All Through the House is an 80's style slasher film that features the jolliest and merriest killer of them all, Santa Clause! When college student Rachel Kimmel (Ashley Mary Nunes) comes home for Christmas break, she finds her neighborhood being terrorized by a deranged, killing, masked Santa Clause. As the bodies pile up Rachel discovers the menacing secret behind the twisted Santa mask.
I had a good feeling right away with All Through the House as the film opens up swinging in true slasher style with 2 gruesome and "Oh shit!" inducing deaths that don't spare the blood and are not for the squeamish. It's a fantastic and fast paced opening that gets you ready for the carnage that will be unwrapped as the film continues. And I'm happy to say that All Through the House never lets up.
The group of 3 friends led by Ashley Mary Nunes are great fun to watch. They have a good chemistry between them and really do come across as lifelong friends. Danica Riner as Sarah is especially good as the privileged, valley girl/former prom queen type and Natalie Montera as Gia has an endearing girl next door quality and wonderful comedic timing. The trio are all together charming and as a viewer I liked these characters. And Melynda Kiring also gives a great performance as the sweet, older neighbor with a secret.
The tone of the film is a wonderful mix of Christmas cheer and inevitable dread. There seems to be a Santa decoration of some kind in every other scene and old, slow, and almost ghostly sounding at times Christmas music to go with them. There's something inherently creepy about an over saturation of Christmas decorations and All Through the House exploits this expertly. With the barrage of holiday decorations that convey an off kilter and obsessive tone and the old, mangy look and simple yet off-putting mask of the killer Santa Claus, the film rightly makes you uncomfortable in what is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year.
Gore-hounds and lovers of practical effects will be thoroughly entertained with what All Through the House has to offer. The kills are creative, gruesome and brutal and the effects are top notch and don't hold back. The blood sprays and drips and gurgles while certain body parts hit the floor like discarded fruit cakes. As for the killer himself, think Jason Voorhees in a Santa outfit.
All Through the House really is slasher 101 and covers all the beats that the genre has become known for and that fans expect. Writer and director Todd Nunes draws from slasher history and there is a clear love for classics such as Maniac, Black Christmas, and Halloween. One scene towards the end looks exactly like a famous screen grab from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This kind of smart and loving homage adds to the fun of All Through the House to make it one hell of a killer slasher flick and extremely entertaining! If you like your slashers dripping red (and your holiday horror as well), then All Through the House is a must watch.
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