Christmas Evil

Original title: You Better Watch Out

1980
R
1h 40m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

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.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.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.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.5/10

8.7K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
John Waters recommends this as his favorite Thanksgiving/Christmas themed film.

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

Quotes
Harry "Santa": But now I want you to remember to stay good boys & girls. Respect your mothers & fathers and do what they tell you. Obey your teachers and learn a whooooole lot! Now *if you do this*, I'll make sure you get good presents from me eeeevery year. Ha ha ha... but if you're bad boys & girls, your name goes in the 'Bad Boys & Girls' book, and I'll bring you something... horrible.

Crazy credits
While it is understandable that viewers might identify the rousing "Merry Christmas everybody!" at the end of the credits as the crew adding a personalized touch to the final moments of the film, it is in fact the greeting that ends the Jackson Trio's "Jingle Bell Hop" that is used during the end credits.

Alternate versions
A deleted scene toward the film's beginning showed Harry being promoted in his job. Brandon Maggart had a hangover from the day before while shooting the dancing scene, and can be seen becoming dizzy and nauseous at the end of the scene.

Connections
Featured in The Cinema Snob: Silent Night, Deadly Night: Part 2 (2010)

Soundtracks
Daddy's Drinking Up Our Christmas
Performed by Commander Cody
Copyright 1973 Dot Records

User reviews132

Review

Featured review

6/10

This is more fun to watch than good

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.