Movie Review: Santa's Slay (2005)

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Synopsis: For 1,000 years, Santa Claus, the spawn of Satan, has been cursed to deliver presents to children around the world. Now that the 1,000 years is up, he is free to return to his murderous ways and takes his wrath out on a small town in Canada. It's up to teenager Nicholas Yuleson to stop him.

Who's in it? The movie stars Bill Goldberg, Douglas Smith, Emilie de Raven, Dave Thomas and Fran Drescher.


Review: My wife and I were having a slow start to our Christmas Eve and as we were scrolling through channels, came across Santa's Slay. I had lowered expectations about this movie, but it ended up being surprisingly good.

I think the thing I liked best about this film is it found just the right amount of balance to be a decent horror/comedy. The film clearly wasn't taking itself seriously and keeping things entertaining but the filmmakers knew to stop before it reached a point it was too goofy. It actually reminded me a lot of a 1980s horror film even though it was made in 2005.

I thought the overall plot was pleasantly unique. Yes, it messes around with the whole Santa Claus lore and may have crossed the line a bit with the virgin birth orchestrated by Satan thing, but it worked. It was a solid explanation that made the killing spree make a lot more sense.

Bill Goldberg's acting skills were clearly limited but he proved to be a great choice as Santa. He had a menacing look but also could pull of some of the more comedic elements when needed, especially with some of his one-liners. Considering Santa was supposed to be a warrior before he became a guy who delivered toys, I thought it was the perfect casting choice.

My only real complaint about the movie was the ending, which felt a little overworked and resulted what I felt was a bit of a cop out - save the day but not actually defeat the bad guy so there's a potential for a sequel. It wasn't anything I thought ruined the movie, but it could have been a bit cleaner.

Final Opinion: It's not a perfect movie but it does have a solid choice for Santa Claus and was entertaining to watch. While probably not for everyone, it is worth giving a chance.

My Grade: B

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Here are some reviews of other Christmas-themed horror movies:

Movie Review: Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)

Movie Review: Jack Frost (1997)

Movie Review: Silent Night (2012)

Movie Review: Toys of Terror (2020)

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