Lacks a sense of structure and purpose, ambling from one tense conversation to the next without effectively making a impact.
38
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
The conceit has the potential to be amusing, but the role-playing is never as funny or immersive as it could be, and the characters' repartee often feels more stilted than witty.
38
RogerEbert.comSheila O'Malley
RogerEbert.comSheila O'Malley
Through the playing of the game, the real life characters' true personalities emerge, and we can see that this is a pretty heartless bunch.
One of those who’s-the-murderer parlor games is a plot pillar of Merry Christmas, an experiment in filmmaking by Anna Condo that itself feels like a parlor game, and not a particularly entertaining one.
There doesn’t appear to be any purpose at all to the random exchanges and interactions that pass for a plot.
10
Village VoiceNick Schager
Village VoiceNick Schager
What's really absent from this fiasco is a sense of purpose or an interest in character, as the participants in this weekend-getaway contest are ciphers defined mainly by their degree of obnoxiousness.