Review – The Christmas Tapes (2022) Cinemax
It’s the season of horror! There’s a Christmas present for us all in the new Christmas found footage film “The Christmas Tapes.” A loving family’s Christmas Eve is interrupted by a charismatic stranger (Greg Sestero) whose car breaks down. The stranger’s true motives soon come to light when the unsuspecting family half-heartedly invites him to wait for help. The family will need the help as they will then be held hostage in their own home and forced to watch VHS tapes. Really? Who else has a VCR? I bet some of you reading this have never seen one. You have Google™.
Travel Buggies is a funny, classic emotional story about a young couple in the great outdoors in the middle of winter. This one is pretty predictable, but still fun. It also reminded me why I don’t like scarecrows.
“The Christmas Gift” is a dark and twisted adventure starring Santa Claus (Vernon Wells) and Mrs. Claus (Lori Richardson). A father hatched a plan to give his children a surprise for Christmas. He hires a man to bring it to the front door in a box. There is no doubt that this gift will be a gift that will haunt her for the rest of her life. Santa and his wife were absolutely creepy and a little bit funny.
“Untitled” is the third tape we see and my second favorite (remember I ranked them). This is also the shortest part of the film. Trying to stay current is always difficult. Things get even worse when a microchip is implanted in your head and you are forced to deliver a package to a hotel room. This third part is pure chaos.
They saved the best for last with “The Christmas Spirit”. Dave Sheridan shines as Paranormal Perry, a backup paranormal investigator who is sent into a house to look for a possible haunting. This one has it all. It’s spooky, spooky and hilarious all tied up in a neat little Christmas bow.
It’s worth seeing and a great way to get into the holiday spirit. But don’t take my word for it. Check it out when it premieres digitally worldwide on December 16th.
