With a title like It’s a Wonderful Knife, you can tell already what kind of film this is going to be. It plays on the classic Capra film, turns it into a horror movie, and also includes a lot of laughs. It has a solid cast and may become a new holiday favourite for horror buffs who just don’t know what to watch during the holiday season.

I missed this one at Toronto After Dark, but now Shudder has added it and I could finally settle in and enjoy it. And I did.

It’s Christmas, and Winnie (Jane Widdop) is about to find herself in a world of hurt. Her small town of Angel Falls is trying to be bought up by a devious mayor/realtor, Henry Waters (Justin Long) and on Christmas Eve, her dad (Joel McHale) is forced to work for Waters as he attempts to steal properties from the citizens, including Mr. Evans (William B. Davis).

But wait there’s more, a serial killer is about to strike!

Winnie stops him, and a year later when she’s still suffering from PTSD, and everyone else seems to have moved on and not care what happened, she is feeling that maybe it would be better if she was never here…

A little holiday magic delivers Winnie to an alternate reality where she doesn’t exist, and the serial killer is still on the loose! But she knows who it is, and maybe if she can stop them again, she can get home and realize that every person can change the world.

Filled with lots of laughs, Winnie finds herself paired up with Bernie (Jess McLeod), the town ‘weirdo’ and discovers things about herself, her friends, her relationships, and her own place in the world.

There are some fun surprises throughout the film (the marquee at the theatre has some fun films playing), the serial killer’s outfit is rather cool, and the mask is kind of unnerving. The film is very much aware that it’s messing with a classic film but pays proper homage to it, while twisting it to its own means.

Widdop is a lot of fun in the role of Winnie, and she plays a character that seems incredibly relatable, filling out the cast around her with comedic actors like Long and McHale makes for some great moments, but then you throw in Katharine Isabelle and let her lean into some comedic bits and you have a great time.

Is it the best holiday horror movie…? No, but it’s a lot of fun, it doesn’t pull its punches, it’s kind of predictable, you know how it has to end, but the journey is the fun part, and this one has a lot of heart.

Check it out for the holidays.