For centuries, annual holidays have been widely celebrated as a time to put aside one’s worries and responsibilities in order to come together with loved ones and enjoy each other’s company. Holidays are magical, not only because they represent a time of love and harmony, but also because many of them are commemorated on a global scale, making them not only a positive junction, but a universal one that can be shared by nearly all of humankind.
Although we can all look back on our happy moments as a collective people, we can also all relate to the sense of dread that often goes hand-in-hand with an approaching festivity. Holidays like Valentine’s Day can be ridiculously expensive, Christmastime can mean grueling hosting duties for many, as well as fights with family. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day can bring emotional baggage with it if a person has a lost parent, and the pressure to make events like New Year’s Eve absolutely perfect can sometimes drain all of the fun right out of an evening. Let’s face it: holidays aren’t always all they’re cracked up to be.
This idea of holidays being a charade of happy times is the exact kind of motivation that sent nine filmmakers on the path to make their very own horror anthology film, simply titled, Holidays. As opposed to limiting themselves to one holiday or one particular night, this clever anthology covers several special events, with one holiday assigned per filmmaker (with the exception of writing/directing duo Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer, of course). Together, this directing ensemble has put their own spin on anthology filmmaking, as well as traditional folklore, as they take on the notion of holiday cheer with a darker approach and share some interesting stories along the way.
“Valentine’s Day” by Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kolsch
Max hasn’t been the same since her dad took his own life. She was never very popular, but now her social skills can be compared to those of a person with agoraphobia. Left looking for a proper father figure, Max clings to her swimming coach, whose dreamy smile and soft demeanor make her blush every time he says her name. Although she finds comfort in her swim team’s leader, it doesn’t do anything to quiet the taunting of her fellow peers. They can be so cruel, shouting “Maxi Pad” as she climbs the ladder of the diving board, openly gossiping about her in the locker room – it’s honestly a miracle that she hasn’t snapped – yet.
But all that’s about to change. This wallflower has had enough cheesy chants from stuck-up high school princesses to last her a lifetime, and now, it’s time for a little payback. After all, what better time to whittle down the competition for coach’s affections than Valentine’s Day? Written and directed by Starry Eyes duo and upcoming Mama 2 helmers Widmyer and Kolsch, “Valentine’s Day” plays like a gritty, modern-day homage to Carrie, dipped in so much bright fuchsia it’d make Nicolas Winding Refn proud. These boys seem to have a knack for depicting strong women who slowly descend into madness, and their latest entry is no exception. For a couple of male writers, these two sure do seem to have a firm grasp on what the female brain is like, and the pain that can come with the loneliness that Valentine’s Day often brings.
“St. Patrick’s Day” by Gary Shore
Liz is having a tougher time than usual teaching her students lately. She tries to focus on her daily tasks, but her thoughts keep turning to circle formations, scales, and whatever it is that’s growing inside of her. Ever since the morning after St. Patrick’s Day when she woke up alone on a bus with a limp snake skin strewn across her lap, things have been… off. Her usual bubbly persona has been replaced with a cold and distant attitude, she’s begun to ignore her family’s worried phone calls, and that odd little redhead student, Grainne, won’t stop smiling at her – like she knows something bad is about to happen and she can’t wait to see the awful events unfold.
As Liz spirals into self-destructive chaos, it seems that no one can save her. As her belly grows bigger, she grows more comfortable with denial, and over time, the critter inside of her proves itself to be something other than human. One of the stranger entries in the feature, Gary Shore’s “St. Patrick’s Day” is nothing if not bold. The result of mixing some very different styles of filmmaking, this segment feels like the birth child of Rosemary’s Baby and Requiem for a Dream. It may be weird and wacky, but it’s somewhat refreshing to see someone tackle their short with such a fantastical approach, even if the ending doesn’t quite measure up to the rest of the fable.
“Easter” by Nicholas McCarthy
A tired mother tucks her paranoid daughter into bed on the night before Easter Sunday. Like any growing child, this little girl has started to figure out that the tale her mom spouts every year about the Easter bunny kind of conflicts with her religious ideology. What do a bunny and the reincarnation of a prophet have in common anyway, she wonders. What happens if one or both of these holiday icons catches her spying on them when they come to her house during the night? Little does she know, she is about to have all of her questions answered in the most terrifying way possible.
As a huge fan of The Pact, it pains me to say that Nicholas McCarthy’s Easter entry isn’t his best work. Although the premise is actually pretty fascinating, especially because so many religious children eventually become perplexed when the two fairy tales they’ve been taught since birth begin to clash. The answer McCarthy supplies, although slightly comical, leaves much to be desired. I know what McCarthy is capable of, and I know he can do better than this.
“Mother’s Day” by Sarah Adina Smith
Kate has a serious problem when it comes to bearing children. While some women struggle to conceive, Kate is the complete opposite. Every single time she has sex, Kate gets pregnant. (That’s right, ladies, a new level of terror has just been defined.) Stuck once again in yet another doctor’s office, Kate begins to lose hope for fun, casual sex with the threat of conception. That is, until her new doctor offers up some Eastern medicine tactics. Her doctor tells her to go visit a fertility clinic up in the mountains, claiming that they might actually be able to help her.
Kate concedes, but upon her arrival, she finds herself swept up into a cloudy haze of free love, magical, spiritual, and supportive ladies, and a whole lot of peyote. Kate wonders in her foggy state, “If these people can help her stop having babies, then why do they keep calling her a “gateway?”
Director Sarah Adina Smith first made a name for herself when she came onto the scene with The Midnight Swim, a trippy, moody, atmospheric flick about three sisters grieving the recent loss of their mother. Equally visually impressive, and draped in fierce femininity, “Mother’s Day” is a special entry that leaves the audience feeling as high and lost as the constant mother-to-be. Smith is quickly becoming an interesting filmmaker – one that we should all keep an eye on.
“Father’s Day” by Anthony Scott Burns
It’s been a lifetime since they last spoke, but after years of no communication and tons of grief, a box appears at Carol’s door, consisting of a tape recorder and a message: “Father’s Day”. Having believed that her father passed away when she was just a little girl, Carol is shocked when she plays the tape and hears her father’s voice for the first time in decades, telling her they can still be together. Apparently, her father isn’t dead, he just took off, but now the time has come when they can finally reunite, as long as Carol follows his instructions as laid out in the taping.
It starts out promising, but this random dream-come-true situation quickly dissolves into a nightmare, as the voice on the machine leads Carol further and further away from society and into an abandoned, sketchy area. The saddest thing is, even though it’s quite obvious that Carol’s being led down a dark path, she’s too thrown by her father’s voice and desperate to see him once again that she could care less about the fact that she’s walking straight into a trap.
Spooky, sentimental, and beautifully shot, Anthony Scott Burns’ “Father’s Day” is definitely the best segment of the bunch. The recordings of Carol’s father’s breathy voice guiding her, coupled with images of Carol confidently walking towards certain doom are so tense and hypnotic, it feels like an eerie ’70s thriller that pulsates with dark and devious secrets. Keep Burns on your radar – I suspect he’ll be a household name very soon.
“Halloween” by Kevin Smith
Ian has been scamming girls for as long as he can remember. A skivvy L.A. hustler, Ian meets young girls on the internet who are currently in the throes of adolescent angst – and are desperate for any method to piss off their parents, and coerces them into earning money for him doing an activity he refers to as “Not porn, it’s FaceTime.” He finds his latest batch of ladies at home upset because some client was rude towards the end of his service, and they’re being forced to work on Halloween. Just as Ian starts to pull out his usual macho routine, one of the girls warns him about the dangers of messing with a trio of women on Halloween night – he might just stir up a coven. Of course, being the sleazeball that he is, Ian just rolls his eyes and starts putting the moves on his roommates, but soon he’ll learn firsthand what happens when you mess with the wrong witches on All Hallows’ Eve.
Within seconds of the opening of this short, it immediately becomes clear which director is behind the camera. From the moment Ian walks onto the scene donning a tee shirt that proudly proclaims him as a “Pussy Haver”, and grabs a box of beer from the confinement of a convenience store freezer, it’s clear that none other than Kevin Smith directed this perverted Samhain tale – and that’s both his biggest asset and his greatest flaw. Smith has developed a distinct style and a loyal fanbase over the years, but his refusal to leave his predictable, play-by-play box hinders his growth as a filmmaker, which is kind of a shame, because he’s actually very talented.
“Christmas” by Scott Stewart
In a sort of futuristic setting, this segment tells the tale of a UVU virtual reality toy for all ages that’s tailor-made to its owners’ tastes. In fact, it gets to know he or she so well that it actually hacks into personal files on the Internet in order to dig up one’s truest desires.
When his son asks for a UVU for Christmas, Pete Gunderson obliges, but is reluctant to wear the headset himself because of what he had to do to make sure he snagged the hot toy on Christmas Eve. Starring real-life married couple Seth Green and Clare Grant, this darkly comedic account of the desperation that leads people to act like monsters during Christmastime is both funny and disturbing. It’s not so much about what Pete did to get the toy, but what the toy can do, as it serves as a hilarious but terrifying glimpse into what to expect from the future of toy companies.
“New Years Eve” by Adam Egypt Mortimer
Adam Egypt Mortimer might just have a flair for humor. Known for his 2015 film Some Kind of Hate, Mortimer’s follow-up to his dramatic vengeance thriller deals with lighter material. Well, at least depending on how you look at it.
Jean (Lorenza Izzo) is afraid she’ll wind up all alone on New Year’s Eve, so she goes out with a guy she meets online to a diner dinner. His teeth are flashing shades of yellow and he doesn’t seem to be one for conversation, but she figures it beats the alternative. Little does Jean know that her awkward date for the evening is actually a serial killer, and he’s intent on adding her picture to an already flourishing photo album of all his old “girlfriends.”
It doesn’t appear that this story will end well, but at least it might serve as a hilarious warning, or possibly even bright side, for young single women considering going out with a stranger on New Year’s Eve. You may be home alone, but at least you have your head attached to your neck!
Overall, Holidays is worth checking out. Whereas many other horror anthologies stick mostly to light subjects and safe material, Holidays takes a darker route into the world of storytelling, and stands apart from the rest in its ability to take pleasure in its own delightfully strange nature. Better than most anthologies, its crowning achievement is that it’s so out there and different from almost everything else. The standout segments are definitely “Father’s Day” and “Mother’s Day”, but altogether, the feature is very entertaining as a whole. Also, thanks to its unique setup, chances are that this film will go on to spawn many sequels, which is great, because it means more opportunities for up-and-coming directors, as it gives them a terrific platform on which to to showcase their skills.
Following its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, Holidays is now available on VOD and hits theaters on April 22nd.
Movie Score: 3/5
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