"All Through The House" is hardly original and in fact a homage to the early 80's slasher area. The story combines elements from classic horror films like "Prom Night" and "Sleepaway Camp" and is the best Santa Slasher next to the classic cult film "Silent Night Deadly Night".

The acting varies from average to good, especially the 'final girl' character is well played. The killer's look is eerie what also can be said about the score, the music works well and delivers during the suspenseful scenes.

In this day and age we're 'treated' with bogus and godawful CGI effects but not this time: the special effects are prosthetic and done without any CGI and come off realistic: brutal, bloody, gory and over the top. They remind you of films like "The Prowler", "Hatchet" and the early "Friday the 13th" films. There's no Tom Savini at work here but some effects come close. Many copycat slasher after "Friday" and "Halloween" had lousy and cheap effects but here you get your money's worth.

If you like those films, be sure to check this one out. It will never be a classic, but a nice addition to the genre.

ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE is one of many indie horror flicks made with a Christmas background. This one is - once again - about a killer who dresses in a Santa suit and who goes around bumping off a bunch of innocent victims. The viewer runs the gauntlet of the usual bad acting and boring scripting, with characters wandering their way through a garishly dressed-up household and occasionally dying. It's predictable and trite, with no tension of any kind.

The film starts off with a Santa killer with no introduction. A woman gets stabbed through the breast and it wasn't as nifty as the antler scene in that other Christmas horror. We then run a string of severed male organs, and a crazy neighbor lady who hates all men, as a child she was "passed around to all those men." She has a missing/dead daughter and a lot more weird information comes out later as the plot becomes an unintended satire on slasher plots. You need to wait an hour for an explanation.

In addition to the severed organs, the film incorporates a ton of sexual references and a potty mouth grandmother, which fall short of satire and simply into the category of vulgarity for the sake of vulgarity. The film isn't that great of a slasher, but has some credibility as a satire, however the satire aspect remains covert to the point you are unsure if it is a satire. I think I labored that point to death.

Guide: F-word, sex, nudity (Johanna Rae)