1980 Directed by Lewis Jackson
A toy factory worker, mentally scarred as a child upon learning Santa Claus is not real, suffers a nervous breakdown after being belittled at work, and embarks on a Yuletide killing spree.
Brandon Maggart Jeffrey DeMunn Dianne Hull Andy Fenwick Brian Neville Joe Jamrog Wally Moran Gus Salud Ellen McElduff Brian Hartigan Peter Neuman Lance Holcomb Elizabeth Ridge Chris Browning Tyrone Holmes Patricia Richardson Scott McKay Peter Friedman Owen Hollander Horace Bailey John Brockman Burt Kleiner David Hughes Lloyd David Hart Francine Dumont Pamela Enz William Robertson Sheila Anderson Robert Ari Show All…
Terror in Toyland, You Better Watch Out, Böse Weihnacht, Xmas Evil, Коледно зло, Vánoční zlo, Teuflische Weihnachten, Navidades infernales, Christmas Evil - Un Natale macchiato di sangue, 유 베터 왓치 아웃, Natal Diabólico, 圣诞恶魔
USAR
Germany18
Germany
USA
Christmas Evil is sad, touching, startling, and heartwarming all at once. Not a slasher film, but a Taxi Driver/Maniac-esque character study digging into the mind of a broken human who slips into madness via one damn fine performance from Fiona Apple’s father, Brandon Maggart.
The legendary finale is as wondrous as the holiday itself.
going travis bickle mode because my mom got her back walls blown out by santa. one of the best endings in trash movie history.
Children witnessing ordinary sexual activity (most typically involving other immediate family members, and on or near a holiday) has tragically cost the lives of literally thousands of innocent movie characters. The trauma of seeing mommy kissing Santa Claus is all too real, and we as a society need to commit to destigmatizing it.
The first time I saw this was about 10 years ago and I really didn’t care for it. However, over time, I have come to enjoy this more and more. Now, I really find it pretty awesome and a required holiday season watch!
This plot synopses I usually see for this indicate that it’s a slasher of sorts. It’s not. This is an incredibly bizarre psychological horror story story about the gradual breakdown of a mentally unstable man. If you go in expecting a slasher, you’re going to be awfully disappointed. Hell, if you go in expecting a straight horror film, you may be disappointed as well. I’m pretty sure I was expecting one of this when I first watched…
69th Review for The Collab Weekly Movie Watch
GAAARBAAGE DAYYY!!!!!
....wait, no, sorry… wrong Christmas slasher.
EVIL DIES TONIGHT!
...nope... my bad, wrong holiday.
But seriously, this was something else. The way this movie manages to be both endearing and sweet Christmas movie and a deranged one as well. It’s pure shlock, pure fun and so lame in all the best way possible. And that ending…. OH THAT ENDING! So unexpected. Oh so magical!
Now, I can't say for sure if movies like Silent Night, Deadly Night were inspired by or copied from this one, but it wouldn't surprise me if they were. I really thought I watched this before, but it turns out I was just confusing it with…
The carnage quotient is low, but that's okay: from the outset, it's leaning toward character study rather than traditional slasher fare, more Schrader than schlock. Brandon Maggart's sensitive, implosive performance is fascinating, holding everything together when the director is unable to. Lewis Jackson's filmmaking is largely flat and low-energy, and he makes the fatal mistake of rarely going in for closeups once Maggart's face is obscured by his costume. The eyes are the window to the soul, but you have to be able to see them! All that said, yes, the finale absolutely destroys, and it made me wish the rest of it was better, weirder, or both.
The first time I watched this was around 2007 and I wasn’t especially impressed because I was hoping for a hardcore Xmas slasher. The second time was last year when I realized just how brilliant this bizarre horror film was. This time, I see that it’s not only a brilliant horror film, but also a harrowing study of a man living with crippling mental illness and DAMN, this just keeps getting better each time. Most unappreciated Christmas Chiller of all time? Very. Possibly.
Fun fact: Brandon Maggart is the father of Fiona Apple. Apple’s “Criminal” is my favorite song of all time. I have a particularly fond memory of jamming out to this song after acquiring the VHS of A Virgin…
We watched this tonight at my Christmas potluck because it is apparently John Waters' favorite Christmas movie. It's easy to see why. It's awkward in a way that heightens the drama. It's slightly tasteless and wholly campy. It's nonsensical and focused on the sympathetic performance of a man who goes on a violent spree at the same time as he goes out giving gifts to the good children. It has a great soundtrack, too.
Honestly, it's weird to call this a horror film in some ways. It sets things up such that the most sympathetic character is the killer, and you spend most of the time rooting for him on some level. Not, perhaps, to kill, but in a general…
A first-time watch for me, but the second time for Michelle. I must say that I really did not expect the movie to be this bleak. Christmas Evil is definitely less of a mindless slasher and more of a psychological horror movie.
Who would have thought that seeing your mom (almost) get eaten out by Santa Claus could cause so much emotional trauma? I don't understand why he couldn't just grow up to have a Santa fetish like an ordinary person.
Chronology of a descent into madness. You either die a factory worker or you live long enough to see yourself become Santa.
