The Night Before Christmas (2019)

This is the sequel to Once Upon a Time at Christmas. So if you haven’t seen it, or you don’t remember it, you’re out of luck because they assume you know the characters and their back story.  Sometimes you get information in later scenes, but for most of the movie I was wondering who are these people and what do they have to do with the killer Santa?

When Courtney’s dad has a car accident and is found dead in the woods, the police think he just crawled the wrong way while trying to get help. But when the FBI arrive, they discover huge letters written in blood a short distance away which say naughty and deem this a homicide. They don’t want to tell the family which seems insane since they suspect it is the Santa killer and couldn’t the family be in danger?

As the bodies pile up, the lead FBI agent tries to find a link between the victims to figure out where Santa and his wife will strike next.  She’s pretty quick at putting things together. Too bad the rest of the FBI seem to be idiots.   

Questionable plot points abound:

1. The mother and daughter in witness protection attend the the funeral of someone from their old life
2. The FBI is fine with them going as long as the FBI scope things out 
3. How does Courtney know where Jennifer lives? 
4. No one is suspicious when Santa’s wife says she swallowed razor blades while is jail. She’s not in pain, there’s no blood, and she has no cuts.  Did they not search her when admitted?
5. The FBI agent in his first week out of the academy will be guarding one of the top 10 most wanted.
6. None of the FBI agents know the Santa killer is in the area, even though they have his wife 
7. Why were they not briefed that her partner is on the loose?
8. Why aren’t they suspicious of a car blocking the road?
9. How does Santa take out five cars of FBI agents? Wouldn’t the first agents deaths prompt the other agents to shoot Santa?
10. Wouldn’t it be a conflict of interest for the serial killers former prison psychologist to treat one of his victims?
11. In what world does it make sense for the lead FBI agent to shoot someone who is thinking of shooting the serial killer? Isn’t it better to try to talk them out of it and if you can’t, at least only the murderer is dead?

I didn’t like the first movie and I don’t like this one either. I’m surprised there was a sequel. Then again, I’ve watched them both. I hope this isn’t going to be a trilogy.

The result of a chemical process which exposes the
ink from paper previously hung on the wall. 

No one is alarmed at the filthy, bloody faced Santa