In the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it’s always easy to lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas. But, in Robby Sparks’ short film, O Holy Knight!a young man finds his true meaning with a sword in his hand and armor.
Our story opens in modern times with our hero (Christian Barba) selling Christmas toys and trinkets to his loyal customers. Unfortunately, it becomes painfully clear that he knows more about Santa and his reindeer than the Christmas story. While leaving for home after his shift, Hero comes across a Santa (Tim Brown) being mugged in the driveway. After a complete beating, Santa is rescued, and while he breathes some of Santa’s Christmas magic, Hero is magically transported to a distant realm.
When Hero wakes up, he takes on the identity of the knight, known as Sir Klaus, and meets his new friends, Lord Nick (Jim Horning) and Black Pete (Jackson Geach). Lord Nick invites Sir Klaus to participate in the Christmas Games, a glorious battle where the Greenfields and the Butchers vie for the honor of sitting at the noble Queen Ava’s Christmas table. But which house will Sir Klaus fight for?
O Holy Knight is a short film advocating the virtue of community. As Sir Klaus is forced to choose between being a Greenfield or a Butcher, he wonders why such a choice even has to be made in the first place. A good moral message in tow means that O Holy Knight! relies heavily on the family side of the chivalrous realm versus game of thrones.
” … like him breathe in some of Santa’s Christmas magicHero is magically transported to a distant realm.
Being family-friendly, the film’s hopeful message takes priority. Movies like this are often brought together by well-meaning producers, directors, writers, and actors who want to tell a wholesome story that the whole family can watch together… who, O Holy Knight! done admirably.
But like most family features, the overall quality falls short of the dark, brooding features we go to the theater for, and I’m talking in terms of acting, production values, editing, and fight sequences. If you read reviews on this site frequently, you know that “hope” and “family” aren’t exactly what appeals to us.
Interestingly enough, as far as the story goes, during the credits we are treated to the original comic book style panels/storyboards for O Holy Knight!, and the story certainly played out better in the comics. My best advice is that the film should move at the pace of reading a comic book. Ditto for the tone and composition of the plan.
I do not say O Holy Knight! It would have been better if it wasn’t family-friendly, but there are tricks that many low-budget indie movies we review daily could have used across the board to elevate the final narrative.
O Holy Knight! is a beautiful fantasy family tale, but the genre, in general, has always lacked true quality as a whole. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. I would encourage filmmakers to study other independent filmmakers and find ways to push those low-budget limits in production and storytelling in their next film.
For more information on screening, visit O Holy Knight! The Facebook page.
