"THE NAUGHTY LIST OF MR. SCROOGE" (2024) Is A Present You Definitely Want To Open! (REVIEW)
In November 2024, we watched Jake Helgren’s slasher film “Bad Connection.” (You can find that review here) and thought it was a tight, fun, gory slasher that deserved to be seen. We were impressed with the pace and style of the film, as well as Helgren’s ability to get solid performances out of his ensemble cast, which can often be overlooked in lower-budget horror films. Now he’s back with a fantastically dreadful gift for the holidays. “The Naughty List of Mr. Scrooge” follows a group of college friends reuniting after a traumatic experience 10 years prior. What good would a slasher movie be if there weren’t the prerequisite secrets, jealousy, and backstabbing? All those tropes are here wrapped in gorgeous set design and a mystery that goes out of its way to bring delightfully sinister fun.
What’s It About:
Former college friends reunite 10 years after a tragedy during a production of A Christmas Carol. Gathering at a winter chalet, they are stalked and killed one by one by someone dressed as a terrifying Ebenezer Scrooge.
What We Liked About It:
Before we get into the details of this bloody, yuletide romp, we need to shine a spotlight on its director. Jake Helgren has a long list of films on his CV. Most of these films fit comfortably in the Lifetime vein of rom-com holiday fare or light sexy stalkings with titles like “Sins and Seduction,” “Killer Dream Home,” “Dashing in December,” and “Fatal Fandom.” If you think for one second we’re judging these films in any way, you need to check yourself. Peeking out from our Bluray shelf are films with titles like “Chopping Mall,” “Death Spa,” and “Killer Klown from Outer Space.” We think Jake’s previous projects have fine-tuned his distinctive style. Call it “Comfy-Kill,” for lack of a better word…or a good one (we’ll work on it). After “Bad Connection,” we noticed that Helgren sneakily cherry-picks the elements and esthetic that elevate his holiday and relationship thrillers visually and mesh well in terms of the acting, set design, pace, and overall sense of fun, and successfully transitioned that into the world of horror, specifically slashers for now.
We’re unsure if any writers or directors are doing anything along the same lines as “Comfy-Kill,” but Helgren has cornered the market with “The Naughty List of Mr. Scrooge.” It’s an absolute blast. Light, silly fun that never tips all the way into slapstick but knows exactly what kind of film it is and has such a fun time playing in that sandbox. That’s not to say it’s just silliness with no weight to it, not in the least. There are some brutal kills in this film and some genuinely tense moments. The cold open, in particular, is so well filmed with a fantastic throwback to “He Knows You’re Alone” and perfectly sets the tone for the kind of film you’re about to watch. From there, the vibe never dips in the least; if anything, it hums along smoothly, slowly increasing set piece after set piece until the appropriately bonkers reveal at the end. To say more would spoil the fun, but for a movie titled “The Naughty List of Mr. Scrooge,” it couldn’t have ended any other way.
Special attention needs to be paid to the set design of this film by Tony Paully and Dave Rose, which is essentially another character. It goes without saying that if you set your slasher movie during the holiday season, it needs to hit all the right marks visually. This film meets that challenge and then some. It elevates the look and feel of the movie above its modest budget and sets it apart from many similar-budget horror films that came out at the end of the year.
What Could Have Been Better:
This seems petty after what a great time we had watching the film, but the costume design of our killer, Scrooge, could have been a touch better. The mask is phenomenal, bringing to mind the creeptastic killer mask in 1983’s “Curtains.” From the neck down is where everything loses steam for us. If your killer is “Scrooge,” you must go for it. Where was the stocking cap? The iconic kill with an old timely candle holder? Why not incorporate the three visitation ghosts? These are silly nitpicks and shouldn’t sway anyone from watching this thrilling holiday kill fest, but we’d have loved to have seen some of the more iconic Scrooge elements incorporated throughout the film.
Bottom Line:
“The Naughty List of Mr. Scrooge” will now be on rotation every holiday season. It’s the perfect film to throw on with a group of friends. A loving tribute to slashers with some clever callbacks to iconic films in the canon, this movie hits all the right horror marks and sticks the landing completely. With Bad Connection,” Jake Helgren had our curiosity; with “The Naughty List of Mr. Scrooge,” he has our attention. We can’t wait to see what he does next.
“The Naught List of Mr. Scrooge” is available NOW on VOD Platforms, and free with ads on The Roku Channel.
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Sean O'Connor has been an avid horror fan for the last 4 decades. From the Universal Classics through the New French Extremity, Sean has tried to expand his knowledge and love for the genre through film and literature and looks forward to reviewing all types of world cinema with Macabre Daily.