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What Horror Movie Do You Celebrate Christmas With?

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Christmas isn’t always the best season for horror enthusiasts. Sure, every now and then we’ll get a Black Christmas or a Silent Night, Deadly Night, but it’s typically a time of year where we are pretty much ignored by movie studios. Nevertheless, I still find plenty of ways to get my horror fix during the holiday season. I watch lots of non-Christmas related horror movies, but the one movie I have to watch every Christmas is Joe Dante’s 1984 classic, Gremlins.

Gremlins, aside from Black Christmas, is probably the most obvious choice for an annual Christmas viewing, so I apologize for not being a bit more original. There really isn’t anything to say about it that hasn’t already been said before. Gremlins is the perfect gateway horror movie for a child and in my opinion should be mandatory family viewing for everyone each Christmas. Maybe put it right in the middle of viewings of A Christmas Story, Love Actually and Christmas Vacation.

Gremlins is one of the first movies I remember really scaring me as a kid (also, Mrs. Doubtfire. I don’t know why. I always used to cry when his fake boobs caught on fire). The exact moment where I had the “oh crap” reaction was when the transformed gremlin escapes from his crate in the school’s science lab and the teacher is reaching under the desk to grab him. As you all know, things do not end well for that teacher. I had nightmares for weeks about that particular scene.

The movie definitely balances comedy and horror pretty well, as evidenced by the infamous kitchen scene (which also freaked me out a little bit as a kid):

That microwave bit gets me every time. In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have watched Gremlins at such a young age, but I’m glad I did because I have some great memories showing it to my friends. I’m one of those people who likes to watch other people watch movies I like (weird, I know) and if I ever find someone who hasn’t seen Gremlins I light up like a Christmas tree (sorry) and put it on. It’s just become one of those movies that I feel everyone should have seen. And it’s not easy to find a Gremlins virgin nowadays!

We have a lot of reasons to be thankful for Gremlins. It (along with Poltergeist and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) led to the creation of the PG-13 rating, though some may not see that as a blessing. It led to a fantastic sequel (I still prefer the first one because of all the horror elements but I can’t deny that The New Batch is a brilliant film). It gave us one of the best Christmas monologues of all time. I actually had no idea that some people (Roger Ebert) thought Phoebe Cates’ monologue was supposed to be funny. It always stuck out as the one true depressing moment of the film.

So what horror movie do you watch every Christmas? It doesn’t even have to be a Christmas-themed movie. Maybe you like to go against the grain and watch Halloween every December 25th. Who knows? But feel free to discuss in the comments below and share your Christmas movie with everyone!

Oh and also, the Gremlins theme song is one of those pieces of music I occasionally jam to in my car. Imagine my surprise when this popped up right here on Bloody Disgusting a few weeks ago!

A journalist for Bloody Disgusting since 2015, Trace writes film reviews and editorials, as well as co-hosts Bloody Disgusting's Horror Queers podcast, which looks at horror films through a queer lens. He has since become dedicated to amplifying queer voices in the horror community, while also injecting his own personal flair into film discourse. Trace lives in Austin, TX with his husband and their two dogs. Find him on Twitter @TracedThurman

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

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Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

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Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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