Unholy Night Review: A Bloody Christmas Creature Feature Buried Beneath Its Evil Dead Influences

A family’s Christmas gathering turns into a fight for survival when the dead begin returning in Unholy Night.

Unholy Night Review: A Bloody Holiday Creature Feature That Struggles to Escape Its Influences

Rating: 2.5/5

Holiday horror and family dysfunction have long made for a potent combination, and Unholy Night, the latest genre entry set to make its World Premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival 2026, certainly understands that formula.

Directed by Michael Gabriel and arriving courtesy of Game Theory Films, Unholy Night blends Christmas chaos, undead relatives, practical creature effects, and family drama into a bloody seasonal survival story. While the film delivers a handful of entertaining moments and some respectable gore, it ultimately struggles to establish an identity of its own.

The story centers on an Italian family gathering to celebrate Christmas when an unexpected guest arrives.

The problem is that Grandma is dead.

Or at least she is supposed to be.

As the night unfolds, the family discovers that Grandma’s return is not an isolated incident. The dead are appearing throughout the surrounding area, transforming what should have been a holiday celebration into a desperate fight for survival.

What follows is a familiar but entertaining setup that places an already dysfunctional family in the middle of a supernatural nightmare.

The creatures themselves are among the film’s strongest elements.

Rather than functioning as traditional zombies, the undead in Unholy Night retain elements of their personalities. They speak, interact, recognize family members, and appear aware of their surroundings. The result is a monster design that feels more unsettling than a standard zombie outbreak while creating opportunities for both horror and dark comedy.

Unfortunately, the film’s biggest challenge is also its most obvious one.

The comparisons to Evil Dead are impossible to ignore.

From the family-centered narrative structure to the creature behavior and several of the film’s action beats, Unholy Night frequently feels like it is operating within the shadow of modern Evil Dead entries. While inspiration is not inherently a problem, the similarities become significant enough that the film rarely develops a distinct identity of its own.

That issue becomes particularly noticeable as the story progresses.

Rather than evolving into something uniquely memorable, the film often settles into familiar territory that genre fans will immediately recognize.

At the center of the story is Gino, a man who has never quite lived up to his family’s expectations. He’s not a bad person, but he’s also not the success story everyone else seems to be. As the holiday gathering descends into chaos, Gino finds himself facing the kind of moment that can either define a person or expose every weakness they’ve spent years trying to hide.

It’s a solid character foundation, even if the screenplay never fully capitalizes on its potential.

To the film’s credit, it understands exactly what kind of experience it wants to be.

This is not elevated horror.

It is not attempting to reinvent the genre.

It is a late-night popcorn movie filled with holiday carnage, family arguments, practical effects, and occasional bursts of dark humor. On that level, the film largely succeeds.

The practical creature work is enjoyable, the gore effects are effective, and the pacing keeps things moving well enough to maintain audience interest.

The problem is that very little of it feels particularly memorable once the credits roll.

There is nothing actively bad about Unholy Night. In fact, many horror fans will likely have a good time with it, especially those looking for a seasonal horror film to add to their holiday watchlists. But outside of its Christmas setting and a few entertaining creature moments, there is little here that separates it from the countless horror-comedy survival films that have come before it.

If the goal was to deliver an unapologetically bloody Christmas creature feature, then Michael Gabriel and company accomplish exactly that.

If the goal was to create the next great holiday horror classic, the film falls short.

Final Score: 2.5/5

Unholy Night offers solid practical effects, enjoyable creature work, and enough Christmas carnage to satisfy holiday horror fans. Unfortunately, its heavy Evil Dead influences prevent it from developing a stronger identity of its own. For genre audiences looking for a fun seasonal late-night watch, there’s still enough here to warrant a visit.

★★½/★★★★★