Deck the Halls with Nonna’s Blood in the World Premiere of ‘Unholy Night’ at Fantasia Festival [Movie Review]

Family gatherings for Christmas can either be the best time or the very worst time of the year. It definitely is the latter in Michael Gabriele’s feature film debut, “Unholy Night,” which made its world premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival, in Montreal, Quebec. All is not calm; all is fright.

Gino (Marc Bendavid; “Reacher” and “Good Witch” TV series) is the black sheep of his Italian-Canadian family. Single, working in a paint shop, he often gets teased by his family members. Nonetheless, it is Christmas eve and everyone is glad to be reuniting under the same roof to be celebrating the holidays together. Even Nonna decided to show up to the family gathering. Only problem is: Nonna’s been dead for years. As she begins to wreak havoc on the family after setting foot in the kitchen and working on her own Christmas recipe, the shocked, confused and terrified household discovers that the returned, or “ritornati”, are also infesting the rest of the town. Time to deck the halls with grandma’s blood.

Unholy Night

After directing numerous shorts, writer/director/producer Michael Gabriele makes the jump to the big screen by bringing Christmas in July at Fantasia. His horror-comedy is one of lighthearted laughs pertaining to themes of family unity and retrieving lost loves, all wrapped up in an undead bow. Gabriele succeeds at making the audience feel the warmth of the family’s gathering, including the ribbing, with a traditional Christmas supper, surrounded by loved ones. “Unholy Night” doesn’t take long, however, before it jumps right into the midst of the demonic chaos, slamming the family into blistering violence right in the very kitchen that cooked their holiday meal. Additionally, on top of the chuckles and frights, an emotional twist even manages to pierce its way through the entire plot.

Unholy Night

While Marc Bendavid’s character is a soft-spoken, yet strong-willed main character, he is surrounded by a genuinely entertaining cast with heart-warming charisma, portrayed by experienced, Canadian actors like Ellen David (“Goon” (2011)), Toni Ellwand (“Mafia Inc” (2019)), and Ron Lea (“Saw IV” (2007)). Each of them interprets the loud, outspoken and lovable Italian-Canadian family members down to a T. Gino’s ex-girlfriend, Rene (Shailene Garnett; “Welcome” (2025) & “Diggstown” TV series), brings a solid support to him onscreen, adding a sentimental aspect to the tale. American actress Jacqueline Robbins (“The Wicker Man” (2006) & “A Series of Unfortunate Events” TV series) does a phenomenal job in carrying the creepiness of Nonna’s ghastly presence. In the post-screening Q&A, she was particularly charming in how eloquently she spoke as well as how much she appreciates the art of cinema and the downright importance of audiences showing up to view it.

Unholy Night

There is a generous amount of CGI used throughout “Unholy Night,” efficient more often than not, for the most part, but it doesn’t take away from the appreciation of the motion picture. Some appealing make-up effects add to the charm of Gabriele’s feature film debut. However, despite containing some decent ones, more effort on practical effects would’ve increased the overall quality entertainment a notch or two. Some jumpscares are effective, here and there, but nearly half of them have the typically annoying “let’s add some out-of-context, cranked up audio to the scene to increase the shock value” effect to them, which will surely make the most hardened of horror fans roll their eyes. Finally, while it does have some humor sprinkled throughout the tale, it isn’t an all-out laugh-fest, either. Don’t expect to walk out of this one with abdominal cramps.

Unholy Night

For a debut into the world of feature films, Michael Gabriele’s Canadian dark comedy brings the frights, the holiday spirit and Nonna’s best Christmas recipe of the undead to the family table. “Unholy Night” receives the score of 3.5 eyes out of 5.

For more Christmas horror, check out the “Ebenezer” trailer.