These are the films I always look forward to the most during these Christmas periods, horror films. I love horror films in general, but there is something special about Christmas horror films. Maybe it is just the juxtaposition of the Christmas season with (usually) bloody murders, or maybe it is the fact that I jump into these films with the knowledge that they are either going to be terrible or brilliant, although even then they are sometimes not brilliant for the reasons they would like to be. It is rare that I find a film that slots in between these two categories, but that is where Christmas Evil (1980) steps in. The film tells the tale of Harry Stadling (Brandon Maggart), a man scarred by discovering Santa Claus wasn’t real as a child. This develops into an obsession with the Christmas season and a desire to become Santa himself, giving out presents to the good, and taking out his anger on the bad.
I came into this film with the expectation that it was going to be some Christmassy, slasher, schlock, but that is not the case. I wouldn’t even really describe it as a slasher film at all, although it has some of those elements to it. It is more of a thriller following the mental decline of a man who is complex and anything but one note. The most interesting aspect of this film is that Harry, despite clearly being insane and carrying out evil acts, is also often very good and his motivations come from a place of wanting to spread joy. Throughout the film, there are moments you think he could snap, but then he is treated well by the people around him and he, in turn, treats them well and acts as Santa the way he plans. He only really snaps and gets a bloodlust when people wrong him or undermine him, and this does make the character have more depth than I was expecting. The film also has a look that I really like and that lends itself well to the tone of the film. It is grim and miserable. There is a distinct lack of colour, and any time the film divulges in Christmas decorations it is almost pathetic, and it adds to the world of the film really well.
However, where the film doesn’t work visually is with its editing. I found it very jarring and odd throughout. Perhaps this was a stylistic choice, but the jump cuts that are scattered throughout the film did more to confuse me than to add to the mood of the film. It doesn’t help that they also seemed to lead to a couple of continuity errors that threw me as well. Another aspect of the film that didn’t work was the soundtrack. Again, it may e a stylistic choice, but the score tries to mesh Christmas songs with classic horror score sounds; drones, screeching violins, etc, but it ends up sounding messy rather than sinister. The film also has some narrative issues, in so much as certain things are established or introduced and aren’t resolved or have no real reason to be there. The main culprits of this are the scenes in the police station as they are trying to find the Santa killer. These scenes don’t lead to anything and are there just to pad out the runtime as far as I can tell. And I can’t do this review without talking about the conclusion of the film, so here is your warning to stop reading if you don’t want spoilers. The film ends with an angry torch-wielding mob chasing Harry down. In 1980s New York. It is mental. And then, Harry drives his van off a ravine and his van flies away like Santa’s sleigh! Even more mental. I get that the ending is most likely all in Harry’s head, but it isn’t made abundantly clear and the way it is edited makes it seem as though he actually did fly away. It is a bit like the ending to Birdman (2014) if that clears it up for you.
So, Christmas Evil. Is it good? Is it bad? I feel like it is somewhere in between, although looking online it would seem the film has quite a positive reputation. And I do get it. The film is far more interesting than I was expecting going in, but I think some of the narrative choices don’t do it for me, and I think there are technical issues I can’t look past. Then at the same time, I did enjoy it for the most part. It is hard to properly recommend but I guess if you’re into horror films set around Christmas it is worth seeking out. And you can watch for free on YouTube as long as you don’t mind being interrupted by ads every 7 minutes.
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