, kidnap, or  horrific conflicts in which the protagonist encounters. The main character of each film portrays feelings of dread, curiosity, and disgust as they try to keep themselves alive.

“Holidays” transforms beloved American holidays into haunting tales by changing the folktale and the surroundings of typical holiday traditions. Each story is presented in chronological order of the holidays starting at Valentine’s Day and ending at New Year’s Eve.

The tone and mood was thoroughly portrayed by use of eerie music and lighting. These intense elements make each story feel realistic by making the viewer feel like they are actually there. The different horror aspects used in each story set them apart from each other.

Throughout the film a majority of scenes ended leaving the viewer confused and lost. During the film some of the stories would unexpectedly end right in the middle of a murder scene which made the viewer feel questionable about the resolution of each story.

The diverse stories made the film amusing and interesting to watch because it contained tales of different characters, animals, and different intensities of horror. The scenes varied from imaginary characters running around, easter bunnies, and people slaughtering each other with knives.

The different stories were so unrelated to each other it was challenging to predict what would happen to each character. The different styles of realistic and unrealistic tales made the viewer question if the film was a scary fairytale or a horrifying horror film.

The idea of putting a twist on holidays seemed like a controversial idea by turning everyone’s favorite holiday into a horrific blood curdling experience. However, this may not sit well with some but, the concept of horror and holidays created a fascinating contrast of good and evil.

The directors of Holidays made an exceptional selection of actors. In most of the scenes, the actors were able to make the viewer have a feeling of uneasiness, suspense, and terror due to the quality of their acting. Each actor was able to produce a feeling of building adrenalin when they were getting closer and closer to danger.

The majority of characters who lied ended up revealing some of their darkest secrets such as fathers leaving their daughters, unusual pregnancies, and secret murderers. This makes the film entertaining and engaging because it gives the viewers a taste of mystery and suspense.
This film opened up the viewers minds to new ideas and concepts of the true meaning of the holidays. The creativity, horror and mild comedy makes this film desirable to watch. This movie should only be recommended to some people due to its confusion and series of unpredictable events.