Christmas Evil (1980)
"You Better Watch Out" (original title)

A psycho in a Santa suit gets to decide who's been naughty and who's been nice.

Director:

Lewis Jackson

Writer:

Lewis Jackson

Stars:

Brandon Maggart, Jeffrey DeMunn, Dianne Hull

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brandon Maggart	...	Harry Stadling
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	Philip Stadling
Dianne Hull	...	Jackie Stadling
Andy Fenwick	...	Dennis Stadling
Brian Neville	...	Marc Stadling
Joe Jamrog	...	Frank Stoller
Wally Moran	...	Philip Stadling Jr.
Gus Salud	...	Harry Stadling Jr.
Ellen McElduff	...	Harry's mother
Brian Hartigan	...	Harry's father
Peter Neuman	...	Moss Garcia
Lance Holcomb	...	Scotty Goodrich
Elizabeth Ridge	...	Susie Lovett
Chris Browning	...	Richie Sharp
Tyrone Holmes	...	Frankie

Storyline

Widely recognized as the best of the Christmas horror efforts, Christmas Evil is the story of a boy who loves Christmas. He is scarred as a boy when he learns that Santa is not real. Throughout the rest of his life, the toy-maker tries to make the Christmas spirit a reality. He becomes obsessed with the behavior of children and the quality of the toys he makes. When he is met with hypocrisy and cynicism, the resulting snap causes him to go on a yuletide killing spree to complete this dark comedic horror.

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Plot Keywords:

christmas | christmas horror | killing | children | toy | 

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Taglines:

He'll sleigh you.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

November 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Christmas Evil

Filming Locations:

Edgewater, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$750,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Edward R. Pressman Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 95 min (re-release)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Harry slips on the street running from the mob, he really did slip, and Lewis Jackson left it in the film.

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Goofs

When Harry's brother falls down the hill, it's obviously a fake sheet of snow as it all lifts off the ground.

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Quotes

[last line after Harry gets away from the vigilante mob]
Harry "Santa": But I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight, "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night."

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Crazy Credits

After the end credits, the filmmakers are heard yelling "Merry Christmas".

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Connections

Referenced in Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)

User Reviews

Better Watch Out... Better Not Cry... Or You May DIE!

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!