Monday, December 04, 2023

My Review of It's A Wonderful Knife (2023)

 


Written by Michael Kennedy
Directed by Tyler MacIntyre

Winnie: "I stood under the Aurora and said everyone would be better off if I never existed. Well, wish granted."

Oh Christmas time, and yes, more horror themed festive delights will be watched and reviewed this month, is one for LGBT fans. So a festive queer themed horror film it is and with an interesting title, which obviously evokes a certain Christmas classic.

We've got a lovely small town named Angel Falls where a shifty but campy Mayor Henry Waters (Justin Long) is trying to take over the town, bit by bit while eating into every property he can get, no matter what. When one person refuses his power grab, Henry dons a white costume and goes on a massive killing spree.

Yup, from the start it was clear as day that Henry was going to be the killer but what I hadn't anticipated that after killing both poor Roger (William B. Davis) and his granddaughter Cara (Hana Huggins) that the killer would be taken out by local girl Winnie Carruthers (Jane Widdop). For that to happen so early in the movie meant there had to be a twist, right?

Of course there was. A year passed, Winnie couldn't get over her friend being murdered and her family's attempts to move from the killing annoyed her enough to make an unwise wish during an Aurora Borealis. Simply put, Winnie rewrote history and it had major consequences. 

Her family were splintered for starters. Her mother Judy (Erin Boyes) was sleeping around while her father David (Joel McHale) was not only mean spirited and distant but in this world, he was severely under Henry's thumb. Not to mention the fact that Jimmy (Aiden Howard) died in this world and Winnie's not even a Carruthers. It does show to be very specific when making wishes.

Fortunately for Winnie, the town pariah Bernie (Jess McLeod) turned out to be the very person she could rely on to help free the town of Henry's grasp and return to her own timeline. Along the way also being a very sweet and nicely earned romance between the two of them.

- The killer costume was an abandoned idea for the original Ghostface in the Scream franchise. There are a lot of nods to this franchise here.
- Shout out to Katharine Isabelle as Winnie's aunt, Gale Prescott. Gale, Jimmy and Winnie made up the LGBT characters along with Bernie, Karen, Henry and maybe Buck.
- Standout music: Carol Of The Bells, Holy F*cking Sh*t It's Christmas and Joy 2 The Girls.
- Chronology: A year passes within the movie itself.

It's A Wonderful Knife turned out to be the surprise delight, playing with familiar themes while doing something very fun with them too. Great performances from Jane Widdop and Justin Long, nice bits of gore,a visually cool killer costume and a sweet romantic subplot made this a great watch.

Rating: 8 out of 10

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