Christmas Evil - Un Natale macchiato di sangue

A young boy sees mommy having sex with Santa Claus (this seems to turn a lot of people crazy in these movies) and grows up Christmas-obsessed. He has his own "Naughty and Nice List" and takes Holiday cheer seriously...very seriously. If any adults are mean to Santa, they get a punishment a little worse than coal.

This movie was definitely odd. It was odd because of one scene, in which the psycho Santa brings toys to kids in a hospital. It actually... warmed my heart. Yes. Christmas EVIL warmed my heart. I felt horrible for the killer, as the director intended. It's like a Christmas Slasher version of Frankenstien, where the villain is tragic and just in his killings. Plus, both feature a town of mobbing people with torches. But there were little scene scattered about, the end scene, the toy scene, that actually... made me happy. So it manages to scare AND celebrate Christmas at the same time.

Oh boy, what am I saying? All in all it's a weird ass film that's pretty entertaining. 7/10. HO HO HO! MERRY Christmas!

This movie is a very well thought out piece of low budget horror. Unlike the cheezy imitations such as "Silent Night, Deadly Night" this movie has a well thought out storyline with a central character you can understand and feel sympathy for. This movie is more than just another generic slasher flick. It has an interesting story and main character. The film may move a little slow at the beginning for people with short attention spans and no intelligence, but just about everyone else should be able to appreciate this low budget wonder. Just remember, this is not supposed to be another Friday the 13th.

CHRISTMAS EVIL (aka You Better Watch Out, 1980) - One of the more perverse, but, still interesting 'killer Santa' movies out there. Director Lewis Jackson (who I got to see speak at a screening of this several years back) was a bright guy and he brings a psychological edge to the typical holiday slasher genre. All shot in New Jersey. The script isn't much (Jackson confesses to having come up with the concept stoned), and the acting is variable but Brandon Maggart gives it his all as the tortured toymaker turned killer Claus (he's Fiona Apple's dad).

The Cinematography is interesting with the film being shot by Ricardo Aronovich of all people - he also lensed films by Costa-Gavras (MISSING) and Louis Malle (MURMUR OF THE HEART).

If you've played out the original BLACK CHRISTMAS and want another 'black' Xmas flick, check it out. Unsurprisingly, it's a favorite of John Waters.

And, the ending is SOMETHING else (remember, the filmmaker was stoned!)

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

Christmas Evil (1980) is a movie I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows a man who was scared as a child when he discovered Santa Clause wasn't real. He now works at a toy factory as an adult until he discovers his employers are more worried about profit than creating fantastic toys for the kids. He embarks on a killing spree to gain revenge on the factory owners on the children's behalf.

This movie is directed by Lewis Jackson (The Transformation: A Sandwich of Nightmares) and stars Brandon Maggart (Dressed to Kill), Jeffrey DeMunn (The Mist), Dianne Hull (Girls on the Road), Peter Friedman (Single White Female) and Patricia Richardson (Home Improvement).

The storyline for this picture was actually fun to watch unfold and reminded me of a Santa themed Child's Play in some ways. The man losing his mind and his family dynamic was well depicted and a little like Maniac. The sets and settings do a great job of setting up the scenarios and circumstances. The kill scenes themselves are a bit disappointing but has some good use of blood and props.

Overall this is more fun to watch than good and I'd score it a 5.5/10. I'd recommend seeing this once.