Christmas Evil

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Christmas Evil

Directed by	Lewis Jackson
Produced by	Burt Kleiner, Pete Kameron
Written by	Lewis Jackson
Starring	Brandon Maggart, Jeffrey DeMunn, Dianne Hull
Cinematography	Ricardo Aronovich
Editing by	Linda Leeds, Corky O'Hara
Distributed by	Reel Media International (worldwide, video)
Release date(s)	1980
Running time	100 min
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$750,000 (estimated)
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Christmas Evil (also known as You Better Watch Out and Terror in Toyland) is a 1980 slasher film directed by Lewis Jackson. It is considered an obscure film but has gained a cult following which includes legendary film director John Waters.

It was originally released as You Better Watch Out. Though it's lesser known, it predates the the horror film Silent Night, Deadly Night, in which a deranged man goes on a murderous rampage decked out in Santa Claus clothing.

[edit] Synopsis

Harry Spaulding, played by Brandon Maggart, has been obsessed with the Christmas season since he, as a child, witnessed his father (who he believed to be the "real" Santa) preforming oral sex on his mother, while dressed in a Father Christmas outfit.

He lives a lonely life, watches the Macy's Day Parade by himself and gets chided by his co-workers for his obsession with children's toys.

One Christmas season he decides to dress up as Santa Claus and deliver toys to needy children who are staying in a hospital. He also chronicles how boys and girls in his neighborhood have behaved during the year.

Throughout the night he murders several people (stabbing one man with a nutcracker, for example) for no readily apparent reason.

In the films closing moments, Harry evades capture when, his van (onto which he has painted a sleigh) gains the power of flight.

[edit] DVD release

In December 2006, Synapse Films released a special edition DVD of Christmas Evil. It features audio commentary from the director and John Waters, who is quoted as saying it's the "greatest Christmas movie ever made."

The film had previously been released by Troma in December 2000.