Director – Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead, Creepshow)
Starring – Anna Camp (The Office, True Blood), Adam Pally (Iron Man 3, The Mandalorian), and Pete Burris (Stranger Things, Rampage)
Release Date – 2020
Rating – 3.5/5
A few days ago I was sent the second season of the Shudder original series Creepshow produced by Greg Nicotero and occasionally directed by him. The season wasn’t as solid as the first season but it was still great fun. The special features on that release included two specials. The first was an animated special featuring two segments that was released around Halloween last year.
The second special was a Christmas special that was directed by Nicotero and starring the beautiful Anna Camp. With Christmas just a month away I figured it only made sense to follow up that viewing of the second season with the holiday special.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows Robert (Pally) who suspects that he is a killer when he shapeshifts during a full moon. He tracks down a group of other shapeshifters who are part of a support group. They all change into different animals like a boar, tortoise, cheetah, and one furry. They uncover that he is one of the few that actually transforms into a wolf but his arrival also invited the evil Santa Claus and his Santa minions who have a centuries old grudge to settle with all shapeshifters. **Spoiler Alert**
I was on the fence with this one after watching the animated special but after just a few minutes of this one I was in love with it. It didn’t really feel like a Creepshow episode but it was so fucking crazy that it was fun. I fucking loved it.
The acting in this one is great. The characters are goofy and have great personalities. The cast really did do a great job at bringing their characters to life. Their performances are fun and are highly enjoyable. The story for this one is fucking wild and I love it so much. Honestly, I’m surprised this was greenlit because it’s just so fucking out there. Most companies wouldn’t gamble with a story following a group of shapeshifters fighting Santa and his legion of mall Santas. This special runs around 40 minutes and uses it’s time wisely for the most part but some of the scenes are a little dialogue heavy but they have very little to say in regards to the actual story. A little fat could be trimmed but it doesn’t really take away from the special as is.
Finally, the film has some amazing make-up effects and awesome costumes. It does have some gore that looks amazing and the shapeshifters, aside from the first werewolf, looks great. With that being said, the first werewolf looks like ass. Overall, Creepshow Holiday Special is my favorite episode of Creepshow to date. It’s not something I expected to come from a studio produced series but it was a lot of fun. I highly recommend this amazing special.
