Other than its clever title, Santa Slaws opts, rather, for safely entertaining the ghosts of Christmas horror films past (Silent Night, Deadly Night and others) rather than going out on the proverbial tree limb. Not that it's a bad thing, by any means. That's if all elements work properly. Here, it's a tinsel-laden toss-up.

In Claws you have generous dollops of smarmy, bimboesque nudity, humorously contrived as all of it is. Most B-grade horror flicks should have such lofty ideals. After that, it's call 9-1-1 time when a stage presence, authenticity and a mean case of shudders are desperately needed. It's as though there were a simultaneous two-for-one rummage sale of Halloween and Christmas props going on.

Wacky-eyed Grant Kramer plays the off-kilter neighbor of a movie scream queen played by Debbie Rochon. Did the words "obsessional neuroses" come sliding down the chimney? Rochon is shooting a T&A Christmas video, while Kramer sets about, like a merry elf, turning the cast and crew into human holly. As sincere as humanly possible, Kramer struts his stuff like a proud reindeer on a maiden voyage, but the overall effect screams artificial snow.

Nonetheless, good for a Christmas Eve's hoot.