‘Tis the season to slash! It’s a Wonderful Knife, a new horror movie from Freaky screenwriter Michael Kennedy and Tragedy Girls director Tyler MacIntyre, is practically gift-wrapped for fans of masked murderers who spread bad cheer and deck the halls with blood. While this movie doesn’t evoke the out-and-out nastiness of past holiday horrors, it also doesn’t go easy on the Christmas carnage before delivering a wholesome but timeless lesson for all who celebrate.
As its playful title suggests, the plot of It’s a Wonderful Knife is inspired by the classic Christmas staple It’s a Wonderful Life. Standing in for James Stewart’s character is Jane Widdop‘s Winnie, a depressed teen who fails to totally wish herself out of existence after surviving a tragic Christmas past. An uncanny force instead sends her to an alternate timeline where the oily mayor of Angel Falls — played perfectly by the always dependable character actor Justin Long — still hacked up a bunch of folks during the holidays, but in this timeline, he was never caught. And to make these candy-sticky matters more complicated for the girl who wants to go back home, this parallel world features what looks to be another angel-dressed killer roaming the snowy streets. Who can Winnie trust in this sideways slash-mas?
It’s a Wonderful Knife doesn’t play its premise totally straight, but why would it? The lead is dropped into a supernatural scenario that most audiences are familiar with by now. Abbreviating that initial blast of incredulity is wise. In addition, this movie twists the formula with a new and urgent whodunit subplot that helps define Winnie as a character and guarantees the certain outcome is less direct than expected. The unmistakably present yet never too obstructive sense of humor makes the story’s dark foundation more digestible as well.
When piecemealed, It’s a Wonderful Knife doesn’t feel quite as hearty as the overall menu; a few scenes don’t live up to their potential. This slight but detectable imbalance can be explained by what sounds like a quick shooting turnaround, though. Knowing that, MacIntyre still finds his way toward the end after a few stumbles in the snow, and he makes Kennedy’s story come alive under the twinkling lights. Viewers just can’t expect the same exact caliber of more costly and unrushed productions.
As recent times have shown, there’s an audience for stories combining yuletide screams with body-counts. Something that also doesn’t usually change in this horror niche, no matter the time period, is a huge helping of cynicism toward Christmas. It’s been this way since Gremlins. More similar to recent holiday horrors like Krampus, though, It’s a Wonderful Knife is both naughty and nice. Once all the damage is done, this movie takes a feel-good route that better qualifies it as a Happy Death Day type slasher more than one in the vein of Silent Night (2012). To call this “Hallmark Horror” wouldn’t be an inappropriate shorthand, however, the inevitable syrupiness of those heavily manufactured and predictable holiday comfort movies feels more earned in Kennedy and MacIntyre’s collaboration.
It’s a Wonderful Knife comes to theaters starting on November 10.
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