Christmas Evil (1980)

Christmas Evil (1980)

Directed by Lewis Jackson

 

Ah Christmas, the time of year for good tidings to all, and killer Santa Claus movies.  What that’s not a thing?  Well explain why there are so many of the damn things!  I think I’ve seen a good bulk of them now, hell I’ve wanted to see this one for a few years.  Thanks to Shudder, I was able to give this a watch.

Christmas Evil is about a guy named Harry that works in a toy factory.  Harry has an obsession with Santa Claus that slowly spirals out of control.  As a child Harry saw Santa (his father in a suit) sexually groping his mother, which causes him to lose his mind, break a snowglobe and cry in his room.  Now as an adult, Harry is kind of the pee-on at work and in his life in general.  Eager to please and unwilling to stand up for himself, Harry takes the brunt of all the shit thrown at him.  Suddenly one night, Christmas Eve he finally had enough.  Now Harry runs around the city, exacting vengeance on the naughty and giving presents to the nice.

The acting is fairly decent, I really can’t pick out anyone in the movie and say “man they suck!”  Brandon Maggart plays Harry and is great.  He really seems like he is slowly losing his mind and becomes somewhat sympathetic.  Jeffrey DeMunn plays Phil, Harry’s brother.  DeMunn I feel like nails the role as the exhausted brother, tired of dealing with the antics of an emotionally damaged older brother.  The supporting actors are even quite good.  One that stands out is Joe Jamrog that plays Frank, Harry’s coworker that takes advantage of Harry’s hardwork and willingness to help out at work.  Frank is so skeevy and you can’t wait for him to meet his punishment.

The special effects are on par with the other movies of the genre.  While not as good as Friday the 13^th, they’re still quite solid.  Harry as Santa uses a good variety of weapons from a metal soldier with a sword to the eye, a hatchet, and smothering good old Frank with his toy bag before slitting his throat with a star tree topper.  The blood isn’t excessive and it doesn’t need to be.  The gore and violence are realistic which is a refreshing aspect of this movie.  With so many slashers going for that over the top spurts of blood and kills that could never happen, Christmas Evil hits on a tamer more authentic feel.  We get a lot of nice shots of Harry’s reactions to what he is doing, which shows his slow fall into madness.  The camera work is good quality as well, I really enjoy the cutaways and close ups of Harry.  It brings you closer to the movie and you get to develop a bond with the characters.

Christmas Evil is an above average slasher movie from the early period of the genre.  The acting is great, the kills are grounded in reality and the development of characters is something you don’t see too often.  The ending is somewhat odd and really caught me off guard.  I suppose it lends itself into interpretation but I guess I just wanted something more.  I’m a little upset with myself that I went so long without seeing this, but I was quick to watch so many other shitty slashers.  Whilst not as fun and rewatchable as Silent Night, Deadly Night, Christmas Evil was a great killer Santa film.  I give this a sound B.  It dragged a little at the beginning but the movie soon takes off when Harry begins slipping into madness.  Ironically this film was originally named “Better Watch Out” which is also a film I just reviewed this year haha.