My Review Of "Mother Krampus 2: Slay Ride"

It’s Christmas time in Cleveland, Ohio and four young ladies are on the verge of completing their mandatory thirty days of community service. With only one night to go, they are required to make a series of in-home visits to the older and less fortunate. Upon arriving at their final stop for the night, they become introduced to a pleasant older woman who graciously welcomes them into her home for the evening. However, as darkness falls and the cold settles in, they begin to realize that there is far more to their seemingly innocent host than meets the eye.

"Mother Krampus 2: Slay Ride" is directed by Eddie Lengyel and stars Roger Conners,  KateLynn E. Newberry, Tiffani Hilton, Robbie Barnes, Rachel Anderson, Kris Smith, George Tutie, Janine Sarnowski and Benny Benzino. The story is a straightforward Christmas slasher that mixes all the standard horror tropes with new melinnial angst. 

"Mother Krampus 2: Slay Ride" plays on old world legend of Christmas witch,  Gryla in Iceland  (many cultures have a story). The movie does a great job of putting you in that all-to-familiar Holiday spirit,  rife with bloody horror. The set up is classic. All the Christmas horror movie tropes are present, and where a lot of films throw everything in the movie for the sake of it,  "Mother Krampus 2" does a great job of keeping continuity and reason in the use of these concepts. The direction,  and choices taken to bring this tale to life make sense and only add to the entertainment value.

The cast are all a step above your basic, low budget options. The characters, though super cliche,  are relatable and fun to watch. A few performances really stand out. "Mother Krampus 2: Slay Ride" only has one real flaw and that is the mild lag in the mid-section of the move. If you don't count the fact that a 30 minute charity trip has a cast of characters all but moving into the scene of the crime- I've done something similar with weed dealers and apartment complex neighbors in the past -so totally plausible premise. 

The real winner,  aside from ultra cool indie status, is the special effects which are all practical and quality work. Kudos to real attention to visceral,  giallo aspirations, executed flawlessly. That  and the above par cinematography make this one a cut above your standard low-budget affair. Again kudos to creating such good horror classic moments.

Even with the small hang ups that show up in "Mother Krampus 2", overall is is a pretty cool indie horror. Reminiscent of both "Christmas Evil" and more recent indie horror "The Sleeper" , this one does a nice job of honing in on the Holiday Horror appeal, has that classic arthouse vintage slasher vibe, and places it all squarely in the melinnial cross-hairs of future cult status. (3.5/5)