The Advent Calendar (2021) Review – A Cunning and Cold Festive Fright
The Advent Calendar: Quick Verdict
The Verdict: A sophisticated and relentlessly grim French horror that breathes new life into the “Monkey’s Paw” trope. The Advent Calendar succeeds through its fantastic central premise and a deeply committed performance from Eugénie Derouand. Patrick Ridremont crafts an atmosphere that feels increasingly oppressive, perfectly mirroring the protagonist’s descent into obsession and moral compromise. While the two hour runtime is slightly long for a slasher-adjacent story, the day-by-day progression keeps the pacing tight and the tension high. The creature design for Ich is a standout, offering a palpable sense of menace whenever he appears. This 3.8 star effort is a cold and calculated look at human desperation that avoids typical holiday clichés. Some may find the ambiguous ending frustrating, but the journey is atmospheric and thoroughly compelling. It is a stylish, dark, and highly original addition to the festive horror sub-genre that deserves a spot on your December watchlist.
Details: Director: Patrick Ridremont | Cast: Eugénie Derouand, Honorine Magnier, Clément Olivieri | Runtime: 2h 0m | Release Date: 2021
Best for: Fans of slow-burn European horror and morality tales that aren’t afraid to get increasingly dark.
Worth noting: The film explores the daily physical and social challenges of paraplegia, using the protagonist’s condition to heighten the stakes of her choices.
Where to Watch: Shudder, Amazon🛒
Rating: 3.8/5 Stars
(A cunningly dark and atmospheric French morality tale that turns a holiday tradition into a high-stakes battle for survival and identity.)
Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are reviewing French horror The Advent Calendar (Le calendrier).
Table of Contents
Slow burn brooding Christmas horror
The Advent Calendar‘s story is pretty simple. A paraplegic woman receives an advent calendar as a December gift from a friend. The calendar promises to make your wildest dreams come true. The only catch? Once you have opened one door, you must open the rest or face the consequences.
“This is a seriously clever, slow burning horror movie that turns the idea of an advent calendar on its head. Instead of chocolates and a cheesy picture, this calendar grants wishes.”
This is a seriously 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 grants wishes. 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. It’s a brilliant concept and acts as an intriguing way to introduce a new horror idea each and every day of the month. This could have been released as a series of festive shorts to really play into the formula. As it stands, it’s a slow-burn that works very well and keeps you coming back for more.
Captivating throughout
The Advent Calendar, for much of its runtime, is utterly fascinating. Presenting events in a day by day, sequential, format, it 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 runtime, I never really found myself feeling bored. Pacing is a particular strong point.
Ridremont does a nice job of mixing things up throughout the film to keep it feeling 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.
“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 is imposing and devilish.”
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 is 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.
“The actual Advent Calendar itself is stunning. It features elaborate designs with pull out draws, little models and a tiny key. Seeing what the next door contained was a highlight.”
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.
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
The Good
- Original Concept: Turning the advent calendar format into a sequential narrative device for a moral fable is brilliant and keeps the pacing sharp.
- Eugénie Derouand: Carries the film with an incredible performance, navigating the physical and emotional complexities of her character with ease.
- Atmospheric Dread: The film captures a cold, isolated, and increasingly bleaker festive vibe that feels genuinely unsettling.
The Bad
- Runtime Issues: At two hours, the film occasionally feels like it is dragging its feet, specifically in some of the middle act sub-plots.
- Editing Cohesion: Certain transitions feel a little messy, making the narrative flow feel broken up rather than a smooth descent into madness.
- Ambiguous Ending: Viewers who prefer a clear resolution may be frustrated by the question mark finale that leaves Eva’s fate open to interpretation.
The Ugly: The Sacrifices. The calendar’s demands are ruthless, and the way the film handles the “collateral damage” of Eva’s wishes is cold and impactful.
Should You Watch The Advent Calendar?
Yes. It is a 3.8 star film that stands out as one of the more creative festive horrors of recent years. If you enjoy slow-burn stories that focus on character desperation and atmospheric tension over constant jump scares, this is a fantastic choice. The central mystery is engaging enough to make the two-hour commitment feel well worth the time.
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