A Very Flattened Christmas is the feature-length follow-up to the series Flattened. The show was created by Key Tawn Toothman, who co-writes this film with director Shane Wallace. Was there a compelling reason to return to the well of a one-season comedy? Is foreknowledge of the returning characters and their relation to one another necessary to follow everything that goes on throughout this comedic stoner slasher?
The death of drug dealer J (Naythan Smith) rocks Max (Toothman) to his core. The funeral brings Rick (Jesse Bailey), the famed creator of Dick Puncher, back to town. In the midst of grieving, Dale (Mark Mannette), the hard-driving boss of the roadkill collection company most of the characters work for, insists upon work being done. This causes tension amongst everyone, as their sadness is still raw. But even worse is that someone is taking out everyone associated with Furry Friends. Who would want to kill these well-meaning, often stoned employees?
“…someone is taking out everyone associated with Furry Friends.”
After a decent prologue that shows the murder of J, A Very Flattened Christmas takes a while to get into. That may not be the case for anyone who saw the show, but most folks, myself included, will be going in with very little predetermined notions. As such, the various confrontations and exchanges at the funeral feel forced and oddly timed. It is as if Wallace and Toothman knew they needed to throw in the leads’ dynamics and did so at the funeral, even if it did not totally make sense. For example, yes, Dale is a workaholic hard a*s, but he is shown to be somewhat reasonable later on. But he gets into several verbal altercations with people at the funeral. It comes across as forced, as if the filmmaker is trying to throw in the idea that Dale could be the killer from the jump. It’s a red herring that doesn’t go anywhere, as it is clear Dale could never be the murderer.
However, once J’s funeral concludes and the aftermath is explored, things get much better. The stoner comedy works better outside of that context. The news segments detailing whatever Rick is up to are hilarious. Max’s desire to want to be left alone to figure things out himself makes sense. The kills are bloody and fun, though the film is never that scary.
All the actors have solid comedic timing, while the reveal of the killer makes sense. As such, while the beginning of A Very Flattened Christmas is rocky, it soon gets viewers on its side. The characters are likable, minus Dale, the punchlines are goofy and funny, and the motivation for the killings works really well. If one liked Flattened, then this is exactly the return to this world one wants. If viewers are new to this world, know that it settles in well and is a lot of fun.
"…a lot of fun."
