Review of El Camino Christmas (2017) by Thequietgamer — 24 Dec 2017

Not your average holiday film. Rather than spreading Christmas cheer when he pulls into town looking for the father he never met, Eric Roth (Luke Grimes) inadvertently causes all hell to break loose when a local psychotic cop decides to make him the target of his drunken rage. Bullets fly and a lot of alcohol is consumed. It's certainly a lot darker than your average Christmas movie. Yet, it's not entirely devoid of warmth, humanity, and even a few seasonal clichés. It's even quite humorous.

There's a single mother with a child who never speaks that ultimately ends up falling for the young drifter, to help fill in the checklist for what's almost mandatory for the more traditional variety of these movies. It's pretty well made despite a low budget and Hallmark quality production. The really surprising part is just how violent it is. The performances in this movie are surprisingly good. A talented cast of familiar names like Tim Allen, Vincent D'Onofrio, and a few others make things a little more enjoyable than they otherwise would have been. It's the situation itself that makes things fun though. Such an odd, but ultimately worthwhile choice to make for an original feeling Christmas flick.

7.