Unholy Night
Director: Michael Gabriele
Starring: Marc Bendavid, Toni Ellwand, Shailene Garnett, Ron Lea, Jacqueline Robbins
Genre: Horror, Comedy
Christmas with the family. A tale as old as time. Planning, preparation, chaos, drama...family grief, and then it's all over in the space of a few hours, ready to return twelve months later. Somehow, though, these are the memories we cherish most. What happens when you add the ritornati - the undead - to the equation? Well, then you get Michael Gabriele's feature debut Unholy Night. As the least successful child of a large Canadian-Italian family, Gino (Bendavid) seems to bear the brunt of his family's jibes and can't wait to just get the family dinner out of the way so he can escape from the constant ridicule, but when the family's long-dead Nonna (Robbins) appears in the kitchen cooking up a feast, tensions escalate dramatically.
"The chemistry between Bendavid and Garnett is strong, and in truth, I'd probably have preferred the film to follow the pair almost exclusively."
What follows is a strange blend of horror, comedy and drama that doesn't always mesh or mix together as well as intended.
After a strong opening that establishes the family dynamics before culminating in Nonna's furious undead return, with her wreaking brief bloody havoc on the family, Unholy Night never sustains this momentum. Instead, its pacing becomes uneven and finds itself becoming more and more convoluted as the narrative expands. Gabriele offers glimpses of intriguing themes, such as cultural traditions, generational responsibility, regret, and ancestry, alongside inconsistent lore or rules regarding the undead, but the film never fully commits to exploring them, leaving the story feeling cluttered and, by the finale, surprisingly confusing.
After the opening salvo, the film doesn't follow up with a blood-soaked splatterfest - though there are moments of gore - instead leaning into a more dramatic tone while retaining its horror-comedy identity. Gino, the black sheep of the family, decides to save his ex-girlfriend Rene (Garnett) during the outbreak whilst attempting to reconcile with his past mistakes in their relationship, all leading to a surprisingly emotional resolution. The chemistry between Bendavid and Garnett is strong, and in truth, I'd probably have preferred the film to follow the pair almost exclusively. That's not to say the supporting cast aren't effective, but Gino and Rene were by far the most interesting. Whilst this aspect provided the strongest elements of Unholy Night, the film struggles on the whole to balance its competing genres of horror, comedy, drama, mystery and romance.
The horror, when it arrives, is largely well-presented and the comedy is too, but the mystery and supernatural elements felt frustrating in their inconsistency in regard to the undead behaviours and their existence. The effects employed are also mostly of a good standard, which is impressive given the film's independent budget, though the version I watched did have unfinished visual effects in certain scenes (as noted in an opening disclaimer). However, the effects work was solid and did not detract from the film.
For a debut feature, Unholy Night is an encouraging start but it suffers from narrative and pacing issues, and at times spreads itself too thin. At its best, it delivers entertaining bursts of gore, comedy and genuine emotion, yet its uneven storytelling prevents those moments from fully coming together. It's an enjoyable enough effort with flashes of promise, but one that ultimately falls short of its ambitions.
July 27th 2026