When a movie gives the vibes of The Evil Dead (1981) meets Anna and the Apocalypse (2017) (sans music), it sets a high bar for itself and it is a letdown if it just doesn’t reach that height. However, there can still be something to celebrate and cherish even if it doesn’t satisfy what the audience is ultimately craving. Seasons slashings aren’t light in delight though, just more kills and more gruesomeness than the opening minutes of the film seems to promise, and on this Unholy Night, having its world premiere in the Septentrion Shadows section of Fantasia International Film Festival 2026, writer/director Michael Gabriele (Room Time) at least delivers on the chaos of the holiday season, and ultimately brings us all together, alive or otherwise.
Jacqueline Robbins as Nonna Pina in UNHOLY NIGHT. Photo courtesy of Blue Finch Film Releasing.
Unholy Night focuses on Gino (Marc Bendavid) and his entire family consisting of Lucia (Toni Ellwand), Giuseppe (Ron Lea), Angela (Christina Rosato), Franky (Olivier Renaud), Marissa (Celia Owen), Aunt Carmela (Ellen David), and Uncle Vince (Frank Spadone), getting together for Christmas and trying to have a nice dinner. However, Gino isn’t really happy to be there as his ex, Rene (Shailene Garnett) lives nearby and he desperately wants her back. It’s nothing really more than an awkward Christmas dinner … until his dead relatives start showing up and causing chaos. First is Nonna Pina (Jacqueline Robbins) as she comes into the picture and tries to go on a murderous rampage. Realizing that it’s not only his dead relatives coming back to life, he takes this opportunity to try and reunite with Rene and reignite their love. Unholy Night tries to be a romantic comedy with a bloody twist.
Christina Rosato as Angela in UNHOLY NIGHT. Photo courtesy of Blue Finch Film Releasing.
There is a lot of ambition in Michael Gabriele’s Unholy Night, and it’s not without merit. The only issue that plagues the movie is trying to genre-bend a little too much and, unfortunately, moving away from what the opening sets up, slowly becoming something that the audience isn’t fully expecting. While we’re promised a bloody, terrific, holiday, good time, it turns that into a holiday mashup of rekindling romance with a side of bloody murder. There is nothing wrong with the former, but a movie that entices and intrigues audiences with the promise of dead relatives coming back and wrecking all havoc and then pivots to a desperate man pining after his ex becomes a less adventurous outing and one that leaves a lot more to be desired, unfortunately.
With a movie such as Unholy Night, which focuses on such a large ensemble, the cast has to be up to task to bring together a film which, at the end of the day, works, even if the direction goes differently than expected. Fortunately, there are some standouts, but, specifically, there is Jacqueline Robbins (The Monkey) who has an absolutely delightfully fun time playing the resurrected Nonna here to take some souls with her by way of some gruesome violence. It is clear that Robbins is having a ball, and, if more of her antics were the focal point of Unholy Night, this would be a much more uproariously entertaining good time. Aside from Robbins, Bendavid (A Gingerbread Christmas) and Garnett (The Dirties) are also great in their respective roles. Bendavid’s Gino, who’s stuck between a rock and a hard place of wanting to participate in family gatherings and conflicted over his ex, then doing what he can to save her and try to convince her to give them another shot – conveys all of this through facial expressions and physicality. He’s able to communicate Gino’s disengagement with his family, but, in a moment where Gino looks out a window, Bendavid gives us a sense of longing as though torn between his obligations and his heart. As well, Garnett is great as Rene, in being utterly caught off guard by Gino showing back up, but slowly realizing the dead has risen and agrees to work alongside him for the sanctity of staying alive. Garnett’s own physicality communicates Rene’s displeasure, even working with Gino, channeling a clear desire to make the best of a situation she doesn’t want to be in. Together, their chemistry is palpable for people who broke up recently, and most likely should stay separated. There is just this uneasy tension and uncomfortableness that stems from their on-screen chemistry together, which helps facilitate another level of depth to the characters and their relationship.
Shailene Garnett as Rene in UNHOLY NIGHT. Photo courtesy of Blue Finch Film Releasing.
Unfortunately, Unholy Night promises a night of bloody undead terror and delivers a romantic comedy with a side of zombieism and death. If it was less concerned about human emotion and connection and had leaned heavier into the promise of horror it offers in the beginning, it would’ve been a more entertaining then the melodramatic “can the guy get the girl back” story with a side of the undead. Ultimately, Michael Gabriele should’ve stayed focused on raising the undead and making a night to remember.
Screening during Fantasia International Film Festival 2026.
For more information, head to the official Fantasia International Film Festival Unholy Night webpage.
Final Score: 3 out of 5.
Share this:
Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
Leave a Reply