It's a Wonderful Knife (Mini-Review)

It's a Wonderful Knife is a slasher parody of It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Winnie Carruthers saves her town from a serial killer, the insane and corrupt Henry Waters, one Christmas. A year later Winnie still is tormented by those scars while the rest of Angel Falls has moved on with their lives. After wishing she was never born, Winnie sees how her beloved town would have fallen without her. Now Winnie must once again kill Henry Waters and save her town. It's a Wonderful Knife was released in 2023. It was directed by Tyler MacIntyre. It stars Jane Widdop, Jess McLeod, and Joel McHale.

There are no mid credits scenes. After the credits the killer's knife is briefly shown.

I found this movie by accident. I was checking movies that were showing and was intrigued by the title. The title was funny and I love a good pun. So I went in not expecting much. It was just going to be a silly slasher movie that used It's a Wonderful Life as a jumping off point. So I was happily surprised by how good the movie was.

There is a lot of focus on the queer community. I liked this as I am part of the queer community (bisexual and agender). It's always a good thing to see my community gaining more representation in movies. Winnie's aunt is married to a woman and two gay characters are killed early on. Most importantly Winnie Carruthers and Bernie Simon's romance is the glue that holds the movie together.

It's haunting when Winnie is whisked to the alternate timeline and sees her father. A father that doesn't recognize her as, in his mind, she's a stranger that just suddenly appeared. The first place she runs is home as she's in need of a familiar face. But all she finds is her family turning her away. Shortly before she made her wish, she was having problems with her family. She was mad that her gift was a bad outfit while her brother got a truck from their dad. You know, you sort of expect a little more for stopping a serial killer.

The movie's pace makes sure you're not bored while having character building moments. Such as when Winne talks to the alternate version of her dad about her brother. It shows how broken the dad is by Jimmy's passing and that changed him. A father isn't supposed to bury his son. Then there's the scene where Winnie and Bernie fall asleep in the movie theater. It is such a sweet moment that makes you want them to survive. The whole world could burn, but Winnie and Bernie better survive!

I would highly recommend It's a Wonderful Knife to horror fans. I would also highly recommend It's a Wonderful Knife to slasher fans. I would also highly recommend It's a Wonderful Knife to those looking for a scary Christmas movie.