Christmas Evil

R

Released Nov 7, 1980

1h 40m

Holiday

Horror

List

67%

9 Reviews

Tomatometer

36%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Eavesdropping on mother turns a boy into a killer (Brandon Maggart) who roams the streets dressed as Santa Claus.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Jan 16

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Rent Christmas Evil on Fandango at Home, or buy it on Fandango at Home.

Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

A sleazier and scummier version of similar Santa-themed slashers, for better or worse.

Rated: 2/5

Sep 22, 2023

Full Review

Emma Wolfe

SpookyAstronauts

I thought it was well done for what it was but it's just not something that I'll watch again.

Rated: 5/10

Oct 13, 2020

Full Review

Stephanie Crawford

Daily Grindhouse

There's no real question that Christmas Evil is an exploitation film, but it's one of the rare ones that's even more concerned with mood and pathos than nudity or blood.

Jul 15, 2020

Full Review

C.H. Newell

Father Son Holy Gore

There are a nice few slasher elements present in Christmas Evil while it also contains great psychological horror. A truly disturbing holiday movie.

Rated: 3.5/5

May 5, 2019

Full Review

Anton Bitel

VODzilla.co

Lewis Jackson's Yuletide UFO puts the manic in Manichaeism.

Dec 15, 2017

Full Review

Anton Bitel

Projected Figures

Harry is played... with the kind of range & intensity more usually associated with De Niro's Travis Bickle or Joe Spinell's Frank Zito than with the blankly cartoonish Jasons, Michaels & Freddies who would come to dominate the mainstream slashers.

Mar 18, 2014

Full Review

Read all reviews

Jonathan O

Christmas Evil is the og of Silent Night Deadly Night and it looks silly and a SNL sketch but is creepy but no scares but it's fun on Christmas holiday.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/04/24

Full Review

BigD J

Good film, for what it is and the time it was made. There's some boring drudgery, but if you can bear with it, the ending to the film is great and rather comical. Some good psychological elements. This was the predecessor of Santa slashers.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/30/23

Full Review

Fleegle B

An awesome Christmas horror movie I really like alot. I really like the killer Santa in it

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/16/23

Full Review

Jay H

AKA You Better Watch Out. Great psychological horror film about The Man Who Would Be Santa.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/09/23

Full Review

Jay V

10/10, second favorite Christmas movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/09/22

Full Review

Audience Member

Lol, what the heck did I just watch? Silent Night Deadly Night is no Oscar winner, but this film makes it look like the best movie of all time. Crazy story, bad acting. But hey, Patricia Richardson snuck in!

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

12/04/22

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Lewis Jackson

Director

Brandon Maggart

Harry Stadling

Dianne Hull

Jackie Stadling

Scott McKay

Mr. Fletcher

Joe Jamrog

Frank Stoller

Peter Friedman

Mr. Grosch

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

68%

76%

Black Christmas

12%

36%

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers

39%

53%

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

TRAILER

for Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

43%

58%

Night of the Demons

0%

23%

Graveyard Shift

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

5 Christmas Horror Movies – From the Sublime to the Ridiculous

Further Reading: Seasonal Slaying – The 12 Horrors of Christmas

View more photos

Synopsis

Eavesdropping on mother turns a boy into a killer (Brandon Maggart) who roams the streets dressed as Santa Claus.

Director: Lewis Jackson
Producer: Jerald Rubinstein
Screenwriter: Lewis Jackson
Distributor: Cannon Film Distributors
Production Co: Edward R. Pressman Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Holiday, Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 7, 1980, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 17, 2018
Runtime: 1h 40m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

Most Popular at Home Now