Directed by: Greg Nicotero
Starring: Anna Camp and Adam Pally
Written by: Greg Nicotero, based on a short story by J.A. Konrath (Last Call)
Runtime: 45 Minutes
Rating: NA
Our Rating: ★★★½
Although, much of 2020 has been awful, there have been a lot of cinematic, home cinematic that is, bright spots. You can add The Creepshow Holiday Special to that list of bright spots. As the experienced horror fan will tell you horror Christmas movies can go either way, they can be pretty great (the original Black Christmas) and some are head scratchers, (remake of Black Christmas). Although, Black Christmas the redeux had good intentions, it went so very wrong.
Most Christmas horror films are about a homicidal mental patient dressed as Santa on the loose. Or they are just a horror movie that just happens to take place during Christmas, well this one in a sense is both.
In the holiday themed, hour-long episode, “Shapeshifters Anonymous,” fearing he is a murderer, an anxious man searches for answers for his “unique condition” from an unusual support group. The Creepshow Holiday Special stars Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect) and Adam Pally (The Mindy Project) as two were animals.
Pally plays the as described anxious man, he’s mostly living a pretty ordinary life. Honestly, he’s the sort of guy you don’t really notice. But, one moment in time that otherwise should have been uneventful changes his life for the better – maybe? I guess that depends on if you have goals of being a werewolf. If so, do you. After medicine fails him, he goes in search of answers to his blackouts and strange, ahem bathroom happenings, he finds a Shapeshifters Anonymous support group. The group is comprised of different weres which includes a werechetah, which is pretty cool. The group is made up of some overall likable characters and the animals they transform into is really unexpected.
And, as it is a Christmas movie, Santa Claus makes an appearance. Actually, a bunch of Santa Clauses, or it Clausi? The episode does something very interesting with old St. Nick’s backstory and it’s pretty great. As far as horror goes, there is a huge body count, including a decapitation, and of course four shapeshifters.
Since this is a no spoiler zone, I’ll just say The Creepshow Holiday Special is the unconventional funny Holiday movie we need for the most unconventional unfunny at all holiday season ever — see it!
The special will premiere exclusively on Shudder in all its territories, as well as via the Shudder offering within the AMC+ bundle, beginning Friday, December 18 shortly after 12:01 am ET/9:01 pm PT.