This tale of a female Scrooge discovering ‘the true meaning of Christmas’ will elicit copious tears … at the time you have wasted watching such drivel

It’s harder than you might think to find movies without any redeeming features, but occasionally they do come along. Terrible writing, horrible direction, an appalling script, dreadful performances: Holiday Twist really does have it all. Perhaps it would be fair to say the basic premise – a workaholic Scrooge figure is won over by the spirit of Christmas – is solid, but it’s hardly original.

As in A Christmas Carol, there are supernatural elements here, including an angel who intervenes to return a woman stricken with brain cancer to her family at Christmas. But more supernatural still is the surreal abrasiveness of the lead character, Connie (Kelly Stables), a recently divorced mum who also heads up a large corporate parcel-delivery company. She is a complete nightmare,...