Plot
A wealthy invalid, Benjamin Morgan, believes his second wife, Elizabeth, is trying to poison him. Alex, his daughter, believes him. Thus, she summons her three sisters—Freddie, Jo, and Chris—to the Morgan farmhouse for Christmas. When they arrive, Mr. Morgan calls them to his room and urges them to kill their stepmom before she kills all of them.
Later, as Elizabeth prepares dinner, Freddie's screams are heard from upstairs. The sisters find a drunken Freddie clutching a glass of vodka in one hand, with a shard of glass cutting into her other hand. They calm Freddie before putting her to bed. Later that night, a rainstorm begins. Jo, who has had enough of this reumion, asks for the loan of Alex's car to travel to the local train station. After bidding all goodbye, she approaches the car and suddenly becomes victim to a mysterious figure in a yellow rain slicker, wielding a pitchfork. Later that evening, Freddie continues to drink profusely, eventually passing out in a warm bath. Soon, the intruder in the yellow slicker appears and drowns her in the tub.
The next morning, Chris discovers Freddie's body in the tub. Alex accuses Elizabeth of poisoning Freddie, a claim she denies, while Benjamin initially assumes Freddie committed suicide. Chris dials the police, but the phone line is dead. Alex embarks through a wooded area to use a neighbor's phone. On the way, she is trailed by the figure in the yellow slicker. After eluding her nemesis, she returns to the Morgan farmhouse. Upon arriving, she sees Alex's car still inside the barn. While investigating, she stumbles upon Jo's dead body. Elizabeth appears suddenly from outside, telling her to come with her. Instead, Chris panics, runs inside the house, locks the door, and discovers Benjamin dead.
Chris screams, bolts from the house, and flags down a passing car—which turns out to be driven by Alex. Chris explains that Elizabeth has murdered everyone, but Alex confesses she is the actual killer. Suffering from childhood persecution fantasies resulting in resentment of her siblings, Alex handily set up stepmother Elizabeth as a patsy. She then assaults Chris with a tire iron, her body falling down the hill and out of sight. Hoping to complete the frame-up on Elizabeth, Alex invites investigators to accompany her to the farmhouse. However, Alex sails into hysteria upon seeing Chris still alive. Chris watches the police lead Alex away. In the end, Elizabeth is left to tend to the Morgan farmhouse alone.
Reception
A psychological interpretation of Home for the Holidays' storyline can be found in David Deal's critique, from his book Television Fright Films of the 1970s. He notes that the four Morgan daughters in the film all have masculine first-names, implying that "the father had always wanted sons and was therefore unforgiving of his progeny, [causing] the break in family ties." However, Deal also notes that "such subtleties are admirable but unnecessary" considering the film's chief purpose was to frighten TV audiences. The author goes on to assail John Llewelyn Moxey's direction as being strictly pedestrian, with "very little visual flair or suspense, where a touch of either would have gone a long way."
In A Scary Little Christmas: A History of Yuletide Horror Films, 1972-2020 (2022), writer Matthew DuPée praises the film, noting that it "excels with its well-crafted story, despite some of its soap opera attributes."
However, critic Howard Thompson of The New York Times was less sparing in his criticism, published the morning of the film's prime-time premiere. According to his article, "you never saw a grislier, wetter and flatter Yuletide meatball in the guise of a thriller." Ticking off the body count and describing how each victim is murdered, Thompson finally observes that "[if] you...really care whodunit, simply pick the shiftiest pair of eyes on the premises. This is a Christmas present? Somebody's got to be kidding." [8]
Chloe Walker of Paste magazine praised the film in a 2022 retrospective, noting its strong cast as well as its screenplay by Joseph Stefano. [9]
Justin Kerswell from Hysteria Lives! awarded the film 4/5 stars, writing, "Perhaps the film sails too close to soap opera histrionics at times... However, the performances are roundly so good that this doesn't matter, plus the story just keeps twisting and turning." [10]
Brett Gallman from Oh, the Horror! wrote, "Unfolding like a film adaptation of an Agatha Christie play, Home For the Holidays often feels stagebound and hemmed up; if not for beating the “Christmas horrors” out of the gate, I suspect it may be even more obscure than it already is, despite all of the talent involved. As it stands, it's a movie you'll probably hear about this time every year when horror fans begin to discuss the holiday-tinged offerings, and this is one of the last courses you'll ever need to digest." [11]
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