Christmas Evil

oddball seasonal slasher that has more characterisation and less gore than many of its contemparies.After witnessing his mother getting it on with his father in a santa suit as a boy,a now deeply disturbed and grown up harry standling (Brandon Maggart) decides to celebrate Christmas his own way by metering out punishment to those who have besmirched the season of good will.

'Christmas evil' succeeds due to the film's emphasis on showing harry as a three dimensional character and for conjuring up a generally oppressive and Eerie atmosphere throughout,the fact that the death scence's are sporadic and often off kilter add too this 1980 slasher's unsettling nature.

'Christmas evil' will be far too off-beat for your average stalk and slash fan,but for those open minded and adventurous enough,'Christmas evil'is a one of a kind,genuinely original treat.

This is a strange film. It has good acting, yet bad editing. One longs to fast forward it; it could use some cutting--yet, by the time it's over, one is curiously moved. The anti-hero is strangly moving; he is not your usual B-film slasher. He has a genuine, though insane in a world like ours, moral sense. The ending makes it more like a dark fairy tale. I did not enjoy watching it; yet, when it was over, I remember it fondly. It was really trying something different. Its shifts of tone may be its problem; yet it is a worthy effort.

You Better Watch Out otherwise known as Christmas Evil is essentially a Christmas version of Falling Down (1993) just not as clever, interesting, thought provoking or even remotely good.

It tells the story of a man tormented by the memory of discovering that Santa Claus isn't real. Overworked and underappreciated, taken advantage by work colleagues and witnessing the selfishness of his company he finally snaps and goes on a killing spree dressed as santa (As you do).

It's one of those films where though you can't fully empathise with the antagonist you can understand his plight to an extent and even feel a little bit sorry for him. Arguably a tale of mental illness it certainly has a passable premise but the execution is more than a little shoddy.

If you take it for what it is you may find a level of enjoyment, but nothing is likely to prepare you for the more than a little odd finale.

The Good:

I get what they were trying to do

The Bad:

Delivery is lacking

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

I'm unsure whether that ending constitutes as good or bad

One Christmas Eve 1947, two parents decide to surprise their kids (Harry and Phil) by having the father dress as Santa Claus and come down the chimney. All goes well, until later that evening when Harry sees them making love. Seeing that apparently traumatizes Harry as a child which leads into his adult life. Fast forward to present day 1980 where we meet an adult Harry who is clearly unhinged, all stemming from that night as a young boy. Harry has a job at a toy factory and spies on the children in the neighbouring apartment complex, keeping a naughty and nice list on all of them. We see that Harry isn't respected at all at work, with his coworkers constantly poking fun at him either to his face or behind his back. His own brother Phil even thinks he's a loser.

Harry handles all of his stresses and traumas the same way - bottling them up in public and then blowing up at home. After we see Harry dive deeper and deeper into a psychotic state, Christmas Eve arrives and he starts to believe that he is Santa Claus. Harry fills up a sack with toys he stole from his workplace and starts wandering the streets of New York looking to leave presents to only the good and deserving children. On the way, he decides it's time to kill anyone who is on the naughty list...

I was not a huge fan of this one, which surprised me. I love holiday horror and 80's slashers, so this should have been right up my alley. But I just found it to drag on and on to the point where I lost interest in a lot of the middle frame. A few things save it from being a flop. The acting by Brandon Maggart, the gore, and the last 20-30 minutes or so when Harry starts killing.

Overall, a very average holiday horror movie that is loved by many. I just wasn't a fan for some reason. I'd recommend giving it a watch and see what you think

5/10

This cult favourite seasonal picture is writer / director Lewis Jackson's interesting, offbeat take on the holidays, focusing on a pathetic figure named Harry Stadling (Brandon Maggart), whose mind has been warped ever since seeing something as a child that he ought not to have seen. He's grown up with an obsession with Christmas; the decorations at his place have a Christmas theme, for one thing. He's dismayed at the attitudes displayed by co-workers at his place of employment, a toy factory, and goes so far as to catalogue the naughty or nice activities of children in his neighbourhood. When he learns that his company plans on donating toys to a local hospital, but expects all employees to make any financial donations, that's when he truly becomes determined to spread his own brand of Christmas cheer.

Now, this is not really for hardcore horror fans. True enough that Harry does end up murdering a few people, but this is not about racking up the body count. This is ultimately about one man's mental and emotional deterioration, and nowadays some folk might even insist on giving it the common "psychological thriller" label. Jackson takes aim at the crass commercialization of the holiday, a common theme in Christmas fare, and comes up with some very striking images, notably the police line up of Santas, and the homage to the Fritz Lang classic "M" with angry torch bearing citizens hellbent on getting their hands on Harry.

Talented star Maggart came in cold for his audition and delivered the exact performance seen in the movie; it's truly something to see. Fellow character veteran Jeffrey DeMunn ('The Walking Dead', "The Green Mile", etc.) is also effective as Phil, the younger brother frustrated over having to look out for Harry for many years rather than being able to look up to him. The cast and crew is filled with a number of people who did very well for themselves afterwards; the actors include future 'Home Improvement' wife & mom Patricia Richardson, as well as Peter Friedman, Mark Margolis, Raymond J. Barry, Robert Lesser, Bill Raymond, and Rutanya Alda; the crew includes "presenter" and producer Edward R. Pressman, cinematographer Affonso Beato (who would shoot "The Big Easy"), and the late editor Sally Menke, who cut all of Tarantino's directorial efforts. Fun sequences feature Harry partying hearty with some strangers at a Christmas party and delivering toys to the children at a hospital. Seeing Harry spy on the kids, however, does create a fairly creepy vibe, no matter how good his intentions are.

One thing is for certain, and it's that this amusing low budget flick is fairly memorable, right down to its ending.

Seven out of 10.