We are 13 days into December. That means it is time for another entry into our Awful Advent 25 Days of Christmas Horror feature. Today’s movie couldn’t be more aptly titled. We are taking a look at French horror The Advent Calendar (Le calendrier).

Written and directed by Patrick Ridremont. The Advent Calendar is a slow, brooding, French Horror that focuses on a wheelchair bound woman receiving a gift of a malevolent Advent Calendar for her Birthday. It promises to offer her gifts beyond anything she could imagine. The only catch? If she opens the first door and consumes the chocolate. She must carry on until every door on the calendar has been opened.

Slow Burn Christmas Horror

The Advent Calendar is a clever, slow burning, horror movie that turns the idea of an advent calendar on its head. Instead of simply chocolates and a cheesy picture, this advent calendar gives supernatural events and things beyond your wildest dreams. Sometimes the contents are good and play to the fantasies of the main character, other times they are bad. The calendar demands sacrifices, of sorts, in return for what it gives and once you start, you cannot stop under any circumstances.

The Advent Calendar, for much of its runtime, is utterly fascinating. Presenting events in a day by day, sequential, format. The Advent Calendar has you eagerly anticipating, with baited breath, each new revelation. What will the calendar demand next? How will it reward Eva? It is legitimately compelling stuff and, despite the long run time, I never really found myself feeling bored. Pacing is a particular strong point.

The Advent Calendar (2021) Horror Movie Review

Ridremont does a nice job of mixing things up throughout the film to keep things fresh. He establishes the story before throwing in moments of suspense; each key point of the story being punctuated with a few scares. It’s a nice balance between plot progression and atmosphere and atmosphere is definitely not something The Advent Calendar lacks. It is dark and moody; letting up for only a few scenes here and there. Eva’s increasing obsession with the calendar only compounds her, already, difficult living situation.

The Advent Calendar Wants to Get in Your Head

As mentioned above, atmosphere and mood are key to The Advent Calendar. It wants the viewer to be thinking about Eva’s predicament and to understand the potentially corrupting nature of the calendar. It questions how far a person may go to get what they want, even in the face of a monkey’s paw like situation. In this respect, as a study of the darkness of humans, it is unsettling.

Scares aren’t exactly abundant but there are a few here and there. Ich, the entity that haunts the calendar, is genuinely pretty creepy. His design reminds me of something out of the Silent Hill video game series; he imposing and devilish. While never being particularly threatening to Eva, it is clear he is incredibly dangerous and everyone else is fair game. Meaning every appearance from the malevolent creature is an opportunity for mayhem.

With all of that being said, the depressing, almost oppressive, atmosphere is the main tool utilised here. Eva has clearly suffered significant trauma, almost to the point where she refuses to talk about her accident. The people around her either refuse to accommodate her or are ignorant to her needs meaning she feels neglected and unseen. Eva’s desperation is a tool used to keep the story moving along organically. As time goes on, she grows accustomed to taking what she wants. I mean, who else is going to help her, so why not? She will do whatever she needs to, however brutal. Something which creates a wonderful sense of tension and a feeling of “What is next?”.

Nicely Shot and an Amazing Prop

Cinematography is very nice. There are no shots wildly flitting about here, the camera is not at all afraid to linger on a subject. Focus is used effectively to highlight Eva’s points of interest, lighting is, also, used creatively throughout. Darkness helps emphasise Eva’s feelings of hopelessness with the lack of light working to illustrate her descent into a bleaker mindset. Her home, for example, is rarely well lit; clearly this is a place where she feels comfortable drowning in her sorrow. Scenery shots are minimal but always look very nice.

The actual Advent Calendar itself is stunning. They seriously could have released a version of this as a collectible because I’ll bet horror fans would absolutely lap it up. Much like they did with the collectible Babadook pop up book. It features elaborate designs with pull out draws, little models and a tiny key. This thing looks fantastic and is one of my favourite parts of the film. Part of the movie’s enduring intrigue was seeing what the next door looked like and what it contained.

Fantastic Acting

Acting is excellent throughout. Carrying the entire film is Eugénie Derouand as Eva. She does a fantastic job throughout, perfectly portraying the very specific struggles of her paraplegic character. While I think the role could have gone to someone who was differently abled, it makes sense that the plot demanded an able bodied performer. Whenever tasked with showing emotion she is excellent. I particularly enjoyed her performance later on in the movie as Eva begins to go through a few changes.

Supporting cast are all fine. Clément Olivieri does a good job as the kind hearted William. Honorine Magnier as friend Sophie is similarly decent. Jean-François Garreaud puts on a very sympathetic performance as Eva’s dad. It’s an all around great cast without a significantly weak performance.

The film can feel a little messy here and there. The flow gets a little broken up and has to pick itself back up. The editing could have been a lot tighter in parts and I feel like it lacks a little in cohesion. The ending was also a little bit of an issue for me, as I imagine it will be for a lot of viewers. Question mark endings are always a gamble and this one definitely leaves you to make up your mind on what happens. Some people enjoy ambiguity in their horror but others are going to absolutely hate it.

Should You Watch The Advent Calendar?

You should definitely watch The Advent Calendar, particularly if you are looking for something that is festive but dark. My only complaints are minor, this is a fantastic movie that is absolutely worth a watch. It is creepy, atmospheric, and thoroughly compelling. The engaging story and intriguing plot help it rise above some of the issues. The Advent Calendar is well worth opening a few doors on.