Many great Christmas stories have, beneath their sentimental and upbeat exterior, a dark and grisly core. Take Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’, the most famous of all festive tales: whilst Ebenezer Scrooge finds his inner humanity, his journey to redemption is one overshadowed by the threat of loneliness and death. It’s the presence of these dark elements that help such protagonists discover the spirit of Christmas. God bless us everyone indeed.
CHRISTMAS EVIL, however, is something of a reversal of this tradition; though outwardly a tale of yuletide murder and mayhem, beneath this is something truly pure and festive, personified by psycho-Santa Harry (Brandon Maggart). After discovering that Santa isn’t real at a young age, Harry does all that he can to make the myth a reality, and, as an adult, even goes to the lengths of spying on the neighbourhood kids to keep tabs on whether they’re naughty or nice (woe betide the boy across the street, sneaking a look and his dad’s ‘Penthouse’ and still expecting pressies). However, mocked and alienated by those around him, Harry snaps, dressing up as Santa and heading out to deliver presents and murder anyone that stands in his way. But harry never loses sight of his original mission, and remains the spirit of Christmas personified right ‘til the end.
By now, the image of a murderous Santa Claus is relatively common, having been featured in a number of films such SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT and SAINT, but back in 1980 it was an new concept. As writer-director Lewis Jackson tells THN, ‘Outside of the English TALES FROM THE CRYPT film from the 1970s, it was the first real Christmas horror movie.’
Horror aficionados will also remember BLACK CHRISTMAS, which predates CHRISTMAS EVIL by six years. But Jackson considers this as just ‘a slasher movie with Christmas only as a decoration.’ And he’s right – CHRISTMAS EVIL is different. Not only does it use The Most Wonderful Time of the Year as the driving force of its narrative, it was also inspired by the big man, himself, St Nick.
‘It wasn’t originally a story,’ says Jackson, ‘it was an image I got in my mind at Christmas time 1970 of a Santa with a knife in his hand. Eight years and endless drafts later, the script was done. It took so much time because I tried to conceive it in images.’
Although very subversive of the traditional yuletide tale, Jackson was always a fan of Christmas stories, particularly those with a dark edge. ‘I used to look forward to seeing A CHRISTMAS CAROL every year on TV before there were VCRs,’ he says.
Aside from the aforementioned festivity and horror, there is something else that sets CHRISTMAS EVIL apart from other seasonal horror films; the story is blackly comic, and though the unwrapping of Harry’s sanity remains suitably sinister, it’s accompanied by moments of dark and surreal humour, such as a police line-up of potential Santa-clad offenders.
‘This was always intended as a black comedy,’ Jackson tells THN. ‘I never was trying to make a conventional horror film.’
Regardless of Jackson’s original comedic intentions, there is something serious at the heart of CHRISTMAS EVIL. One of the film’s most prominent themes is the loss of innocence; on learning the truth about Santa as a child, Harry becomes warped – a social misfit and outcast – and in taking the role of St Nick himself, tries to protect other kids from a similar fate. He wavers between hero and villain, and though capable of quite gruesome acts, one can’t help but sympathise with his love of all things festive.
So, when considering what movies to put on your list this year, take a second to consider CHRISTMAS EVIL. It’s a true forgotten gem of the Christmas canon – a surreal, funny, and sinister journey with plenty of festive spirit and gore. Naughty and nice all at once.
