Christmas Evil

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Christmas Evil

R

Released Nov 7, 1980

1h 40m

Holiday

Horror

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Popcornmeter

57%

Tomatometer

7 Reviews

36%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

The film is noted for starting a sub-genre of the jolly St. Nick as a psycho slasher killer.

Rated: B

Dec 26, 2011

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Film Threat

Rated: 4/5

Jan 9, 2006

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Julian S

Push through the slow parts, and CHRISTMAS EVIL (aka BETTER WATCH OUT) reveals more depth than you’d expect, with a nice touch of restraint.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/19/24

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Audience Member

Good but not as good as Silent Night Deadly Night. Cool kills and awesome killer Santa. The ending was a little silly though.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/30/24

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Lewis Jackson

Director

Brandon Maggart

Harry Stadling

Dianne Hull

Jackie Stadling

Scott McKay

Mr. Fletcher

Joe Jamrog

Frank Stoller

Peter Friedman

Mr. Grosch

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Synopsis

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

Director: Lewis Jackson
Producer: Pete Kameron, Burt Kleiner
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)

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