A toy factory worker (Fiona Apple's father), mentally scarred as a child upon learning Santa Claus is not real, suffers a nervous breakdown after being belittled at work, and embarks on a Yuletide killing spree.I had a copy of this movie on my desk for over a year (thanks, Vinegar Syndrome) but somehow never found the time. Finally, in December 2016, I put it in and gave it a watch. And, sadly, despite a few good scenes and the possibility of this being the first killer Santa movie, it runs a bit too slow and too long to be a really strong slasher.On the bright side, it has Jeffrey DeMunn before he really became a horror icon through his work with Frank Darabont.

Christmas Evil begins with an introduction, where a young boy cuts himself with a piece of broken glass- from a snowglobe he smashed- after discovering his mother receiving oral pleasure from a man in a Santa costume.This causes him to forever associate the pain he felt from this trauma, with Christmas (you'd think this would turn him into a full blown misogynist, but it doesn't). Rendering him all stalky- with a particularly keen interest in the neighbours...and a Santa fetish, of course.He takes this role very seriously, too. Keeping tabs on all the local children (via voyeurism); documenting their good and bad behaviour.One Christmas, after witnessing the greed of management at the toy factory where he works, he snaps, and fully embraces his Santa alter-ego, on the one day of the year that the rest of the world might accept it.Everything goes well for him at first. He even comes off as benevolent for a while. But things start to take a darker turn when people start to mock and belittle him, after which he starts to get all slashy...and it's all downhill from there.But he never comes off, truly, as a monster. Rather, someone who is mentally unstable, but well meaning, acting out, out of frustration.You can make of that what you will, but it ultimately leads to the film's conclusion...which is both bizarre and wholly unexpected.In fact, I think it might be one of the weirdest conclusions I've ever seen in a horror flick. But the whole thing is pretty weird, in an awkward sort of way, so I guess it is a reflection of that too.The whole thing plods along pretty slowly, and comes off more awkward than it does entertaining (probably due to the absence of gore, in this gore-saturated day in age), but it's watchable. And it's certainly something different than usual...so there's that.5 out of 10.

Poor Harry, all he wants is to show his colleagues, family and neighbors how much Christmas means to him. But he's a little on the nutty side, literally obsessed with Christmas, from tacky ornaments filling his house to writing down the shortcomings of the kids on his block. It isn't long before he snaps, decides to be Santa and starts attacking! What can I say, this movie is great! Not only does it have that nostalgic slasher film atmosphere, but it also features decent acting, a comedic yet creepy cast of characters and festive soundtrack. You won't get much better from Friday the 13th or A Nightmare on Elm Street, this one is very underrated!

You Better Watch Out (aka Christmas Evil) is much more of a black comic character study than a slasher film. It centers on a man named Harry, who has a serious Santa fetish and works at the local toy factory . Harry dresses up like Santa and finds out who's naughty or nice . Very creepy and brilliantly darkly hilarious . This flick takes Santa back closer to the old mythology. He's totally down with the good folks. If you are a bad kid, he will bring you something horrible . If you mess with Santa, you get taken out.You Better Watch Out is the perfect cinematic experience if you have seen to many bad Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel. Great holiday horror film.