Depending on when you’re reading this, Christmas is just around the corner, and if your kids can handle it, filmmaker and creature artist Joel Harlow unleashes his take on the old Christmas classic, The Specter of Christmas.
An elderly ghoul (Paul Giamatti) settles beside an old radio, and a Christmas tree for a wickedly festive tale called The Specter of Christmas. We open on a cold night outside a graveyard, where three cemetery workers—the Caretaker (Rick Backer), the Gravedigger (Scott Ian), and the Groundskeeper (Kevin Smith)—share a flask of liquor and keep watch near the crypt marked as Santa’s final resting place. Behind them is the looming presence of the mysterious Riktus Grimm (Marti Matulis), nestled in his warm mansion in the distance.
Inside the mansion, Edward D. Mise (Rod Maxwell) and Mildred Price (Ashley Edner-Tancharoen) prepare for their annual holiday ritual, conjuring Santa from the dead with a spell of milk and cookies. Their joyous enthusiasm rubs Riktus the wrong way, and he wants no part of the frivolity. He angrily sends the pair off to bed and helps himself to the offering intended for their red-suited guest.
“…a glow rises from Santa’s crypt in the cemetery…”
Later that night, as Riktus settles into his room, a glow rises from Santa’s crypt in the cemetery. The light draws the attention of the three workers outside, signaling that something uncanny is about to awaken.
From the creative mind of make-up and special effects veteran Joel Harlow, The Specter of Christmas is “a small, personal film built with practical effects and love for old-school storytelling.” It shows. It’s right on par with my love of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop as Harlow builds a world where ghouls and monsters exist.
He opens with a whimsical yet dark world, featuring a familiar cast of crypt keepers in Rick Baker, Scott Ian, and Kevin Smith, before introducing a creepy cast of characters. Here, Harlow’s work is on full display, and he’s not half-assing it in any way. No detail is overlooked in either the creatures or the environment. His actors are in full monster make-up, all surrounding the Christmas tree.
The story presents a terrifying spoof of “The Night Before Christmas,” where Santa is resurrected each year, and the spell to summon his spirit is simply milk and cookies. This horror-themed take on the classic tale emphasizes Harlow’s world-building while delivering a twisted spin on a beloved family tradition.
"…a terrifying spoof of ‘The Night Before Christmas’…"
