The film’s first act is soured by its insufferable dialogue. But in the rest of the film, Begos’s chaotic tendencies are channeled into sleek, stylish action that feels more focused than any of his prior work without feeling any less kinetic.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 2, 2025

While Christmas Bloody Christmas doesn’t come close to reinventing the Holiday horror film subgenre, it does deliver delightful exploitation cinema-like kills and stylistic tendencies.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 4, 2024

I appreciate the attention to horror movie detail and the Terminator-like stamina of the villain. It’s got some warts, but it’s a bonkers Christmas horror movie... in a good way.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 11, 2023

Christmas Bloody Christmas is an unabashed holiday treat that knows exactly what it is and what its audience is hoping to get from a “killer robot Santa” horror film.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jan 10, 2023

Writer-director Joe Begos' killer Santa story lives up to that title, and then some.

| Jan 6, 2023

Think bloody Terminator Christmas special, and you’ll be in the right state of mind for Joe Begos’ latest.

| Dec 23, 2022

The dialogue in the first half plays like a grating straight bro fantasy, but Tori and Robbie have good chemistry. The kills are fun and the Terminator references are appreciated, though the climax overstays its welcome

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 22, 2022

Visually striking, never dull, and at times, shocking. It's a neon drenched, grainy 16mm metal blasting wild ride: think Silent Night Deadly Night with The Terminator directed by Rob Zombie with a little High Fidelity character flavor thrown in.

| Original Score: 7.5/10 | Dec 21, 2022

A mashup of holiday horror and The Terminator, Christmas Bloody Christmas is a fun enough time.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 19, 2022

Christmas Bloody Christmas succeeds as a grisly holiday slasher but doesn't contain much depth aside from its memorable on-screen mayhem.

| Dec 17, 2022

Begos’ exploitation homage has no problem delivering a new holiday horror staple for genre fans. It’s our version of a Hallmark movie, for better or worse.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 16, 2022

Once the killing starts, Christmas Bloody Christmas is stylized fun.

| Original Score: B- | Dec 14, 2022

The rest is like a low-budget Terminator knockoff, only brightened by the candy-colored visuals. One doesn’t expect much depth of credibility from a movie of this sort.

| Dec 13, 2022

a young independent woman’s nightmare (of patriarchy) before Christmas.

| Dec 13, 2022

Begos piles on the old-school practical-effects gore – man, that ax is SHARP – and lights it with enough harsh, intense holiday color to turn tidings of comfort and joy into ho-ho-horror.

| Dec 13, 2022

Christmas Bloody Christmas should not be missed if you’re looking for a new Christmas horror film that is essentially a yuletide slasher film where you root for a killer Santa cyborg as a bunch of horny 30-somethings are killed off to squeamish delight.

| Original Score: 3.75/5 | Dec 12, 2022

There aren’t many original ideas at play in Christmas Bloody Christmas, but director Joe Begos – who recently made VFW and the celebrated Bliss – certainly knows his way around a gory set piece.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 12, 2022

This is a gruesome slice of holiday cruelty that knows exactly what it is and doesn’t try to be anything else, and that’s exactly as it should be.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 12, 2022

“Robo-Santa slasher” should be a prime horror homerun of a premise, but all the buckets of splatter and miles of holiday neon can’t salvage Christmas Bloody Christmas from tedium.

| Dec 12, 2022

Senseless holiday slasher film.

| Original Score: C | Dec 11, 2022