JLFM's Movie Review of A Christmas Carol (2009)

Rating of
3/4

A Christmas Carol (2009)

Unique Creepy Take On The Classic
JLFM - wrote on 04/12/12

I can sum this up in one short phrase: "PG rated horror film." Let me make this clear, this is not a film for kids under 10, or really anyone that's easily frightened (or nauseated for that matter). I'm not saying it's a bad film, but this is not a film for small children.

This adaption of the Christmas Carol captures and fleshes out the creepy parts of the tale, leaving the warm and fuzzy parts a little under cooked. The creepy take on this classic is unique, and enjoyable. It's the kind of film that can be enjoyed by a wider audience than if this story had been left to the generic fuzzy ending that so many films have adopted.

The story sports more style than previous adaptions. More pizazz, more depth, and more scares. I won't lie, there were times when something startled me; this film is full of GOOD scares, not the silly excuse for jolts that are in so many kid's movies these days.

Even though this movie is over two years old, and motion capture has gotten significantly better (Tintin, anyone?), the animation looks great. Everything is well detailed, and everything feels real. However, there's still some stiffness in the moving, and there's one dance scene where gravity and physics are defied so many times, there's no doubt that even kids (kids that can take the scares) will point them out.

I mentioned earlier that this is like a PG rated horror film. I liked this unique aspect, but I thought you might like to know what's ahead of you: a pretty creepy scene where a talking corpse (in translucent ghost form) has a conversation with Scrooge, for one. The scene is surprisingly scary, and at one point, the corpse' jaw becomes disconnected when he screams. There's no gore, but it's pretty icky anyway. In addition to this, we see another corpse (it's played as a surprise for laughs), an old wrinkled head, a fat man who's skin blows off him like dust, and two vicious goblin creatures who are very reminiscent of Lord of the Rings.

The score is appropriately Christmasy, but it's not outstanding. It does a good job of setting the mood of each scene, though, but I've heard much better Christmas scores.

Jim Carrey does a hilarious job as Scrooge. He's grumpy and despicable, but because you recognize him as Carrey, you can't take him seriously. This isn't really a bad thing, but it might irritate die-hard Dickens fans.

There's also one boring, tedious, and completely unnecessary chase scene, that makes little sense, which was most likely added for the benefit of any kids in the audience (who, as I've made a point of mentioning, are brave enough to take the scares).

Also, the ending is incredibly corny (though we get the feeling that Carrey was overdoing it for his own entertainment), and little Timmy barely gets any mentioning.

Overall, this is an entertaining flick and even though flawed, is a fun and creepy delight. I recommend this film to anyone who likes Jim Carrey, The Christmas Carol, motion capture, or the creeps.

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