By Jacob Cameron

“Christmas At The Kringles” joins the surprisingly vast collection of horror films set around the holiday season. There have been many great Christmas horror films such as Krampus, the original Black Christmas, and Better Watch Out. Unfortunately, Christmas at the Kringles is not one of the great Christmas horror films.

Christmas at the Kringles was directed by Kevin Lewis, who had previously directed the Nicolas Cage vehicle, Willy’s Wonderland. It starred Ron Livingston, Donald Faison, and Rob Riggle, among others. It tells the story of the Severson family who are moving into a suburban neighborhood during the holiday season. While moving, the Severson family meets their neighbors, the Kringles, who celebrate Christmas every day of the year. As the Severson’s deal with their own stresses, they find themselves drawn to the Kringles and their pursuit of Joy at all costs. With a heavy emphasis on the “at all costs” of it all.

The biggest positive aspect of the film is the Kringle’s house. This is essentially a haunted house like you would see at Halloween but themed around Christmas. The contrast between the Severson’s drab house, which is barely lived in, and the Kringle’s house, which looks like a Hallmark Gold Crown store, is stark and serves the film well. There are smaller parts of the house that appear harmless but are not quite harmless. Additionally, the final fight scene is actually well done and provides several satisfying moments.

Ron Livingston feels like he’s going through the motions in this film. Livingston plays the overworked father that has been done in tons of films; with a splash of cynicism that makes the character hard to root for. Donald Faison’s character is quite annoying as he only drops relevant cultural references and otherwise just reacts to things happening. The Kringles, in general, were far more interesting and had a backstory that, while never explored, leaves a lot to explore. Rob Riggle, while clearly derivative of David Harbour from Violent Night, does have fun moments as well. One moment was a final fight involving Christmas trees that was actually quite fun.

The big problem with the film lies in the wasted potential of the story and the wild tonal shifts. As mentioned, Livingston is the overworked provider who always forgets the holidays and takes down the Christmas decorations the day after Christmas. This is done for no reason. The Kringles’ true nature are revealed in the third act; while connecting to threads in the second act. But these are not really followed through on; there is a subplot where Mr. Kringle introduces Livingston’s character to the world of Cryptocurrency which goes nowhere.

Ultimately, on its face, this is a premise that could have been very creative. But this was a huge letdown with one-dimensional or annoying characters, a threadbare story, and moments that vary from banal to insane with no warning. This movie feels like a lump of coal in your stocking.

🌟 1/2 stars