ALL THE CREATURES WERE STIRRING: Ho Ho Horror!

Back in 1984, Silent Night, Deadly Night became one of the most controversial films of the decade purely through its advertising, a poster and TV campaign featuring an axe-wielding serial killer dressed in a Santa costume. The concept of corrupting the idyllic nature of Christmas wasn’t new, as Bob Clark’s Black Christmas had caused a similar stir in the 70’s.

But the very idea of the opposing worlds of horror and Christmas colliding causing such an offense to the public seems almost laughable now, especially when every year now it seems we get a new entry into the surprisingly prolific sub-genre of ‘Christmas Horror’, with some recent hits being Krampus, A Christmas Horror Story and now, just in time for 2018’s festive season, the delightful All the Creatures Were Stirring.

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas

All the Creatures Were Stirring is a brand new Christmas horror anthology from husband and wife directing/writing duo Rebekah and David Ian McKendry, both of whom are well-established in the world of horror – both previously collaborated on a graphic novel extension of the Hellraiser universe, as well as Rebekah’s long-running hosting duties on Blumhouse’s official podcast Shock Waves. It might seem redundant to label this film as ‘brand new’ within its own review but that’s what this feels like, a refreshingly original selection of five yuletide-related segments all taking place over one magical Christmas Eve night.

With every anthology, there’s some segments that work better than others, but having the same creative force behind each one means that there’s a coherence and consistency that is usually lacking in multi-directorial efforts like A Christmas Horror Story or the V/H/S series. Running at an efficient 15 minutes each, there’s bound to be at least one story for everyone. So if you’re not enjoying one, it’s not long before you’re watching another terrifying tale of lost souls having their idea of the “the spirit of Christmas” redefined, whether it be through vengeful reindeers, deadly gift swaps or even nostalgic aliens.

All the Creatures Were Stirring’s best quality is its originality, and the McKendry’s encyclopaedic knowledge of the genre is evident through their circumvention of cliche, as thankfully there’s nary a Krampus creature or a killer Santa in sight.

Not A Creature Was Stirring

As the sun fades on one snowy Christmas Eve night, two single souls (Ashley Clements and Graham Skipper) decide to meet up, choosing to attend the only theatre that’s actually playing something. Entering a show vaguely titled All the Creatures Were Stirring, the awkward couple unfortunately find themselves in the audience of a local theatre group’s interpretative dance routines of Christmas-themed horror shorts, which when started, are the different segments we see fully visualised.

This wrap-around section is cute, and once again shows a willingness to subvert formulaic practices (a modernised re-interpretation of the crypt-keeper character seems to be the usual go-to introduction for these types of anthologies, just look at this year’s Tales from the Hood 2).

The first tale, “The Stockings Were Hung” (each title derived from Clement Clarke Moore’s classic poem), is the best Saw sequel we never got. One of the biggest problems with the Saw franchise, outside of its convoluted timeline trickery, was its reluctance to change-up its locations – 8 films set in rustic warehouses got old pretty quickly, and maybe one entry within a stark white office space might’ve done the series some good.

As a group of office workers hesitantly attend their annual Christmas party, an introductory game of gift swap goes wrong when it’s revealed that an enigmatic figure has littered the table with an assortment of presents – some helpful, some lethal – and commands the co-workers to continue playing, with the tension getting tighter as both a mix of bowtied boxes and a tangled web of lies and deceit start to become uncovered. Kicking off with a literal bang, this opening segment is fast, frenzied and immediately dials in the audience of what’s in store for the next four stories.

“Dash Away All” feels more like a setup for a unique creature feature rather than its own contained narrative, as a deserted family man seeks help from two hippies who are hoarding one deadly secret in their parked van (the only instance of the anthology’s title ringing true). “All Through the House” delivers a modern riff on It’s A Wonderful Life’s classic account of Christmas-inspired divine redemption as a grumpy Grinch is forced into embracing the Christmas spirit – whether he likes it or not.

“Arose Such a Clatter” is the film’s weakest episode, but luckily its quickest, a pretty straight-forward fable of a hit-and-run incident that quickly becomes a supernatural revenge fantasy. It’s the only story where you can really see the ending coming – unlike the unlucky driver who is the unwilling target of one pissed-off reindeer.

And To All a Good Night

The film wraps up (excuse the pun) with “In a Twinkling”, the most well-known segment due to the appearance of Constance Wu, coming off her huge success with Crazy Rich Asians. It seems at first that we might be dealing with a werewolf, as Steve (a suitably sullen Morgan Peter Brown) blows off all of his social engagements, fears the sight of a full moon and prepares to chain himself up. That is, until his friend Gabby (Wu) throws him a surprise Christmas party, only to discover the real reason why he always avoids the holidays – a reveal that’s far away from any form of lycanthropic transformation.

It’s truly the strangest one of the lot, but its singularity is stimulating and it’s the one which feels the most inspired from the original Twilight Zone series (and not just because of its old school black and white visuals).

Speaking of the film’s aesthetics, the limitations of its independent nature are only truly evident through its digital cinematography, a notable visual look that most low-budget productions are often crassly labeled as “looking cheap”, a vague descriptor which only seems to be used insultingly. People tend to overlook how sometimes the best-looking films can be the most boring (especially when it comes to horror), it’s often the spirit (hah) that counts, something that All the Creatures Were Stirring is absolutely loaded with – both in Christmas and filmmaking.

All The Creatures Were Stirring: Conclusion

The best way to sum up Rebekah and David Ian McKendry’s debut feature All the Creatures Were Stirring is to use the final line from the poem that its title is sourced from: Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night. In a year where people have been debating the pretentiousness of horror films (a hyperbolic argument rooted in basic observation of the genre), this particular horror anthology promises a good night, and much like the red-suited man seen smiling in every segment, wholly delivers on it.

Thanks to its inventive ideas, effective execution and willingness to be original, this film is bound to be another Christmas classic for every horror fan to enjoy.

What are some of your favourite Christmas horror films? Let us know!

All The Creatures Were Stirring will be available On Demand, DVD, and digital video on December 4th.