It's a wonderful knife (2 Stars)

Is it too early to be watching a Christmas film?

I bought this Blu-ray because the film was directed by Tyler MacIntyre, whose "Tragedy Girls" I greatly enjoyed. I was hoping for another entertaining horror film, but unfortunately, I was disappointed.

Winnie Carruthers saves her small town from a masked killer known as the Angel, but a year later she's unhappy with her life and wishes she'd never been born. When a mysterious aurora appears in the sky, her wish comes true. Winnie finds herself in a world where she never existed, and discovers that the Angel is still at large because she was never there to stop him. She must now find a way to save the people she cares about, despite the fact that they don't know her.

The premise is clearly inspired by "It's a Wonderful Life", with its vision of a world in which the central character was never born. Fans of that Christmas classic might appreciate the idea, but I've never been particularly fond of the original film's fairy-tale approach, and this variation didn't win me over.

The slasher elements aren't very successful. I guessed the killer's identity as soon as the first murder took place, after which the killings came so thick and fast that there was little time for suspense to build. It felt like "Scream" without the heart.

The film improved once Winnie entered the alternate world, but I found the whole concept confusing. The rules governing this world were never made clear, and the supernatural developments left me puzzled rather than ebtertained.

I really wanted to like this film, especially given my enjoyment of MacIntyre's earlier work, but neither the slasher story nor its supernatural premise won me over. A disappointing Christmas horror film.

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