Not every Christmas tale has to do with Santa, or Krampus, or some supernatural gift/punishment giver. Sometimes we need a classic winter tale of a magical snowman bringing holiday cheer to a small rural community. Or in this case, a genetically mutated killer snowman bringing murder and rape to all. Jack Frost tells the story of a serial killer on his way to death row when a freak accident causes him to be doused in torrents of “genetic acid” and melted into the surrounding snow. No, this is not the Michael Keaton Jack Frost, though I do have fond memories as a kid seeing that family movie on the same shelf of my video store with this horror nonsense.

Jack returns to the town of Snowmonton (good lord that is stupid) and starts dispatching the residents in various ways. Sheriff Sam is hot on the trail and soon figures out exactly what is going on and who is behind the recent bizarre murders. Jack has a variety of powers, he can generate ice shards from any part of his body and fire them off. He can melt down to water and pour into pretty much any crack then reform himself. Though oddly enough he’s melted by using hair dryers at one point despite room temperatures and a hot bathtub having seemingly no effect on him.

It isn’t really fair to nit-pick inconsistencies in this movie. At no point does this movie take itself seriously, the entire thing is a pun filled bloody romp. Jack is throwing one-liners the whole movie, characters are looking directly to the camera, and classic horror tropes are celebrated instead of avoided. Hell a kid made his dad a bowl of oatmeal laced with antifreeze to keep him warm (kids are dumb). Michael Cooney really knew what kind of movie he wanted to make, and he went all out.

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t some masterpiece of the genre. There are tons of flaws. The acting is stiff and amateur. The setting of a mountain town in the winter is a little lackluster due to the lack of snow in all the town shots. Apparently they actually filmed this in the winter just didn’t have any snow so the crew had to ship in snow and even go so far as to use clumps of cotton and q-tips to simulate background snow. The special effects are pretty much garbage. Jack himself looks worse than inflatable snowmen you see on your neighbor that tries too hard’s lawn.

The camerawork is pretty good and the framing is done well. The pacing is brilliant. This is a goofy slasher and it is a constant pedal to the metal speed. At no point does the movie drag. This pacing paired with the goofy humor is what really makes the experience fun. I challenge you to watch this and not have a good time. Even the Shannon Elizabeth bath tub rape is treated with humor (Where does the carrot go? WHERE DOES THE CARROT GO?!)

The mutant killer snowman is certainly original with its blend of morbid humor and low budget nonsense. Grab a bowl of antifreeze laced oatmeal, avoid the bathtub carrots, and watch Jack Frost pun his way from the into through the credits.