Horror doesn’t take a holiday, even at Christmastime! Case and point…In a bid to prove Santa’s existence, an eight year old girl and her teenage sister discover more hard truths than they bargained for (and the viewer gets just as many laughs) in “The Last Christmas”, a horror comedy, by writer and director, Ryan Port, available to watch on Alter’s YouTube channel.
You will definitely have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year when you submit your own script to the next Killer Shorts Horror Short Screenplay Competition.
The Plot
The film opens with all the hallmarks of Christmas joy most viewers will recognize—a overhead panoramic view of a neighborhood decked out for the holidays, streets and lawns covered in a blanket of snow, and presents wrapped under the Christmas tree. Isn’t that nice?
That’s the last you will see of ‘nice’ in this film.
Eight year old Alice shakes teenage sister, Kirsten, awake from a Christmas Eve slumber. What is so important that Alice would rouse Kirsten from bed and usher her downstairs? Kirsten walks into the living room and right into a nightmare scene of a very dead Santa, his forehead impaled on the edge of a glass coffee table.
This is where horror will hold hands with comedy for the rest of the film.
Little Alice has many, MANY ideas on what to do next including “Dexter this shit up”. Let me remind you, she’s EIGHT. Kirsten relents after Alice hilariously builds a case for the optics of a dead Santa on their hands.
It is determined that they will go with the most viable option, which is burying the holly, jolly fellow in the neighbors’ backyard. Seems reasonable until…
Santa, glass still poking from his forehead, wakes up.
What Lies Underneath
Holidays can be messy. Family can be messy. But in the end, these two sisters are ‘ride or die’, willing to cover up dead bodies. Until of course the inevitable happens…
“The Last Christmas” is a delightful look at transposing real world chaos into what would normally be the warmth of the holiday season.
What Makes It Killer
ALICE! Alice makes this film killer! She is a foul mouth brat that you can’t help but love. Miley Haik does a fine job with Alice’s rapid fire dialogue and the crucial equilibrium between wit and annoyance needed to make this little girl a force to be reckoned with.
Madison Cheeatow’s turn as Kirsten is a great opposing force to Alice. Cheeatow brings a rational balance amidst the high octane delivery of Haik’s Alice. And A.C. Peterson as Santa plays the plump gift giver as gleefully menacing and righteously aggravated. You love to see it!
Ryan Port’s writing is a delight throughout this film. Clever and hilarious yet approachable. The dead Santa concept gets a twisty and fun treatment under Port’s guidance and direction.
The one thing you can take away from “The Last Christmas” is…Santa is a vengeful sort. You better watch out, better not try to capture his existence, and try not to kill him, then bury him alive. It will not end well for you.
Happy Holidays!
Watch it below.
The Last Christmas IMDB
The Last Christmas website
The Last Christmas Facebook
The Last Christmas Instagram
Writer & Director: Ryan Port
Producer: Mafalda Gugliuzzi
Producer: Ryan Port
Producer: Moe Rai
Executive Producer: Julian Westminster
CAST:
Madison Cheeatow as Kirsten
Miley Haik as Alice
A.C. Peterson as Santa
