CHRISTMAS EVIL
Alternate Titles:
You Better Watch Out / Terror In Toyland
German Title:
Teuflische Weihnachten
USA, 1980
Director: Lewis Jackson
7,5/10
Holy Santa! Just when I thought there are no more good Xmas horror flicks, I stumbled upon "Christmas Evil", a pretty underrated an overseen, but highly impressive 'seasonal' horror thriller.
Alternate Titles:
You Better Watch Out / Terror In Toyland
German Title:
Teuflische Weihnachten
USA, 1980
Director: Lewis Jackson
7,5/10
Holy Santa! Just when I thought there are no more good Xmas horror flicks, I stumbled upon "Christmas Evil", a pretty underrated an overseen, but highly impressive 'seasonal' horror thriller.
I originally expected this to be some kinda holiday slasher, but surprisingly it turned out to be a psychological horror-drama, a bit in the vein of the depressing "Don't Go In The House".
Brandon Maggart plays the poor loner Harry who's totally obsessed with Christmas and slowly goes insane - and he delivers one of the greatest and most intense acting performances of the 80s. The way he looks, the way he acts, his facial expressions, his maniacal laughter - wonderful, just wonderful!
'Highlight' is the scene where he super-glues a Santa beard to his face; a stunning and pretty disturbing scene.
Other highlights: the sequence where Harry tries to slide down the chimney and the very last scene which totally makes you forget about the 'moon bike ride' in "E.T.", I promise!
Other highlights: the sequence where Harry tries to slide down the chimney and the very last scene which totally makes you forget about the 'moon bike ride' in "E.T.", I promise!
Furthermore, the movie looks absolutely wonderful. Plenty of eerie shots, loads of dark and gritty atmosphere, cool cinematography and a few very well designed set pieces (f.e. the illuminated Christmas garden, the toy factory, Harry's house).
The soundtrack is creepy, the editing is terrific and the rest of the cast also delivers solid performances (incl. Patricia "Home Improvement" Richardson in a minor role).
If you prefer your Xmas horror gory and funny, I suggest you to watch "Silent Night, Deadly Night 1 & 2" instead, but if you're open minded and enjoy movies about 'tickin' timebombs' (f.e. "Taxi Driver", "The Fan", "Driller Killer"), this is a must-see!
Posts
You had me at the eerie shots!
ReplyDeleteyou have no diea...how big of a fan...I am...of this movie. i gave it 5/5 stars in my book.
ReplyDeleteNice man. Two amazing Christmas films in one day. I love, love, love this movie. I just did my top fifty Xmas films and this was number one. I watch it every year and most of the time in between as well. The commentary with Lewis Jackson and John Waters is excellent. Great write up again. Love the to the point "here's how it is" approach.
ReplyDeleteAnother one I haven't seen in far too long. When I saw it I was regularly watching Brandon Maggart in the syndicated version of the Showtime series Brothers - he is a very cool actor. And I wish I had known Patricia Richardson was in this when I worked with her on a Lifetime TV movie - I could have bugged the crap out of her about it! Excellent review, MM!
ReplyDelete@Real Queen:
ReplyDeleteHaha yeah, the movie's packed with with eerie shots.
@Kaijinu:
Really? That's cool. This movie is so underrated, it's nice to see people who adore it.
@Guts & Grog:
ReplyDeleteHoly shit, another admirer! Looks like this movie is way more popular than I thought.
LOL I never considered that "here's how it is" approach good or original, but there seem to be many people who enjoy this kind of writing style.
Thank you!
@Craig:
ReplyDeleteThank you, Craig!
Yeah, Maggart is a fantastic actor.
What? You worked together with Richardson? That's cool. Any photos? :)