DVD Review – Holidays (2016)

Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment presents the new Anthology horror films featuring acting talents such as Lorenzo Izzo and Seth Greene and the directing talent of Kevin Smith. Yours to own from October 10th 2016. The perfect watch this Halloween.

Our anthology treat kicks off with Valentine’s Day and this year things get very bloody. A young girl who is being bullied for having a crush on her swim coach takes revenge on her tormentor, this short is a sure fire heart attack. It certainly holds up well to the traditional holiday slasher elements. The acting was pretty average giving the content but all in all one of my favourites in the film.

We then make our second film which is new to getting the horror treatment is the holiday of St Patrick’s day. This gruesome and obscure thrill ride comes to us form Gary Shore who has an interesting take on the horror genre. Set in Ireland a woman becomes pregnant with an unusual baby. This was rather intriguing and odd short. Sadly, however, this really was not for me, although I enjoyed it it just wasn’t my thing sadly.

The incredible short based around the Easter Bunny was short I can tell you now creeped me the hell out and for good reason. This was a sure fire creep fest. It really does make all those innocent years of believing in the easter bunny go right down the drain haha. Great and very very creepy this has to be up there with one fo the best. I think this could be a feature for sure.

Third up was the incredibly creepy and tension filled Fathers Day from director Anthony Scott Burns. This delightfully unique and creepy short tells the story of a young girl’s path to finding her father through the guidance of an audio tape which he had left for her on her birthday many years after he disappeared. This has to be one of my favourites and a sheer horror gem. I would love to see this one get made into a feature as its so creepy and I can totally see this as a feature-length film one day.

Next, up was the equally intense Mother’s Day about a young girl who finds herself a prisoner in a secluded retreat for women who have trouble conceiving a baby she being the only person who can easy have a baby is then made pregnant but things go horrifically wrong in this gripping short. Again this was not really my thing but I did think it was a very good short and very well made. It was intense and very creepy indeed.

Kevin Smith’s Halloween Segment was actually rather comedic in a very dark way. It has many relations to the slasher film Girlhouse. Three girls who are paid next to nothing to strip on camera for men take their revenge on their pimp in a very creative and disturbingly funny way. This was one of my favourite segments in the film I thought it was rather funny which worries me a little haha.

The next segment was Christmas and this little gem featured Seth Greene the Loveable werewolf from Buffy The Vampire Slayer. This time he as always was awesome in this festive and fun Again I found this segment to be rather creepy and just one that again I would love to see be made into a feature one of these days. It was a true testament to the Christmas themed horror films. I also just loved that Seth was able to bring hs loveable quirkiness we all knew and loved from Buffy into this. I liked that it sort of used a virtual device to show what people are really like.

The final segment has to be by far one of my favourites. It is so creepy, gory and cool! I loved seeing Lorenzo Izzo in a very different role even though she has her fair share of roles in Horror films this was a different one. I would love to see this get developed into a feature. I know I have said that so often in this review but come on, most of this segment deserve the feature movie treatment! First class short.

Overall I think Holidays was a great edition to the horror anthologies I can not wait to own this on DVD its also currently streaming on UK Netflix. I really loved Fathers Day and Christmas segments the best the Halloween segment is for sure a close second and just for Lorenzo Izzo alone New Years Eve is a certain favourite of mine as well as it being just a purely good short.

[rating=4] | Ross Wilcock

Horror, Anthology | 18 | Various, 2015 |Kaledioscope Home Entertainment| 10th October 2016(UK) | Dir.Anthony Scott Burns, Kevin Kolsch, Nicholas McCarthy, Adam Egypt Mortimer, Gary Shore, Kevin Smith, Sarah Adina Smith, Scott Stewart, Dennis Widmyer | Seth Green, Clare Grant, Ruth Bradley, Sophie Traub, Jocelin Donahue, Harley Morenstein, Lorenza Izzo, Andrew Bowen | Buy:Holidays [DVD]